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The sexualization and censorship of nudity on social networks generates a controversial debate about freedom of expression, gender equality, individual autonomy, or discrimination. The objective of this work is to analyse the perception of the censorship to which male and female bodies are subjected on Instagram and Twitter (X). The results shows that there is a gap in the perception of censorship based on gender, especially towards women, showing that there is a sexualized view in society that pornifies what is natural. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Available internet research focus on the linear transition from Web 1.0 to Web 3.0 without realizing their interplay across platforms and interactions with analog and real-world. Such interactions are examined in the foreign bride trade industry's shifting and stable discursive representations of Filipino women as the industry moved from analog print catalogues to static, unidirectional Web 1.0, multidirectional Web 2.0 and decentralized Web 3.0. Technological changes have transformed digital platforms and information delivery and continued marketable representations of Filipina brides' racialized exceptionalisms. Shifting from analog to digital platforms has simultaneously disrupted and preserved gendered-racialized hierarchical representations of Filipina brides as simultaneously paradoxical, problematic, and provocative variations in purveying Philippine postcolonial exceptionalism. Critical discourse analyses of sample catalogues and Web 1.0–2.0 websites reveal three persistent exceptionalism variants in Filipina bride representations—extraordinary, comparative, and pragmatic—reproducing racialized-sexualized desires and hierarchies, which endured across technological platforms, simultaneously reproducing and disrupting persistent representations of foreign brides from the Global South, particularly Filipinas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on social cognitive processes (Bandura, 2009), sexualizing media likely provide adolescents with credible role models for their own sexualized self-presentation in other mediated contexts, such as sexting. A survey of 6,093 US adolescents was conducted (Mage = 15.27 years, SD = 1.37; 69.1% cisgender girls; 26.8% cisgender boys, 4.2% gender-minority participants) to examine relations between three types of sexualizing media exposure (reality television, music videos, pornography) and active sexting behaviors (i.e., requesting and sending). Among cisgender boys, exposure to sexually oriented reality television was positively related to active sexting behaviors, but this link was not found for cisgender girls or gender-minority participants. Music video exposure was related to active sexting behaviors only among cisgender boys and pornography consumption was positively related to active sexting behaviors among all gender groups. A positive outcome expectancy (i.e., sexting is fun) consistently mediated these relations. A negative outcome expectancy (i.e., sexting is risky) only mediated the relations between pornography consumption and active sexting behaviors among cisgender girls. Results are discussed in light of social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2009) and the 3AM Model (Wright, 2011). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our work adopted an intersectional approach to investigate how women's racial identity may influence how they evaluate and are impacted by body-positive imagery of women on social media. In a 2 × 2 × 2 experiment (N = 975), we examined how source race (Black vs White) and sexualization (non-sexualized vs sexualized) in body-positive images affect Black and White viewers' impressions of self-interest, moral appropriateness, and body positivity. Results indicated that viewers generally responded more favorably to non-sexualized (vs sexualized) images: Participants reported less self-interested motivations for sharing, found the images more morally appropriate, and believed they were more effective representations of body positivity. Results also revealed that Black (vs White) viewers tended to express more appreciation for body-positive imagery, regardless of source race or sexualization. Findings not only advance our theoretical understanding of sexual objectification with more diverse depictions and broader sampling, but also provide practical suggestions for advocates of the body-positive movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing popularity and availability of virtual reality (VR) video games, the representation of women within these immersive environments becomes crucial to explore. Although the sexualization of female characters in traditional video games has been widely studied, the sensory-rich nature of VR may introduce changes in character representations and emergent adverse outcomes. In the present study we content analyzed female characters in popular VR video games to investigate the potential underrepresentation and misrepresentation of female characters. Results demonstrated that male characters were represented four times more frequently than female characters. The underrepresentation of female characters was more severe in competitive VR games than casual VR games, however there was no significant difference in the underrepresentation of women between game genres or ESRB ratings. In addition, female characters were presented in a sexualized manner in 30% of cases. The sexualization of female characters was associated with their portrayal as physically capable, violent, or a victim. We also found that sexualization of female characters did not differ based on the type of game (casual vs. competitive), game genres, or ESRB ratings. We discussed these findings in immersive VR video games in comparison with those in traditional 2-D screen media video games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Search engines serve as information gatekeepers on a multitude of topics dealing with different aspects of society. However, the ways search engines filter and rank information are prone to biases related to gender, ethnicity, and race. In this article, we conduct a systematic algorithm audit to examine how one specific form of bias, namely, sexualization, is manifested in Google's text search results about different national and gender groups. We find evidence of the sexualization of women, particularly those from the Global South and East, in search outputs in both organic and sponsored search results. Our findings contribute to research on the sexualization of people in different forms of media, bias in web search, and algorithm auditing as well as have important implications for the ongoing debates about the responsibility of transnational tech companies for preventing systems they design from amplifying discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Celebrity teenage girls are routinely sexualized in the media, but it is unclear whether these depictions are tolerable because it is relatively more socially acceptable to exploit celebrities. This study presents the results of an experiment comparing readers' (N = 237) responses to two nearly identical versions of a fashion article sexualizing a teen girl identified as either a celebrity or non-celebrity. Even though participants in both conditions correctly identified the teen as being a minor, they deemed the article that sexualized a non-celebrity as being more inappropriate than the same article sexualizing a celebrity. However, perceptions of fame did not mediate this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women constitute an overwhelming majority of those who experience domestic violence; furthermore, the vast majority of perpetrators of domestic violence go unsentenced. The objectification of women innately implies the denial of humanness, and dehumanization is known to play a role in willingness to engage in and acceptance of interpersonal harm. Yet, important questions remain. The current study examines the type of humanness objectified women are being denied, and how that denial implicates perceptions surrounding domestic assault. We predict that associating women with objects, and not animals, may be uniquely implicated in the lack of consequences for perpetrators—for objects cannot feel pain. In the current study (N = 319), we manipulated the presentation of a woman as sexualized or not and purported that she had been involved in a domestic violence incident. We found that when the target woman was sexualized (and thus objectified), participants associated her with an inert, non-human object (i.e., mechanistically dehumanized her) more than when she was not sexually objectified, but we found no effect of sexualization on animalistic dehumanization. Furthermore, mechanistic dehumanization mediated decreases in perceptions of the sexually objectified woman's suffering as a result of the domestic violence, which decreased the severity of the punishment participants recommended for the perpetrator, while also, increasing victim, and decreasing perpetrator, blame. We discuss critical considerations of the role of dehumanization in domestic violence directed toward women and the lack of consequences for perpetrators of these crimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-binary people simultaneously identify outside the binary and experience the consequences of living in societies that embrace the gender binary to varying levels. The current study used a qualitative, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach to understand how non-binary people experience sexual objectification, which historically has focused on binary gender assumptions and populations. A sample of 10 non-binary people in the United States participated in 45–90-minute individual semi-structured interviews related to their sexual objectification experiences (SOE). Three broad categories of findings emerged from the analysis: (1) the intersectional and ubiquitous nature of SOE; (2) the embodied and burdensome impact of SOE; and (3) individual and communal acts of resistance against SOE. Participants highlighted difficulties navigating multiple marginalized identities through SOE, such as racialized fetishization and being perceived as women. Participants offered vivid descriptions of what SOE does to them physically, such as increasing chronic pain, anxiety, and dissociation. Individuals and communities reclaimed their bodies and built community in resistance to SOE. Understanding the unique SOE experiences of non-binary people may provide information for counseling psychologists to build affirming interventions that are tailored to non-binary people managing SOEs. Implications for future research on the experiences of SOE among non-binary people are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I show that the "narcissistic libido' out of which the self emerges is best conceived as de-sexualized eros, for this is the kind of energy that can love ideals, love ourselves (self-esteem), and love connecting with others (selfobjects). I draw upon Plato and the late Freud to amplify how seeing the self's energy as eros allows us to understand the self as daimonic, aesthetic, and developmental—a striving to attain evermore complex versions of itself. Eros is also an "experience-near" way to conceive of the self's energy, as we immediately know when we are feeling intensely erotic about an activity, another person, a work of art, etc. I will further show how eros can be transformed into sexualization and narcissistic rage when the self is traumatized, thereby explaining why selves have these two kinds of by-products when traumatically injured. Conceiving of the self's energy as eros gives us an important way to come to know our selves: we are what we love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media, which has become more essential in people's lives over the last two decades, on the one hand, creates a new social condition, a digital society, and on the other, changes people's everyday lives to a large extent. Social media deepens an intergenerational conflict between the young people who grew up with it, commonly referred to as the Z-generation, and the older generations, who are struggling to adapt to this new situation. As a reflection of this situation of conflict, bias towards younger generations occupies an important place in a significant part of the studies on social media. In these studies, young people are often portrayed as actors who, by all means, are permissible to become famous, pragmatists, and corrupt the moral values of society. Emerging as a critique of such approaches, this study tries to comprehend the new social condition created by social media. The study is based on a nethnographic analysis of the 58 highest-rated videos shot under the Buss It Challenge, which became a trend among young people on TikTok in early 2021. The study, on the one hand, reveals young people's perceptions of the ideal life and ideal body; on the other hand, it questions the projections of intercultural and gender differences in such videos. As a result, the study claims that an understanding of fame based on the sexualization of the female body, which is an important component of social media culture, is significantly shaped by neoliberal and patriarchal expectations, and social media alters the perception of time and space, which in turn reshapes the private and the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After its establishment, cinema had to compete with other popular forms of entertainment in Spain, such as musical theater and variety shows, in which the cuplé stood out. This article explores the presence and significance of cupletistas in silent films, examining the relationship between cinematic performance and music, the use of the artists' sexualized bodies, and the performative dimension of cuplés to cinematic narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the present study was to examine gender stereotypes and sexualization in Italian television advertisements aimed at children. For this purpose, content analysis method was used to analyze 185 commercials broadcast from 6 pm to 8:30 pm over the three Italian television channels dedicated to children which attract the largest audience share. In order to allow comparison with previous research on gender stereotyping, two raters coded a series of variables common to similar investigations (i.e., verbs used in the ads, voice-over, voice-over message, setting, pace of the ads, activities performed by the main characters). Results indicate that gender stereotypes are still prevalent in Italian children's television commercials. Furthermore, although the level of sexualization of children is low, we found that girls tend to be more sexualized than boys, especially in terms of "adultification." Our findings provide an updated picture of children's advertising in Italy by also expanding the literature on gender role stereotyping and sexualization in television commercials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In three survey experiments, we considered the role of stereotypes in blame assessments related to "undeserving" poor and Black women. U.S. participants (Study 1: N = 229 [mean age = 19]; Study 2: N = 200 [mean age = 42]; Study 3: N = 285 [mean age = 51]) read one vignette about a woman's sexual assault experience. We manipulated the identity of the woman as being either a member of the "deserving" or "undeserving" poor and as racially Black or white. Participants were asked to assess the woman's blame, characteristics of respectability (sexualization and responsibility), and value as a person. Across all 3 studies, participants were more likely to stereotype the undeserving poor women as more sexualized, less responsible, and of less value. They were also more likely to blame the undeserving poor women for sexual assault compared to the deserving poor women, and this relationship was mediated to varying degrees by these stereotypes. Because of the demonstrated importance of victim-blaming in sustaining problematic treatment of women, and in attitudes toward the poor, we also assessed people's blame-attributions for sexual assault toward lower-income women. Findings illustrated that blame attribution and stereotype application were indeed particularly likely for those presented as "undeserving" poor women. The current research continues to make the argument for the importance of considering the role of social class in people's perceptions of women's experiences of sexual assault. Future research needs to consider the role that these perceptions play in policy, institutions, and lived experiences among poor women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study used in-depth interviews to explore adolescent girls' perceptions of sexualized images they typically find when using social media. Twenty-four participants aged 14–17 years described sexualized images of females as normalized on social media. The interplay between gendered and social norms that endorsed and rewarded girls for posting sexualized images was seen to influence an expectation for girls to conform with their peers and post such images of themselves. They indicated sexualized images emphasize personal value on appearance and rejected this notion. However, participants also believed girls should be able to post sexualized images of themselves if they wanted to. There were tensions between whether girls' sharing of sexualized images of themselves on social media would be interpreted as a display of confidence (socially acceptable) or attention seeking (socially unacceptable). Findings provide guidance for the development of health promotion programs to reduce potential harm from social media use by adolescent girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research has found that sexualized women are often dehumanized (i.e., attributed reduced human qualities). However, the mechanisms contributing to such dehumanization remain poorly understood. In this pre-registered experiment involving a within-subject, placebo-controlled, cross-over design, we tested whether testosterone contributes to men's (N = 120, age range: 18–38 years) dehumanization of women. After administration of intranasal testosterone or placebo gel, men watched a video of a woman wearing either modest (i.e., conservative) or revealing (i.e., sexualized) clothing (between-subjects factor) and then completed three subtle dehumanization tasks, measuring emotion-based, personality-based, and perceptual dehumanization. We hypothesized that testosterone would increase dehumanization, especially for men who watched the "sexualized-clothing" video. Instead, we found that, while men engaged in emotion-based dehumanization toward the sexualized woman both when they had testosterone and placebo, testosterone increased emotion-based dehumanization toward the conservatively dressed woman. Other forms of dehumanization were not affected by testosterone. We also explored whether personality (e.g., dominance) and biological (e.g., CAG repeat polymorphism) traits that have been found to moderate the effects of testosterone on some social behaviors also moderated the effects examined here, but we did not find any significant moderations. Overall, this experiment revealed a novel physiological mechanism affecting emotion-based dehumanization. • Sexualized women are often dehumanized (i.e., attributed reduced human qualities). • We tested if T affects men's dehumanization of sexualized vs. non-sexualized women. • We ran a placebo-controlled within-subject single-dose T administration experiment. • T increased men's emotion-based dehumanization toward a non-sexualized woman. • Other measures of dehumanization were not affected by T administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The representation of superheroines in comic books and comic book movies tend to subscribe to the patriarchal logic of the male gaze, with male subjects looking at women as hypersexualized objects and corporeal spectacles. Black Widow is the most fiercely feminist offering in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date, featuring young women resisting a powerful, rich, old, white male villain and fighting against his evil design to control the world. There are multiple refreshing developments in this "Phase Four" film from Marvel Studios. Drawing on feminist textual readings of superheroines' depictions in comics and cinema, this article (1) engages a shift away from the male gaze and its impact on the representation of strong female characters without the trappings of hypersexualization, and (2) suggests what films like Black Widow can offer regarding notions of what relationships constitute "family" in our society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Self‐objectification is linked to disordered eating (DE) behaviors in women. However, the awareness of objectification by the self and others, not just the objectifying experiences themselves, may be differentially related to DE. The proposed study examines the development and validity of the Conscious Objectification Questionnaire (COQ), which seeks to evaluate awareness of objectification by others and intentional self‐objectification. Method: In Study 1, 24 participants who identify as women (≥18 years) will provide qualitative feedback on COQ items, and survey items will be updated based on participant feedback. In Study 2, separate participants will complete the COQ and questionnaires assessing DE, self‐objectification, and mental health correlates. Exploratory factor analyses will be conducted on the COQ, and reliability and convergent and divergent validity will be assessed. Results: Results will clarify whether the COQ is a reliable and valid instrument that measures the distinct construct of awareness of objectification. Discussion: If proven psychometrically sound, the COQ may be useful for future research on the link between awareness of objectification and disordered eating. Public Significance: The novel Conscious Objectification Questionnaire (COQ) assesses the degree to which women recognize and act upon being objectified. The COQ will be reviewed by self‐objectification experts and pilot participants before being psychometrically evaluated with data from a larger sample. The COQ is expected to differentially relate to disordered eating above and beyond existing self‐objectification measures and accurately represent the distinct construct of conscious awareness of societal and self‐objectification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the literature has shown that sexually objectifying women leads to negative outcomes for the target and perceiver, measures of objectification perpetration are often adaptations of measures designed to assess targets' self-objectification or reported experiences of objectifying behaviors. In the present article, we introduce the Objectification Perpetration Scale (OPS) that assesses not only men's perpetration of objectifying behaviors directed toward women but also their objectifying cognitions and beliefs. Data from 855 men were collected across two studies. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in the first sample revealed two distinct factors and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in the second, independent sample, supported the factor structure of the newly developed 16-item OPS, including: sex-based (10 items) and appearance-based (6 items) objectification perpetration. Supporting its construct validity, scores on the OPS and the subscales were positively associated with scores on other measures of objectification perpetration, measures of sexual violence perpetration, and sexual exchange and misogynistic ideologies. The OPS contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the objectification perpetration phenomenon, including objectification that reduces women to either their sexual appeal or appearance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adolescent girls appear more vulnerable to experiencing mental health difficulties from social media use than boys. The presence of sexualized images online is thought to contribute, through increasing body dissatisfaction among adolescent girls. Sexual objectification through images may reinforce to adolescent girls that their value is based on their appearance. This study explored how sexualized images typically found on social media might influence adolescent girls' mental health, in positive and/or negative ways.Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with girls aged 14-17 years (n = 24) in Perth, Western Australia. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.Results: Participants identified body image as a major concern, reporting negative appearance comparisons when viewing images on social media. Appearance comparisons were perceived to exacerbate adolescent girls' appearance-based concerns. Comparisons also influenced adolescent girls' efforts to change their appearance and seek validation on social media. The importance of awareness and education from a younger age about social media and its influence on body image was emphasized, as was the need for strategies to promote positive body image and counteract negative body image.Conclusion: The findings of this study have important implications for professionals working with adolescent girls and for the development of health promotion programs addressing social media use and body image concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With this study, we aimed to advance objectification theory research with sexual minority women by examining the understudied roles of appearance anxiety and interoceptive awareness concomitantly with other key variables, including sexual objectification experiences, internalization of cultural appearance standards, body surveillance, and body shame. We also examined depressive symptoms as a criterion variable in addition to eating disorder symptoms. Survey data from 201 sexual minority women were analyzed. Manifest variable path analysis of the hypothesized model explained 35% and 27% of the variance in eating disorder and depressive symptoms, respectively. Results revealed a distinct pattern of cross-sectional direct and indirect relations for eating disorder and depressive symptoms. Specifically, body shame was a key unique correlate of eating disorder symptoms and linked internalization of cultural appearance standards and body surveillance with eating disorder symptoms. Appearance anxiety was a key unique correlate of depressive symptoms and linked internalization of cultural appearance standards and body surveillance with depressive symptoms. Sexual objectification experiences and interoceptive awareness generally did not yield significant unique direct or indirect relations in the model. These findings suggest distinct and complementary points of intervention to mitigate eating disorder and depressive symptoms for sexual minority women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pervasiveness of sexualization in Western societies is harmful to women, regardless of racial or ethnic identity. However, predictors of sexualization among Black women are understudied. To address this gap, we examined whether listening to and liking hip-hop music would each independently relate to the sexualization of Black women in everyday life, and if this relation unfolded through greater exposure to objectification of Black women in music. A sample of 215 college students completed self-report questionnaires that assessed preferences for liking and listening to hip-hop music, exposure to objectification of Black women in music, and biases toward sexualizing Black women in everyday life. Results revealed that more exposure to objectification of Black women in music mediated the relation between increased listening to hip-hop music and greater sexualization of Black women in everyday life, B = 0.08, SE = 0.03, 95% CI [0.03, 0.13]. Similarly, the link between liking hip-hop music and sexualization of Black women in everyday life was mediated by exposure to objectification of Black women in music, B = 0.09, SE = 0.03, 95% CI [0.04, 0.15]. Results provide an initial step in understanding how preferences toward hip-hop music and exposure to objectification of Black women in music contributes to sexualization of Black women. Future research should continue contributing to conversations that challenge the hypersexualization of Black women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Very little is known about viewers' attitudes toward sexualized portrayals of men on social media platforms. Using an experimental methodology, the present study investigated the effect of a sexualized versus non-sexualized Tinder profile of a young White man on college students' perceptions of the profile owner. The impact of multiple aspects of sexualization including a self-sexualizing self-description on one's profile (i.e., interested in casual sex) as well as a sexualizing appearance (i.e., muscular and shirtless) were investigated. U.S. college students (N = 567) viewed a mock Tinder profile and then rated the target's competence, social appeal, physical attractiveness, and likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behavior. Findings indicate a young White man with a sexualized self-presentation on a dating app may be perceived as less competent and as a sexual risk-taker. These results contribute to the small body of research documenting the impact of self-sexualization on a dating app profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fraternities and sororities are popular organizations within university life. Even though their activities are usually secretive and protected, social media offer a chance for the public to understand these groups. In the present study, we investigated how sexualization is communicated on fraternities' location pages on Instagram. Applying a multi-dimensional coding scheme composed of 12 sexualization variables, we analyzed 600 Greek life posts from 49 fraternities. Among the posts, we found (a) body shots, (b) revealing clothing, (c) sexualized mouths, and (d) breasts/chests to be the most frequently used sexualization cues. In addition, there was a positive association between the number of sexualization cues in a post and the number of likes the post received. The results also point to gender differences: fraternity posts portraying only women included a greater number of sexualization cues, on average, than posts showing only men or mixed genders. Also, gender of individuals in the pictures moderated the relationships between sexualized mouths/buttocks and likes. Implications for gender inequality and risks of sexualization are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copious research has shown that sexualized and stereotypical portrayals of women in the media are the norm, but there is a gap in the literature regarding the portrayal of lesbians. The aim of this study was to assess how lesbians see themselves and their relationships portrayed in the media. A second aim of this study was to experimentally test whether exposure to a sexualized portrayal of a lesbian increases self-objectification while decreasing mood, self-esteem, and body image. A third goal was to explore the role of race in lesbian perceptions of media portraying lesbians. A sample of 178 lesbian women were recruited via the online survey platform Prolific Academic to participate in a study with quantitative and qualitative components. Results indicated that the hot lesbian was the most common portrayal, as predicted, and the most frequently reported stereotype of lesbian relationships was the idea of lesbians moving too quickly in their relationships, especially among White participants. Qualitative findings revealed that lesbians found media portrayals mostly negative and stereotypical, in that they were hypersexualized and for the male gaze, with lesbian relationships portrayed as temporary. Experimental exposure to a sexualized portrayal of a lesbian caused decreased body area satisfaction but did not affect self-objectification, mood, self-esteem, or overall appearance evaluation. Most findings did not vary by race, but those that did reflected racialized stereotypes. The impact of stereotypical portrayals of lesbians in the media should continue to be examined in both lesbian and outgroup populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a between-participants experimental paradigm, the present study investigated U.S. adolescent boys' (n = 96) and college men's (n = 194) attitudes toward media images of male athletes as well as their thoughts about the athletes. Participants viewed either sexualized (i.e., skin exposed, sexual pose) or performance (i.e., in uniform and in action poses on the field/court) images of male athletes. They then rated the athletes' competence, esteem, and sexual appeal and completed a writing task about their reactions to the images. Male viewers rated the sexualized athletes lower in competence and esteem and higher in sexual appeal compared to the performance athletes. These results have implications for advocacy efforts calling for less sexualization in today's media environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Representations of masculinity and femininity within the most listened-to commercial music and its evolution, based on a system of our own elaboration of 11 analytical categories of gender stereotypes that explore gender binarism, are examined. In so doing, qualitative and quantitative content analyses of 50 video clips of the most listened-to songs in two periods (2009 and 2019) are carried out. From a post-feminist critical perspective (Gill, 2007, 2017), the study verifies that gender binarism is maintained over time, albeit with important nuances in both years. The results conclude that the most prominent stereotypes are Western hegemonic femininity, associated above all with romantic narratives (mainly in 2009), and Western pariah femininity including dialogs with elements of greater sexualization (especially in 2019). On the other hand, Western Protestant masculinity is present in most of the songs associated with musical genres such as rap or hip-hop, in both periods; while Occidental assured masculinity, which is evident in 2019, is associated with the need to maintain the heteronormative and hegemonic representation of masculinity, even when not fitting the sexuality of the artist. The article concludes that, in ten years, there is an evolution of the heteronormativity among the most popular music videos, where dominant masculinity stereotype continues to be the heterosexual hegemonic masculinity model, in both the romantic and sexual context, while the representation of femininity shows some confrontation with the traditional model. This study contributes to other work on masculinities and femininities as it establishes categories that may be applied to different cultural products and social realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Media images often present one idealized type of woman: she is thin, sexualized, and White. Although research has shown that there are stereotypes associated with sexualized women, known research has not addressed whether these stereotypes vary based on other characteristics such as body type and race. The current study aimed to examine the stereotypes associated with women who varied in sexualization, as well as body size and race, and whether participants' characteristics moderated these stereotypes. U.S. college-aged students (n = 500: 101 men, 393 women, 6 unknown) completed measures of gender stereotypes and rated the attributes of women who varied in sexualization (sexualized vs. non-sexualized clothing), body size (thin vs. plus-sized), and race (Black vs. White). Results suggest that body size is more salient than sexualization and stereotypes about sexualized women are differentially applied to White and Black women. Additionally, participants' gender and race moderated stereotype ratings. Lastly, viewing sexualized images was related to higher endorsement of sexualized gender stereotypes, but only in women. Taken together our results highlight that research on sexualization should address important intersectional components, such as race and body size. We also discuss broader implications of our results on lessening stereotyping and weight stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postfeminist young women are encouraged to "embrace" their sexuality by sexualizing their bodies as a means of empowerment. In stark contrast, dominant understandings of violence identify these same bodily displays as risk factors, condemning women who enact them as "asking for" victimization. While these competing demands on the female body have been widely documented in popular media, empirical work has not investigated if, and the extent to which, women reproduce these tension-filled constructions of the body in their own lives. Using in-depth interviews with 15 participants of varied race, class and gender identity in the US, this paper explores the ways in which these conflicting discursive constructions of the body are enacted by participants in their everyday lives. While participants took up varied sensibilities of the body and empowerment (including several that emphasized sexiness and sexuality), participants uniformly discussed perceptions of risk that inscribed the female body as vulnerable. This produced tensions in reasoning for some participants (but not all), in ways that were intersectionally inflected by race and gender presentation. More broadly, data suggests that postfeminist (and other) visions of the body that appear to otherwise produce lived experiences of empowerment are deemed invalid in contexts of risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to analyse the different areas of sexualisation to which the protagonists of four picaresque 17th century novels are subjected by their authors. They are degraded characters who embody all the vices considered to be feminine and in whom the maternal inheritance determines their destiny and their moral depth, aggravated by a non-Christian ethnic origin. The picaras are shown to us as sexualised women in all their spheres of action: they carry out jobs directly or indirectly related to the sexual sphere, but also, by transgressing all the rules of behaviour and circulation imposed on women, they are going to identify themselves with prostitutes, in the broadest sense of women who wander into public spaces without any modesty. The cheeky ones will be window dressers, walkers, lovers of dancing or singing and, above all, loose tongues. The impudent character, which relates sexuality to their skilful use of language, is reflected in their condition as narrators of their own stories, but also in their characterisation as readers or writers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood are increasingly present in certain digital media, where commercial messages directly appeal to children's participation, enabling them to express their identity and establishing relations with their peers, who become opinion leaders. The aim of this exploratory qualitative research is to analyse a child's perception towards sexualized girls depicted in fashion advertising in a digital environment. The investigation conducts a qualitative methodology among Spanish girls between 8 and 11 years old corresponding to the target audience of fashion brands advertising that has been categorized in different levels as sexualizing. The results point out that girls generally reject the images of their peers and models whenever they are portrayed more sexualized because the style does not correspond to real life and does not seem chosen by the girls depicted. Furthermore, girls associate the combination of sexualizing contexts, postures and gestures with personality traits negatively considered -self-centred, defiant, rebel, sad, alone-and are afraid of the normalization among children of make-up and certain behaviours not keeping with their age. In light of the results, the study recommends an ethical reflection by advertisers that use an adult style transgressive and the study of images that depict boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's representation in social media is becoming increasingly sexualized, even when they are victims of sexual harassment (SH). In the present research, we adopted a bystander approach to investigate the role of victims' sexualization on bystanders' reactions to an episode of SH. In Study 1, female participants read a fictitious newspaper article that described a workplace SH episode: According to condition, the article included a picture of the victim who was wearing either sexualized or nonsexualized clothing. In Study 2, which also included male participants, we used a similar procedure and measured a series of traditional beliefs against women equality. As predicted, participants showed lower willingness to help the sexualized than nonsexualized victim: This effect occurred because they attributed lower morality to the victim and blamed her more for the SH event. Study 2 very well replicated Study 1 results and also showed that higher levels of endorsement of traditional masculine norms further enhanced biased perception of the sexualized (vs. nonsexualized) victim. Together, findings suggest that biased evaluations of workplace SH episodes associated with sexualized victims' appearance, consistent with traditional masculine norms, may have detrimental consequences by increasing legitimization and tolerance toward SH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To test the "sex sells" assumption, we examined how Italian men and women react to sexualized advertising. Women showed lower product attractiveness and purchase intentions toward products presented with sexualized female models than with neutral ads, whereas men were unaffected by ads' sexualization (Study 1, n = 251). Study 2 (n = 197) replicated the overall results. Study 3 (n = 198) tested hostile sexism as a moderator as well as negative emotions as a mediator of consumers' responses. Especially men with higher hostile sexism showed more purchase intentions after viewing female sexualized ads than neutral ads. Moreover, women's lower consumer responses toward sexualized female ads were due to higher negative emotions. Study 4 (n = 207) included ads with both female and male models, replicating responses to female sexualization and showing that both women and men had lower product attractiveness and purchase intentions toward male sexualized ads than neutral ads. Replicating and extending Study 3's results, women's negative emotions was the mediator. The present study has practical implications for marketers because it suggests that "sex does not sell." In addition, considering both the psychological damage and practical inefficacy of sexualized ads, our findings have important implications for public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of research has demonstrated negative effects of sexualization in the media on adolescents' body image, but longitudinal studies and research including interactive and social media are scarce. The current study explored the longitudinal associations of adolescents' use of sexualized video games (SVG) and sexualized Instagram images (SII) with body image concerns. Specifically, our study examined relations between adolescents' SVG and SII use and appearance comparisons, thin- and muscular-ideal internalization, valuing appearance over competence, and body surveillance. A sample of 660 German adolescents (327 female, 333 male; Mage = 15.09 years) participated in two waves with an interval of 6 months. A structural equation model showed that SVG and SII use at Time 1 predicted body surveillance indirectly via valuing appearance over competence at Time 2. Furthermore, SVG and SII use indirectly predicted both thin- and muscular-ideal internalization through appearance comparisons at Time 1. In turn, thin-ideal internalization at Time 1 predicted body surveillance indirectly via valuing appearance over competence at Time 2. The results indicate that sexualization in video games and on Instagram can play an important role in increasing body image concerns among adolescents. We discuss the findings with respect to objectification theory and the predictive value of including appearance comparisons in models explaining the relation between sexualized media and self-objectification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing interest in the experiences of transgender individuals, the phenomenon of fetishization of transgender bodies and identities has been overlooked. The present study was aimed at investigating the experiences of fetishization of transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) people. Participants in the current study represent a sample of 142 TGNB volunteers from the community who answered the prompt: "If you feel comfortable, could you describe your experience of being fetishized?" Using thematic analysis, we developed three overarching themes relevant to the experiences of fetishization of TGNB participants: (1) context of fetishization; (2) negative experiences of fetishization; and (3) positive or ambiguous experiences of fetishization. The results demonstrated that, in most cases, fetishization was understood by TGNB people as a negative experience of sexual objectification, although some individuals experienced fetishization as a positive experience, perceiving the sexual desire of the other person or living it as a kink. Consistent with the integrated theory of dehumanization, the results demonstrated that both sexual objectification and minority stress contributed to participants' understanding of fetishization for TGNB individuals. Implications for clinical work with TGNB individuals are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slasher films are known for their graphic depictions of sex, brutalization and death. Many argue that these films sexualize and punish female characters. A content analysis of 48 influential slasher films from the 1960s to 2010s was conducted to evaluate the presentation of women in these films. Sexualization (measured via specific acts and total sexualization), strength, flaws, brutalization, and fate were coded for 252 female characters. Results indicate that purity was significantly related to lower brutalization and lower rates of death for all women. Within each role (hero, killer, and potential/actual victim), unique portrayals of sexuality and related repercussions emerge. Female killers were most commonly portrayed having sex, heroes were most sexually dressed, and actual/potential victims were brutalized and killed most for their sexualization. These messages reinforce ideas of gender roles, stereotypes, and relationship expectations by punishing female sexualization and demonizing female sex. Issues of violence against women, toxic masculinity, rape culture, and the normalization of combining violence and sex are discussed as significant concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using an experimental methodology, the present study investigated college students' attitudes toward media images of female athletes. We are particularly focused on how viewers perceive media images of female athletes that have both an appearance and athleticism focus, such as those found in ESPN's The Body Issue. An aim of our study was to assess viewers' attitudes toward these images that are not purely objectified, thereby contributing to the objectification literature and providing empirical data relevant to theorizing on the social impact of these images. U.S. college students (n = 563) viewed one of four types of images of the same athletes including: (a) sexualized athletes, (b) sexualized performance athletes (in which both athleticism and sexualization are present), (c) sport performance athletes (in which athletes are depicted playing their sport), or (d) non-sexualized athletes. They then rated the athletes' competence, esteem, and sexual appeal. Overall, sexualized performance athletes were rated more positively than sexualized athletes, but less positively than sport performance athletes. These results have implications for advocacy efforts calling for more media coverage in which women are depicted as athletes rather than as sexual objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many institutions, social and political groups are warning of the risks associated with the early sexualization of childhood. These agents appeal to the responsibility of the media to avoid creating content that may lead to childhood sexualization and that is easily accessible to all audiences. Responding to this demand and through a cross-cultural Spain-China approach, this work focuses on the analysis of the perception of girls' sexualization in the fashion stylings disseminated by the media. A survey of 750 Communication and Advertising university students in Spain (N=449) and in China (N=301) was carried out. Five latent sexualization factors identified confirm that perceived sexualization in girls' fashion styling is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that occurs from the combined use of multiple sexualizing attributes. The country of origin (Spain or China) has been associated with the perception of sexualization and the identified latent sexualizing factors. Finally, an explanatory and highly effective predictive model has been obtained for this type of childhood sexualization in terms of the factors and country of origin. Conclusions suggest that it is necessary to reinforce the training of communication professionals and minors to avoid creating images of sexualized girls through certain styling codes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectification theory suggests that sexualization has significant dehumanizing consequences for how perceivers see women. To date, research has mostly documented how sexualized bodies in the mass media are objectified and dehumanized. The purpose of the present work was to test the novel cosmetics dehumanization hypothesis (CDH), that is, that subtler manifestations of sexualization, such as heavy makeup, might influence the way people attribute humanness-related traits to women. Across four experiments, 1000 participants (mostly from the United Kingdom and United States) were asked to evaluate women's faces with or without heavy makeup. Consistent with the CDH, results showed that faces with makeup were rated as less human while using complementary indicators of dehumanization: They were perceived as possessing less humanness, less agency, less experience (Experiment 1), less competence, less warmth, and less morality (Experiments 2–4) than faces without makeup. This pattern of results was observed for faces of both models (Experiments 1–2) and ordinary women (Experiments 3–4). In Experiment 4, we manipulated the part of the face that wore makeup (eye makeup vs. lipstick) and found that faces with eye makeup were attributed the least amount of warmth and competence. A meta-analysis based on Experiments 2–4 confirmed the robustness of the findings, which were not moderated by either participant gender or sexual orientation. Whereas prior studies suggested that a focus on faces may serve as an antidote for objectification and related dehumanization, the present set of experiments indicates that this strategy might not always be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Freud's 'Family Romances' from 1909 is hardly ever discussed at length in secondary literature, this article highlights this short essay as an important and informative text about Freud's changing perspectives on sexuality in the period in which the text was written. Given the fact that Freud, in his 1905 Three Essays, develops a radical theory of infantile sexuality as polymorphously perverse and as autoerotic pleasure, we argue that 'Family Romances', together with the closely related essay on infantile sexual theories (1908), paves the way for new theories of sexuality defined in terms of object relations informed by knowledge of sexual difference. 'Family Romances', in other words, preludes the introduction of the Oedipus complex, but also – interestingly – gives room for a Jungian view of sexuality and sexual phantasy. 'Family Romances' is thus a good illustration of the complex way in which Freud's theories of sexuality developed through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through an analysis of anti-suffrage arguments, I identify white supremacist tropes as an important strand in woman suffrage debates. I argue that sexualization and themes of home were signals to racial bias, and American womanhood was used as a rhetorical resource in struggles over race and national identity. As we celebrate the centennial of woman suffrage, it is vital to recognize how debates over women in national space participate in white supremacist logics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns about sexualization of Halloween costumes appear frequently in the lay press, but systematic investigation of such costumes or the ads in which they appear is relatively rare. We coded a randomly selected sample of 1001 advertisements for child, teen, and adult Halloween costumes for 13 different markers of sexualization that we combined into overall scores for costume sexualization, model sexualization, and hypersexualization. We found that ratings of model characteristics and costume were significantly more sexualized when the model was adult and female. Significant interactions indicated that model characteristics and costumes of male models were low in sexualization regardless of age, whereas model characteristics and costumes featuring female models were rated more sexualized than those for male models, even for child models, and sexualization ratings increased with age. A measure of hypersexualization (combining costume and model characteristic ratings and adding text sexualization) showed that hypersexualization is highest in advertisements featuring female and adult models while being low for male models across all three age groups. However, hypersexualization ratings were not significantly different for teen and adult women, indicating some compression of sexualization into adolescence. Our results could be used by parents, educators, or counselors interested in media literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Québécois immigrant writers Dany Laferrière's and Kim Thúy's first novels, Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer (1985) and Ru (2009), both thematize the process of coming-to-writing and autofiction in parallel with the tropes of the sexualization of the nonwhite "other" in a global (post)colonial context. This article examines Laferrière's and Thúy's starkly different novels to begin to account for the connection between the act of entering literature and the indictment of racial inequality and sexual exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on solo female travel indicates that women traveling alone in foreign countries are subject to different sociocultural and gender norms, and may bear more fear and constraints both temporally and spatially. Harassment from male strangers exerts considerable influence on women's perception of safety. However, issues of how solo female travelers confront stranger harassment remain untouched in tourism or leisure studies. Based on the perspectives of stranger harassment and cultural encounters, this article explores the experiences and interactions of 17 Taiwanese solo females with male strangers. Results revealed when facing harassment, they opted to neglect, forbear, or blame themselves; hardly had they actively fought back. Adding ramifications to the existing knowledge, this article contributes to the understanding of the theoretical conceptualization of stranger harassment of solo female travelers, and is in due response to the dearth of research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has examined the sexualization–objectification link (i.e., whether sexualized individuals are appraised as if they were objects rather than persons). This research has found that sexualized individuals are more likely to be processed and categorized as if they were objects and are also perceived as possessing fewer humanlike traits than nonsexualized individuals. In addition, sexualization prompts negative behaviors such as social exclusion. Altogether, these findings shed light on mechanisms that might underlie violence toward sexualized individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Danielle Knafo's "The Sexual Illusionist" is examined from the perspective of working unobtrusively with unsymbolized and unrepresented states in the register of enactment. Knafo's paper offers a unique rendition of an extremely challenging treatment involving great intimacy, love, violation and rampant and provocative sexual fantasies. In this commentary I suggest that the treatment exemplifies the challenge of working in the realm of psychic excess, too muchness and chronic developmental failure. I suggest that much of the highly sexualized material can be best understood as attempts by the patient, Cain, to create a transformational object such that he can manage his immersion in excess and come into being as a subject. I suggest that the therapeutic action takes place in the realm of unsymbolized enactment where love and limit can grow and take hold. I congratulate Knafo on a moving and honest description of an extremely challenging case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the pain of oedipal exclusion, especially in relation to the felt loss of the maternal figure. When too acute, this loss may be defended against by omnipotent defenses of disavowal and evasion of reality—a perverse structuring of the mind. In clinical work with such a person as an adult, sexualization of the dyadic treatment relationship within the analytic field serves to avoid deeper feelings of loss and deflated self-esteem. Mourning is foreclosed, and impasse may result. If "love" is to effect a cure, it is not "romantic" love of the analyst, but love of the analytic process—a passionate inquiry into the self. When fully articulated as an energy potential in both participants, analytic eroticism can offer libidinal engagement within an ethical frame as a stimulus to emotionally embodied thinking that can yield transformations in many dimensions, including the erotic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of digital technologies and social media platforms has been linked to changing forms of work, as well as the mainstreaming of pornography and a 'porn chic' aesthetic. This article examines some of the ways in which these themes coalesce, and interrogates the conceptual boundaries of sexualized labour, extending beyond traditional organizational settings and into Web 2.0. The study explores performances of sexualized labour on social media by analysing visual and textual content from 172 female influencers on Instagram. This article contributes to the literature on sexualized labour in three ways. First, by demonstrating how sexualized labour is enacted across various forms of influencer labour, and how this relates to the attention economy and monetization. Second, by developing the extant conceptualization of sexualized labour and introducing connective labour as a required element to mobilize sexualized labour. Third, by opening up a critical analysis of what is meant by 'sexualized' labour within a cultural context of pornographication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Income inequality generates and amplifies incentives, particularly incentives for individuals to elevate or maintain their status, with important consequences for the individuals involved and aggregate outcomes for their societies [R. G. Wilkinson, K. E. Pickett, Annu. Rev. Sociol. 35, 493-511 (2009)]. Economically unequal environments intensify men's competition for status, respect, and, ultimately, mating opportunities, thus elevating aggregate rates of violent crime and homicide [M. Daly, M. Wilson, Evolutionary Psychology and Motivation (2001)]. Recent evidence shows that women are more likely to post "sexy selfies" on social media and that they spend more on beautification in places where inequality is high rather than low [K. R. Blake, B. Bastian, T. F. Denson, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 115, 8722-8727 (2018)]. Here we test experimentally for causal links between income inequality and individual selfsexualization and status-related competition. We show that manipulating income inequality in a role-playing task indirectly increases women's intentions to wear revealing clothing and that it does so by increasing women's anxiety about their place in the social hierarchy. The effects are not better accounted for by wealth/poverty than by inequality or by modeling anxiety about same-sex competitors in place of status anxiety. The results indicate that women's appearance enhancement is partly driven by status-related goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]