Thesis advisor: Lisa Cuklanz / There are strict rules and expectations that govern the world’s idea of femininity and beauty. What are the repercussions of selecting one type of beauty to be ideal on a global scale? After watching the pageant and reading previous scholars’ findings, I argue that the Miss America Pageant presents its participants as women to be admired while its practices objectify women’s bodies. Several myths dictate how contestants should behave and historically diversity has failed to break into the pageant. On a global scale, Miss America has inspired other international beauty pageants, causing countries to compete with one another for the most beautiful woman. Selecting one beauty often times is based purely on appearance, like body type or racial characteristics. The implications of one beauty means that all women, all over the world, feel compelled to meet the standards set by this one beauty, this winner. In turn, women who do not measure up feel inadequate and strive to change their appearances to meet the mold. This model also homogenizes the concept of beauty that previously was diverse and culturally based. Pageants, like Miss America, therefore encourage women to objectify themselves in order to meet an international beauty standard that is historically based on white or western appearances. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Communication Honors Program. / Discipline: Communication.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to improve the understanding of Sexual Objectification (SO) of gay African American males in the bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism (BDSM) community. Although many studies have been conducted on SO of women and other minority populations, there is a lack of research on the lived experience of gay African American males participating in the BDSM community. The theoretical framework for this study was Fredrickson and Roberts's objectification theory, with a conceptual framework focused on SO that gay African American males experienced while participating in the BDSM community. The research questions were designed to elicit the participants' experiences about their participation in the BDSM community. Ten gay African American males, selected through purposive sampling, described their reasons for participating in the BDSM community, what the participants gained from participating in the BDSM community, how they experienced SO, how they handled these experiences, and how these experiences changed them. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed by hand. The data were analyzed in 3 stages: open coding, axial coding, and selective coding techniques. Five themes emerged from the interviews: community, gained knowledge and freedom, verbal objectification, avoidance, and mistrust. This study contributes to the existing body of literature and promotes social change by fostering dialog about objectification. Through this dialog, behavioral patterns and cultural norms can be altered over time by increasing awareness about objectification and its effects on people. This study provided gay African American males a voice to discuss a phenomenon that impacts their lives.

Background: Objectification theory considers how gender and culture intersect to position women at a greater risk of developing eating disorders, depression, and sexual dysfunction. Self-objectification is defined as the internalization of a third person perspective to view one’s own body, which then leads to mental health consequences of anxiety, body shame, insensitivity to internal drives, and decreased peak motivational states. Body surveillance, the habitual and constant monitoring of the body, denotes the behavioral manifestation of self-objectification. Altogether, the accumulation of objectifying experiences and mental health consequences heighten women’s risks of developing the aforementioned mental disorders. Rationale: Extant experimental and correlational research supports objectification theory, in particular regarding eating disorders and depression. Research into the effects of social media on mental health is a relatively new frontier, thus gaps exist in the current body of literature. This study endeavored to contribute to the existing research base by employing qualitative methods to impart women’s personal descriptions of the experience of self-objectification and its proposed consequences in relation to social media use. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of the study was to explore how women’s social media consumption contributes to self-objectification, body surveillance, appearance comparison, body shame, and appearance-based self-worth. Also, the study sought to understand if women perceived themselves differently when they were not using social media platforms. Methods: Fifteen women completed the Social Media Use and Activities Questionnaire and the in-depth, semi-structured interview. The questionnaire assessed women’s active social media accounts, frequency of social media use, and social media behaviors. The interview protocol contained questions designed to extract explanations of constructs from objectification theory such as self-objectification, body surveillance, and body shame. A multilevel thematic data analysis was performed. Results: All of the individuals interviewed were heavy social media users based on the frequency of use (66.7% visit platforms several times daily), as well as the number of accounts operated (minimum of 4). Indicative of self-objectification and body surveillance, women emphasized the importance of how their physical appearance and body attributes are portrayed on social media sites. Also consistent with the definition of self-objectification, women expressed concerns about perceptions, reactions, and disapproval from others on social media regarding their physical appearance. Three additional modalities of body surveillance surfaced including: (1) using filters to enhance or modify the appearance of skin in pictures; (2) posing to accentuate facial features, hairstyles, and body attributes; and (3) women’s personal criteria regarding uploading and “tagging” of appearance-based pictures shared on social media. Findings strongly suggest women compare their physical appearances, features, and bodies to other women. Beauty ideals are determined by evaluating the number of individuals associated with other women’s social media accounts, as well as the distribution of ‘likes’ and positive comments written by people on their appearance-focused content. Five women recollected comparing their appearances and bodies to others, engaging in body surveillance, and feeling as if their own body and appearance failed to comply with beauty ideals, which then led to the experience of feeling body shame. Low self-esteem, depression, disordered eating, compulsive exercise, or bulimia nervosa were cited as reasons for deletion, temporary deactivation, or taking breaks from social media. Refraining from using social media was associated with feeling less pressured, engaging in less comparisons overall, being more mindful of the present moment, and relaxing standards for personal appearances. Conclusions: This study generated contextually rich, in-depth descriptions which illustrated women’s experiences with self-objectification, body surveillance, appearance comparisons, body shame, and appearance-based self-worth in the virtual world of social media. Based on results from this study, objectification theory is clearly applicable to women’s social media use and there is definitive need for future research to address the effects of social media consumption on mental health, particularly among younger generations. Meanwhile, primary prevention initiatives should educate people about the process of self-objectification and its associated consequences, as well as teach resistance strategies. Learning how to deconstruct media content, critically analyze others' online portrayals, and build self-esteem and self-worth may impede self-objectification and its negative mental health effects. Furthermore, public health campaigns should build upon the momentum of the body positivity movement. Known to young women as “BoPo,” this movement encourages women to see themselves as more than their bodies, inspires self-acceptance, and empowers them to be unapologetic and celebrate their body in its current form without adhering to societal beauty norms. These messages are instrumental to dismantling beauty ideals, exhibiting inclusivity of all body types, and mitigating the effects of sexual objectification of the female body.

This paper provides an account of how a normative male gaze is produced and upheld even in a video game famed for its inclusive nature, Dragon Age: Inquisition. The analysis originates in content studies concerning the portrayal of gender in video games in relation to in-game physical gender portrayal. It is followed by a contextualization of specific video sequences and certain game mechanics in relation to Laura Mulvey’s feminist film theory about the Male Gaze. Mulvey’s film theory approach, while useful as an intellectual tool, is not developed to be applied to video games and thus it is also necessary to consider any implications related to the interactivity of the game. As characters are subjected to a gendered male gaze in relation to both their physical appearance and attributes they are made to uphold the normative status quo. The Gaze is evident in how characters are portrayed, how the main character becomes a default male character regardless of actual gender and in the construction of women as something other. But most importantly, in the actual game mechanics through which all characters become objects for the player to use either in combat or to own in the guise of offering romance to the narrative.

Investigating how a media literacy education intervention tool affects women’s self-objectification, self-esteem, and body satisfaction was the first purpose of the study. Secondly, participants’ perceptions of media literacy education interventions and of media imagery were explored. Objectification theory was used as a framework for understanding media imagery effects. One hundred and eighty three participants completed the online study. Participants were mainly recruited from the undergraduate Psychology participant pool at the University of Saskatchewan. The control group (n = 99) viewed a compilation of magazine advertisements and completed measures of self-objectification (i.e., the Self-Objectification Questionnaire), self-esteem (i.e., the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), body satisfaction (i.e., the Body Image States Scale), and media attitudes (i.e., the Media Attitudes Questionnaire). The intervention group (n= 84) received a media literacy education intervention tool (i.e., the Evolution video, by Dove), viewed magazine advertisements, and completed the same measures of self-objectification, self-esteem, body satisfaction, and media attitudes. The intervention group also completed open-ended questions about their perceptions of the intervention. Analyses included independent t-tests, Pearson correlations, descriptive statistics, and thematic analysis. Results indicated no significant differences between the control and intervention conditions for self-esteem, self-objectification, body-satisfaction, and media attitudes. Although significant correlations were found, most were in the direction that did not align with the predictions. A descriptive analysis indicated that women’s perceptions of themselves are negatively affected by media material. The thematic analysis demonstrated that viewing the intervention was both positively and negatively perceived. Results and limitations of the current study are discussed. Implications for practice and future research are also identified

Past research has examined body image and eating-related outcomes of exposure to mass media. This research has generally found that such exposure is a significant risk factor for body image disturbance and disordered eating. However, a causal relationship has not yet been firmly established. Several theories, including objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), have attempted to explain this relationship with some success. The current study had two primary goals. First, it was designed to further explore the potential causal relationship between mass media exposure and body image and affect disturbance. Second, it attempted to go beyond individuals' body image and explore how exposure to objectifying media influences people's judgments of others. Briefly, the results revealed that exposure to media that objectify women was related to state body image disturbance, anger, and anxiety. Gender and internalization of cultural appearance ideals frequently played an important role in these relationships. Exposure to objectifying media did not predict participants' judgments of women's competence or attractiveness. However, interesting gender differences were observed.

Self-objectification is the process by which women take on a third-person perspective in evaluating their physical appearance and sexual attributes. Objectification theory states that self-objectification may lead to negative mental health outcomes in women; a growing body of cross-sectional and experimental research supports the connection between self-objectification and the experience of shame, disordered eating, depression, and sexual dysfunction. This study sought to evaluate an intervention designed to reduce self-objectification behaviors and beliefs in order to prevent the development of disordered eating, depression, and sexual dysfunction. An efficacious prevention program using cognitive dissonance induction was adapted to target self-objectification. The efficacy of the self-objectification dissonance intervention was evaluated in comparison to an expressive writing control condition. The self-objectification intervention was also compared to an existing empirically supported cognitive dissonance intervention targeting beliefs regarding the thin-ideal to determine whether or not this intervention provided added benefits in reducing risk factors for disordered eating and depression. A sample of 119 undergraduate females was recruited to participate in the study. Participants were randomized to one of three conditions: the self-objectification dissonance intervention, the thin-ideal dissonance intervention, or the expressive writing control group. All participants completed a baseline assessment and two intervention sessions over a three week period. One month following the completion of the second intervention session, participants were asked to complete a follow up assessment. Change in target outcome variables from baseline to post-intervention were evaluated using hierarchical linear models. Maintenance of treatment outcomes from post-intervention to 1 month follow up was evaluated using mixed factor analysis of variance. Results indicated that significant changes in outcome variables (body shame, disordered eating, body satisfaction, depression symptoms, and sexual self-consciousness) and mediating variables (self-surveillance, self-objectification, thin-ideal internalization) were associated with all three groups. The self-objectification dissonance intervention was associated with a greater reduction in self-surveillance compared to the control group but not with the thin-ideal dissonance intervention. For all groups, there were no significant changes in outcome and mediating variables from post-intervention to 1 month follow up. Participants in the self-objectification dissonance intervention, though, did continue to experience a decrease in self-surveillance over the one month follow up period compared to the thin-ideal dissonance group. Overall, results did not support that a self-objectification dissonance intervention is associated with significant reductions in eating disorder and depression risk factors above and beyond a general expressive writing task and existing intervention programs. These findings suggest that there is limited utility in specifically targeting objectification processes in prevention programs. Implications of study findings for future eating disorder and mental health prevention program designs are discussed.

This report examines the sexualization and objectification of women in print advertising, and the consequences of these depictions. The major themes found in advertising are discussed, and their role in reinforcing sexism and female stereotypes. Advertising’s impact on society’s attitudes, beliefs, and behavior in relation to social comparison theory and cultivation theory are examined. The report examines historical implications of women’s role in advertising and the gradual shift to new trends in advertising that seek to empower women. Through content analysis of the 2005 Nike Real Women campaign, implications and recommendations for future advertising are discussed. / text

Stephen Sondheim’s 1979 award-winning musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was produced during a time of great political and economic uncertainty in New York City. Although not overtly political, the themes of urban crisis and class inequality that birthed the original legend of Sweeney Todd in Industrial Revolution London continued to play a large role within the modern musical, reflecting leftist political concerns at large. The main political argument within the work is the critique of class hierarchies created by capitalism and how the upper classes abuse the lower classes, ie. how Judge Turpin uses his power to abuse Sweeney Todd and the grave consequences of such actions. Less obvious, however, are the importance of gender hierarchy and the objectification of women within this anti-capitalist critique. This paper focuses on the character of Johanna and the three songs sung about her by the three main male leads. These songs provide a case study of how gendered objectification and commodification play a significant role in the overall Marxist critique intrinsic to the musical and the Sweeney Todd legend overall. The work’s rootedness in the anti-capitalist critique of the New Left in the 1970s and the concurrent rise of Marxist and socialist feminism provide clues to understanding the context and meaning behind the violent treatment of women within the musical as an extension of the anti-capitalist critique that is fundamental to the work. / text

The following report documents the inspiration, themes, preparation, and challenges faced in writing the feature length screenplay Horse Latitudes. This is the story of a young woman who works as a spam writer for an advertising agency. In hopes of moving up in the company, Cairo begins working undercover for her boss, writing erotica blog entries for his personal website. She begins using the people closest to her for material, thus betraying her own morals. As she descends deeper into debt to her boss, she becomes physically ill until she can no longer survive in the world she has created. This is a story based on the author’s own experiences of working for a spam company and being committed to a hospital. This report also includes supplemental planning documents used in the final draft. / text