Category Archives: objectification
Cat-Calling: Guys Performing For Guys
Men catcalling a woman
Women don’t catcall men. Well, rarely if ever. Now, why is that?
Maybe because no one really catcalls for the reason that would seem most obvious: to express appreciation for beauty or sexiness.
Turns out, guys are often just performing for other guys. Read the rest of this entry
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Men React to “Nude” Sly Stallone
Sly Stallone on Vanity Fair Cover
I recently asked my students to write down their thoughts when looking at nude-ish pictures of Cindy Crawford and Sly Stallone.
Had attitudes changed since sociologist, Beth Eck, studied reactions a decade ago?
We’ve spent a lot of time with thoughts on Cindy. Now let’s turn to Sly. Read the rest of this entry
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Women React to Sexy Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford on Rolling Stone cover
Want to know how women and men experience skin-revealing images of men and women?
I recently asked my students to write down what thoughts came to mind when looking at nearly-nude pictures of Cindy Crawford and Sly Stallone.
My participants included 35 straight women and 19 straight men, from three different women’s studies classes that met during the 2014-15 school year. I surveyed them on the second or third day of class.
First, let’s look at how women experienced Cindy. Read the rest of this entry
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Ogling: Boys Will Be Boys?
Boys will be boys?
“Boys will be boys,” said one third of the women who answered my survey on ogling.
The survey asked why some men stare at women’s body parts. Most of these women said their partner’s lingering eyes bothered them at least a little. But if men are “just that way,” maybe they’re less annoyed? Read the rest of this entry
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Women Dress Sexy To Wield Power Over Me
Men sometimes complain that women walk down the street, lookin’ sexy, just to gain power over them.
I can see how sexy ladies gain the power to get a man of her choosing. But I suspect that’s not what they mean. So I asked: What sort of power is that, exactly?
The answers goes something like this: Read the rest of this entry
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What’s Wrong With Objectification?
I can’t appreciate an attractive woman without objectifying her? Because I don’t see her as a whole person? Because I don’t know her likes and dislikes? Her hopes and dreams? If she owns a dog?
A man asked me that question when I made a distinction between “sex object” and “sexy.”
Sexual objectification isn’t about being sexy or sexual so much as being sexy for someone else while you don’t matter. Read the rest of this entry
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Am I “Doing It” Right?
Hannah and Adam from HBO’s Girls
HBO’s “Girls” is an exploration of young women’s sexuality today, so I was struck by a scene that the New York Times’ Frank Bruni described as being all about what “he” wants “her” to do:
(“Hannah’s”) back is to her boyfriend, who seems to regard her as an inconveniently loquacious halfway point between partner and prop, and her concern is whether she’s correctly following instructions.
‘So I can just stay like this for a little while?’ she asks. ‘Do you need me to move more?’
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Sexy Men Can Seem Gay
Men in Speedos. Sexy? Or gay?
Imagine men in Speedos plastered all over billboards, drawing your attention to this product or that.
Sexy? Or does it seem kind of gay?
A lot of women think it seems kind of gay. But why is that? Read the rest of this entry
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Sex Objects Who Don’t Enjoy Sex
Laci Green defines self-objectification.
Sexual objectification can have its perks in the bedroom, with breast fetishes and butt fetishes heightening men’s arousal.
But surprisingly, it can have the opposite effect, harming both men’s and women’s enjoyment. And in many ways. Here’s one: self-objectification. Read the rest of this entry
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How Sex Creates Gender
Sex creates gender
Sex — the verb, and everything surrounding it — helps create gender.
Like when some guys discourage other guys from relationships, and pressure random sex.
What’s that got to do with gender? What it means to be a woman or a man? Read the rest of this entry
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