A Cause for Concern: Objectification in Culture and Society

Imagine this: what if every woman depicted through the media was to swap scenarios with men. Instead of a scantily clad female gyrating in every background music video, there was a male in her place, doing as she was. The ratings on that video would undoubtedly hit the floor, with comments like, “tasteless,” and “inappropriate”. If we saw this happen in, for example, countless car and alcohol advertisements that use shots of women’s breasts, midriffs, and butt to promote their product, and turn use similar shots of men, some of us might start feeling a little awkward. Why have people become so accustomed to the way media portrays women, that by putting a man in her place and treating him the same way makes one feel uncomfortable? Not only that, but these double standards are everywhere, and they aren’t exactly harmless. This objectification of women and men through these media sources have growing masses of alarming data on the impairments these depictions wreak on society, socially, mentally and physically. The way the media projects things that shift American ideals, especially in terms of objectification, cause harm to our people. Becoming aware of this issue is the first step in stopping its trend.

First off, the focus society puts on the physical appearance of a body is called objectification. A more sound definition of objectification, however, is the viewing of people solely as de-personalized objects of desire instead of as individuals with complex personalities and desires or plans of their own. Big whoop, right? Well, every day we are subject to hundreds of advertisements from the radio, television, magazines, movies, and music to look a certain way to live up to certain cultural ideals. They all tell us how to look, tal...

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... wouldn’t instead view a women’s body as something to use or abuse sexually.

In conclusion, the cultural trend of objectifying both men and women, but more-so women needs to end because it isn’t healthy for the adolescents and adults of our country. Not only does it cause body shame and negative health issues in both young children, adolescents, and adults, but it perpetrates a culture where rape is blamed on the victim. By not dehumanizing a body by letting all of its physical assets determine its value in our society, intelligence may become the centerfold in what our society once again tries to achieve. So, how can one go about stopping the objectification of human beings? Stop focusing on being thin, looking a certain way, but instead embrace individuality, and treat people like human beings. And if this is already being done by the reader, gold star for them.