Self-Objectification

From: Julia

When a female looks into the mirror, what do you think she sees? Do you think she sees a beautiful body or a body that doesn’t meet the requirements of today’s high beauty standards?  Unfortunately this answer varies due to the fact that all women are not the same, but one thing women can agree upon is that the higher the beauty standard becomes the more dissatisfied a female can become with their bodies, this is known as self-objectification. Unlike males, females tend to “develop a more negative body image”(Feingold & Mazella, 1998) about themselves. Sometimes even believing that their bodies are properties of man; therefore viewing their body as an object.

When a woman begins to view her body as an object, she is no longer whole. Yet she slowly becomes a piece of this broken society in her efforts to become what society expects her to be. Eye candy to the men who are interested and changeable to fit his every need. If men only knew the emotional and physical turmoil women go through just to satisfy the opposite sex or to stay above the competition within the same sex. For instance, according to “a meta-analysis of controlled experiments, it found that in the majority (84%) of studies, viewing idealized female images caused an increase in women’s body shame” (Groesz, Levine & Murnen, 2002).

 Although self-objectification leads to body shame, it also can cause appearance anxiety, depression, and disordered eating. The effort to meet this bodily standard has become severe; having women to believe that their bodies are not good enough for society to accept can ruin a person’s mental outlook of the world. Having a woman to believe everyone’s out to judge. No one truly understands the lengths women go through to impress men. Enduring pain and sadness just to receive a chance at happiness. When true happiness lies within, but unfortunately this society has caused women to believe that happiness lies within a man or positive views from society.

Self-objectification coincides with this picture because it’s a representation of the discomfort most woman have in regards to their bodily image. As you look closely at this image you’ll notice that the background of the image is painted white in an effort to symbolize the distance between her and the mirror. The amount of space that she feels exist between her inner self and her body. Unknowingly viewing her body as an object that is not associated with her. As her eyes gaze over her body in an effort to analyze it, from her faulty expression the conclusion becomes self evident, plan dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction with her stomach as she firmly grasps it, in hopes of it magically becoming toner. From research of this subtopic, I’ve come to realize that when you self analyze yourself in the mirror, thoughts of what you wish could change about yourself always arise. Unfortunately society doesn’t teach us to love ourselves, yet teaches us to change what is natural about us and become something we’re not. To love yourself “after” you’ve conformed to society’s beauty standards.

Framing also plays a major part in this picture because the layout of this piece speaks volumes. As she stands far back from the mirror in an effort to view her whole body, it signifies that she is concerned about every portion of her body. In the process realizing that the bathing suit isn’t covering her buttocks enough and strives to pull it down. Hinting at a since of insecurity, because women who are content about themselves don’t mind if their bathing suit shows a little of the buttocks, most bathing suits do. But since she is insecure of herself she doesn’t feel comfortable with any parts of her body showing, unknowingly developing a negative body image.

Because light adds clarity to a situation, the color used in this photograph helps to shed light on a situation that’s arousing in so many women around the world, self-objectification. Color helps make this situation apparent because as you analyze the photo the young woman’s back is in color because men see her as being fine. She has the long hair that appears to be healthy and a body that appears to be fit. The outside glowing from what society sees her as beautiful, but in all actuality she doesn’t view herself in that same way. As you look into the mirror you’ll notice that the reflecting image is dual, the common hue we refer to as black and white. The black and white image representing her disproval of what she sees inside the mirror, herself.

In conclusion, self-objectification is a very serious thing, because it can lead to body shame, appearance anxiety, depression, or disordered eating. But my problem is not with men, my problem is with society, because if it wasn’t for society always coming up with a checklist of how to define beauty men and women alike wouldn’t have to deeply self analyze them selves to the point where unhappiness within is at an all-time high. People should be okay with showing their true self, but unfortunately if society is not okay then the person is not okay, and that to me will never be okay.