The Role of Self-Objectification in the Experience of Women with Eating Disorders

Abstract

Objectification theory has linked self-objectification to negative emotional experiences and disordered eating behavior in cultures that sexually objectify the female body. This link has not been empirically tested in a clinical sample of women with eating disorders. In the present effort, 209 women in residential treatment for eating disorders completed self-report measures of self-objectification, body shame, media influence, and drive for thinness on admission to treatment. Results demonstrated that the internalization of appearance ideals from the media predicted self-objectification, whereas using the media as an informational source about appearance and feeling pressured to conform to media ideals did not. Selfobjectification partially mediated the relationship between internalized appearance ideals and drive for thinness; internalized appearance ideals continued to be an independent predictor of variance. In accordance with objectification theory, body shame partially mediated the relationship between self-objectification and drive for thinness in women with eating disorders; self-objectification continued to be an independent predictor of variance. These results illustrate the importance of understanding and targeting the experience of self-objectification in women with eating disorders or women at risk for eating disorders.KEY WORDS: self-objectification; eating disorders; internalization; sociocultural.Sexual objectification occurs whenever a person is viewed, evaluated, reduced to, and/or treated by others as merely a body, and has been identified as especially harmful to women (Bartky, 1990;Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997;Kaschak, 1992). Objectification theory considers self-objectification to be an adaptive strategy for girls and women who live in a culture that sexually objectifies the female body (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). The term selfobjectification refers to the psychological process by which women internalize observers' objectifying perspectives on their bodies and become chronic selfmonitors of their own physical appearance. This form of self-perception allows women to anticipate, and thus to exert some control over, how others treat them.By coming to view their own bodies through this objectified lens, women engage in a kind of psychologically distancing from their physical bodies, which in turn contributes to negative attitudes toward and experiences with their bodies. This experience of self-objectification has been theoretically and empirically linked to a variety of negative consequences in nonclinical samples of adult and adolescent women, including increased opportunities for experiencing body shame, anxiety, negative attitudes toward menstruation, a disrupted flow of consciousness, diminished awareness of internal bodily states, depression, sexual dysfunction, and disordered eating (Calogero, 2004;Fredrickson, Roberts, Noll, Quinn, & Twenge, 1998;Roberts, 2004;Slater & Tiggemann, 2002;Tiggemann & Slater, 2001).Self-objectification may be a critical factor to identify for the treatment...

Body Image Objectification and Disordered Eating Attitudes Among Secondary School Students of South-West Nigeria

“…Body surveillance and body shame were not observed to be related to eating disordered attitudes, unlike what researchers have shown, which is that both are strong correlates of eating disordered behaviour (9,10).…”

“…Therefore, distortion of the consciousness of the body, as an object, or negative affects toward the body could result in an abnormal eating attitude. Studies have shown a relationship between body image consciousness/awareness and the de- velopment of eating problems (7)(8)(9)(10)(11). Thus, objectification theory provides a useful conceptual framework for examining disordered eating attitudes (12).…”

Body Shame dan Gangguan Makan Kajian Meta-Analisis

“…Beberapa tahun terakhir ini, malu terkait tubuh kerap menjadi mediator di dalam berbagai studi teori selfobjectifation yang berupaya memahami gangguan makan. Sebagaimana penelitian yang dilakukan Calogero, Davis, dan Thompson (2005) menunjukkan malu terkait tubuh memediasi hubungan antara self-objectification dan keinginan untuk kurus.…”

On Objects and Actions: Situating Self-Objectification in a System Justification Context

“…These subjective experiences serve as the intermediate variables that link self-objectification to three specific mental health outcomes, which include depressed mood (Grabe, Hyde, & Lindberg, 2007;Tiggemann & Kuring, 2004), disordered eating (Calogero, Davis, & Thompson, 2005;Tylka & Hill, 2004;Tylka & Sabik, 2010), and sexual dysfunction Steer & Tiggemann, 2008). Thus, self-objectification indirectly contributes to greater depression, eating disorders, and sexual dysfunction in women by generating recurrent shame and anxiety, disrupting attention that could be directed toward pleasurable and rewarding activities, and reducing sensitivity to internal bodily cues.…”