Search

In this paper, I seek to analyze how notions of humiliation, disgust and contempt inform "images of brutality" regarding LGBT deaths claimed to have been the result of hate crimes or LGBTphobia. Based on data collected during the monitoring of the LGBTI+ movement’s activities in Paraiba between 2012 and 2016, in-depth interviews with its activists, and access to judicial proceedings related to those deaths, I focus especially on the narratives around: a) a scene of attempted murder provoked by a military police officer who, in a street downtown Joao Pessoa, shot a travesti at close range, one who worked as a prostitute and refused his flirt; and b) the case of the "serial killer of travestis", a military police officer accused of five murders in a town in the countryside of Paraiba. Thereby, my main purpose is to discuss the relevance of demeaning practices for the configuration of what is taken as brutal, including police violence. Above all, I seek to understand the narrative sexualization of the one who demeans, humiliates, feels disgusted and despises others, and whose act of raping or killing is identified as a gesture of pleasure or raises questions about desire.

Findings consistently illustrate the negative association between women’s sexual objectification and their sexual functioning. At the same time, some scholars argue that sexualized self-presentation may be a way to embrace one’s sexuality and may signify empowerment. To date, no studies have explicitly explored the potential differential contributions of self-objectification and self-sexualization to multiple aspects of women’s sexual agency. Towards this end, we surveyed 556 undergraduate women to examine how body surveillance, self-objectification, and self-sexualization differentially predict women’s sexual assertiveness, sexual satisfaction, feelings of entitlement to sexual pleasure, condom use self-efficacy, and sexual esteem. Path analysis demonstrated consistent negative links between body surveillance, one behavioral manifestation of self-objectification, and sexual agency outcomes, but revealed both negative and positive links between measures of sexualization and sexual agency. This complex set of associations highlights the value of studying self-objectification and self-sexualization both in tandem and separately, so that researchers can develop a better understanding of the implications of each for women’s sexual agency.

Does wearing makeup benefit women by changing how they perceive themselves, and are the perceptions that others make of makeup wearers positive, or negative? In two pre-registered experiments, we investigated the effects of makeup on women's self-perceived traits, and others’ objectifying perceptions of them. In Experiment 1, 229 women imagined one of four scenarios (e.g., a romantic date). Half applied makeup for that scenario before rating their self-perceived agency, humanness, romantic competitiveness towards other women and reactions to partner jealousy. Results showed little evidence that applying makeup affected women's self-perceived traits. In Experiment 2, 844 participants rated images of women's faces from Experiment 1 on their mental capacity and moral status. Women wearing more makeup were attributed less mental capacity and moral status, with attributions mediated by perceptions that heavier makeup-wearers have more sex and are more physically attractive. Findings suggest that although women experience cultural pressure to wear makeup, negative stereotypes of makeup-wearers may lead to detrimental perceptions of women.

Self-sexualization is an emerging area of research relevant to clothing researchers as evaluations of sexual appeal often stem from specific items and uses of dress. Our research purpose was to systematically review the available research on self-sexualization. In our review we focused specifically on three topics: what precedes self-sexualizing? What outcomes are associated with self-sexualizing? And how has self-sexualization been operationalized? The time frame for this review was 2007–2020. To locate the 31 journal articles that supplied the data for this research, multiple data bases were searched using the following search terms: self-sexualization, self-sexualizing, and sexual self-presentation. Important precursors to self-sexualization include exposure to media and social media, self-objectification, internalization of sexualization, and desiring attention from others. Empowerment has been studied as an outcome of self-sexualization along with negative inferences concerning both young women and girls that self-sexualize. Operationalization of self-sexualization is varied and likely contributes to inconsistent findings.

Art has explored the problem of the body and corporeality in various ways. As a result, the body was subject to constant reinterpretations in the artistic practice – as an object of different narratives, goals, politics, a field of interference, an object of artistic fetishization, sexualization or desexualization. This text discusses selected aspects of the presence and experience of the body in visual arts, referring to artistic realizations and endeavours of radically different “nature”, and thus – referring to the ontology of the work of art. The main field of reflection is the transition from the representation of the body (media images of an absent body) to the presentation and presence of a real body as a material and medium of expression. In this context, not only the consequences related to the artistic mediatization and performatization of the body and corporeality are presented, but also the tensions between observing (visuality) and the experience of the mediatized body.

As a consequence of exposure to sexualized messages, girls and women may internalize the belief that sexual attractiveness to men is an important aspect of their identity. Whereas research on internalized sexualization has mainly focused on its consequences for girls’ well-being and academic outcomes, the present study (N = 222, women, aged 20 to 29) examined whether internalized sexualization is related to sexist attitudes and tolerance of sexual harassment among young women. It also analyzed internalized sexualization’ links to women’s views of notorious sexual abuse allegations in the so-called Weinstein scandal and attitudes towards the #MeToo movement, a campaign aimed at combatting sexual harassment and sexual assault. The study was conducted in Italy, a context characterized by pervasive sexualized messages and diffuse criticism against the #MeToo movement. The findings showed that internalized sexualization was associated with stronger endorsement of sexist attitudes and higher acceptance of sexual harassment myths, which worked as sequential mediators of skepticism towards sexual abuse allegations in the Weinstein scandals. Endorsement of sexist attitudes mediated the relation between internalized sexualization and negative attitudes towards the #MeToo movement. This study extends the knowledge on the correlates of sexualization, suggesting that women’s internalization of the belief that they should be sexually attractive to men might contribute to reinforce ideologies and attitudes that perpetrate women’s mistreatment while diminishing support for social activism on women’s behalf.

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.

Alcohol consumption is on the rise among U.S. women, especially college women, despite the negative consequences that uniquely and disproportionately affect them. The current work integrates objectification theory and related research with literature on drinking motivations to explore how women’s experiences living in a culture that constantly objectifies the female body is associated with women’s consumption of alcohol. Among a sample of 539 female U.S. college students, the present study examined how differentially valenced responses to interpersonal sexual objectification (enjoyment of sexualization or body shame) contribute to distinct drinking motivations and outcomes. Results showed general support for the proposed serial mediational model. The link between sexual objectification and drinking frequency was mediated by self-objectification, enjoyment of sexualization, and drinking for enhancement, social and conformity motives, and by self-objectification, body shame, and the conformity motive. Finally, sexual objectification was related to drinking quantity through self-objectification, enjoyment of sexualization, and the enhancement drinking motive. These findings suggest that objectification experiences and resulting negative and positive inner states are important predictors of alcohol consumption. The integration of objectification theory with drinking motives sheds light on additional negative consequences associated with women living in a patriarchal society, including increased alcohol use. This model, if confirmed by future research, may provide promising avenues for reducing women’s drinking and thus minimizing the negative consequences they experience from alcohol.

Este artigo pretende, a partir de relatos e reescritas, pensar sobre percursos das histórias da fotografia em suas relações entre ética e uso da imagem e apropriação de histórias, na tentativa de repensar a relação de poder constituída a partir de um ponto de vis-ta na história da imagem, partindo da Amazônia paraense como lugar de reflexão. Este texto tem a colaboração de Izabelle Louise Anaúa Tremembé, estudante indígena da Universidade Federal de Ceará (UFC), que fez um relato sobre a cultura da apropriação, da exotificação dos objetos sagrados e sexualização dos corpos femininos, assim como, em sua fala, ela afirma a ausência de conhecimento acerca de seus rituais e, ainda, que a autonomia dos povos indígenas em fazer arte sempre existiu. Os relatos foram articulados no encontro entre professores e produtores de fotografia e cinema em Alcântara, Maranhão, em abril de 2019.

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.

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.

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 r...

La Fiesta Provincial del Inmigrante (Berisso, Argentina) constituye uno de los rituales conmemorativos a través de los cuales sus organizadores reproducen anualmente un imaginario de la comunidad local/nacional apelando a un mito de origen: el mito del crisol de razas (blancas y europeas). Este artículo tiene como propósito analizar, desde una perspectiva de género, el proceso de visibilización afro y las disputas por el reconocimiento social que desarrollan las y los integrantes de la Asociación Caboverdeana de Ensenada a partir de su participación en la Fiesta Provincial del Inmigrante. Para ello nos centramos en el análisis de los conflictos vividos por tres mujeres afrodescendientes en el acto central de la fiesta: la elección de la Reina Provincial del Inmigrante. La estrategia metodológica que sostuvo la investigación fue de tipo cualitativa, centrada en un extenso trabajo de campo etnográfico realizado en la Fiesta Provincial del Inmigrante (2010-2015), entrevistas a los/as integrantes de la Asociación Caboverdena de Ensenada y tres entrevistas en profundidad a las tres ex-reinas de dicha asociación que participaron de las elecciones de la Reina Provincial del Inmigrante (años 2001, 2008 y 2010). La originalidad del artículo reside en el análisis de un objeto de estudio escasamente indagado por las ciencias sociales y reiteradamente criticado por el movimiento feminista: las elecciones de reinas y la participación de mujeres afrodescendientes en estos contextos. Buscando no caer en una socio-antropología de la denuncia –que únicamente ponga de manifiesto la reproducción de modelos canónicos de belleza, la sexualización del cuerpo femenino y la existencia de prácticas discriminatorias durante las elecciones de reinas– nos proponemos dar cuenta de los motivos por los cuales dichas mujeres participan de estos eventos y las agencias que desarrollan., The Provincial Immigrant’s Festival (Berisso, Argentina) is a festive context where local ethnic associations recreate a white imaginary of the nation, annually dramatizing an origin myth: the melting pot (white and european). The purpose of this article is to analyze, from a gender perspective, the process of Afro visibility and the disputes for social recognition undergone by the members of the Cape Verdean Association of Ensenada in their participation of the Provincial Immigrant’s Festival. To this effect, we focused on the analysis of the conflicts experienced by three Afro-descendant women in the central ceremony of the festival: the election of the Provincial Queen of the Immigrant. The methodological strategy supporting the research was qualitative, focused on extensive ethnographic fieldwork carried out in the Provincial Immigrant’s Festival (2010-2015), interviews with the members of the Cape Verdean Association of Ensenada, and three in-depth interviews with three former queens of the association, who participated in the elections of the Provincial Queen of the Immigrant (in 2001, 2008 and 2010). The originality of the article lies on the analysis of an object of study scarcely investigated by social sciences and repeatedly criticized by the feminist movement: the elections of queens and the participation of Afro-descendant women in these contexts. Without falling into a social anthropology that condemns –which only reveals the reproduction of canonical models of beauty, the sexualization of the female body and the existence of discriminatory practices during the elections of queens– we resolve to account for the reasons why those women participate in these events and the agency they develop there., Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación

Debate concerning the role of traditional media in the sexualization of young people tends to view young people as a special group of consumers who require protection from some media content and its potential risks. However, with the advent of new media technologies, young people are no longer passive consumers of sexualized representations, but also generators of sexually explicit material that is created and shared among their peers. This challenge has raised concern among those adults who remain ambivalent, or perhaps in denial, about the possibility that young people are sexually curious. Accordingly, this essay seeks to challenge the view that young people are simply passive recipients of sexual messages in the media by highlighting the role that young people play as producers of media content, in particular through the production of fan fiction. This essay investigates the potential criminalization of young people whose online communications about sex can be classified as criminal acts under Australia’s child abuse material legislation. Interviews were conducted with five members of the judiciary to ascertain how this kind of communication might be viewed in a court of law. This was conducted as part of larger research project that seeks to analyze how Australia’s child abuse material legislation may impact on the sexual self-expression of young people themselves.

Although objectification is a common experience for women (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), little is understood about how women perceive sources of objectifying commentary and behaviors. The current work provides a novel integration of objectification and consistency theories to understand how valence of sexual objectification and women’s feelings about sexual attention interact to predict perceptions of objectifying sources. In two online vignette studies with 121 and 110 U.S. women recruited through MTurk, female participants were asked to recall an experience of complimentary or critical objectification and report perceptions of source warmth, approach behavioral intentions, perceived overlap between the self and the source, and enjoyment of sexualization. Consistent with hypotheses, regression analyses revealed that reporting experiences of complimentary objectification led to more positive source perceptions among women who reported that they enjoy being sexualized relative to reporting experiences of critical objectification. Furthermore, path analyses revealed that self-other overlap emerged as a mechanism of women’s more positive source perceptions, with a significant indirect effect of self-other overlap emerging for the link between enjoyment of sexualization and warmth and approach in the complimentary objectification condition. The effects were replicated across two studies. The discussion centers on how understanding women’s objectifying source perceptions could illuminate when interpersonal objectification will lead to more experiences of objectification or women’s internalization of objectifying self-perceptions.

Introduction: Sexual functioning is an important aspect of maintaining the biopsychosocial balance of a human being. Sexual dysfunctions (SD) are common in societies around the world. Studies on alcoholics have shown that chronic and persistent alcohol consumption induces SD leading to impairment of interpersonal contacts, which may affect mental health. By improving the knowledge of this topic one can work on planning multidimensional treatment programmes. The aim of the study will be to measure the sexual functioning of people addicted to alcohol. Material and methods: The research group consisted of 60 people addicted to alcohol aged 18–65, mainly hospitalized in Pruszkow. The control group is 60 healthy people. The participants filled out a set of questionnaires consisting of: sociodemographic questionnaire, sexological tests: FSFI for women, IIEF for men, KZS, Mell-Krat, KWS for both sexes, and a set of tests for alcohol dependence. Results: The analysis showed a significant effect on the results: on the scale pain during sex for the relationship factor. Persons in a relationship showed lower scores on a scale than those who are not in a relationship; for IIEF variable of question No. 4. Healthy people had higher results in this question; in the group of both sexes for the variables satisfaction with appearance and sexualization measured before the onset of symptoms of the disease in people with alcoholism and in healthy people. People with alcoholism showed significantly higher results than healthy people on the scale of satisfaction with appearance. Conclusions: After the research it can be concluded that the most important factor conditioning the sexual functioning of alcohol addicts is a better perception of sexuality before the onset of the disease.

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., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Breastfeeding, given its biochemical and physiological basis, is known for its many benefits for both the lactating mother and the infant. Among the many challenges new breastfeeding mothers experience is the feeling of aversion in response to their newborn's suckling which has been termed dysphoric milk-ejection reflex (D-MER). Characterized by intense feelings of dysphoria which may eventually interfere with the mother's ability to breastfeed regularly, evidence suggests both the neurobiological and psychological basis of D-MER in an attempt to explain its complexity. Biologically, breastfeeding is expressed by the intracerebral release of oxytocin, an increased expression of oxytocin receptors in specific brain regions, increased mesocorticolimbic reward region activation, the secretion of prolactin and possibly the inhibition of dopamine. Hence, different theories explain D-MER in terms of disrupted neurotransmitter and hormonal activity. Breastfeeding has also proven to influence mood and stress reactivity in nursing mothers with a potential link with postpartum depression. Psychological theories attempt to explain D-MER from a sociopsychosexual lense shedding light on the significance of mother-infant attachment, the sexualization of the female body and the motherhood experience as a developmental stage in a woman's lifespan. The aim of this review is to provide a literature update of D-MER incorporating both neurobiological and psychological theories calling for raising awareness about the complexity of breastfeeding and for the need for mother-centered interventions for the management of D-MER and other postpartum-specific conditions.

Passive consumption of sexually objectifying content on social networking sites (SNS) has been shown to result in lowered body satisfaction and self-esteem, particularly in women. However, deliberate evaluations of sexually objectifying social media content are scarce. Furthermore, associations between self-objectification and active use of SNS in terms of posting behavior have not been shown so far. The present study asked N = 916 participants to rate 28 Instagram screenshots on three dimensions, namely, whether the given photos were perceived as sexually revealing, appropriate, and attractive. The ratings were related to sexist attitudes, enjoyment of sexualization, and posting behavior of the participants. Sexism was negatively associated with the perceived appropriateness of the presented Instagram photos in women. Furthermore, there were substantial correlations between appropriateness and attractiveness evaluations of the presented photos and the self-sexualizing posting behavior and enjoyment of sexualization of female users. Only inconsistent effects could be found in men. Greater appreciation of objectification seems to go along with self-objectifying behavior, which may be due to an altered perception of what can be considered as sexually revealing. Although effects seem to be smaller in men, future research should also focus on male enjoyment of sexualization, which unfortunately was not considered in the present study.

Arguably due to the influence of raunch culture, stripping is now a normalized female behavior that is encouraged and may even be expected in Western culture. The purpose of the current studies was to examine the behavior of casual stripping in the general public and examine potential correlates and predictors of that behavior. We began by examining the traits that have been highlighted in past research that are often associated with professional stripping. Specifically, we examined parental rejection, sociosexuality, and personality traits. Overall, we produce evidence that sociosexuality and paternal neglect do predict engaging in casual stripping behaviors. This study is important because the behavior of ‘casual’ stripping is fairly common, yet virtually unexplored in current research. Additionally, the implications of this hypersexualized, but normalized, behavior can include debates in feminism theory, normalization of various sex behaviors, self-esteem, and the sexualization of young people.

At present, there have been a number of studies examining the sexualization of female characters in various media. However, most studies to date have not clearly delineated whether sexualized images or the presence of assertive versus passive female characters influences negative attitudes toward women in viewers, as well as female viewer anxiety. The present study investigated whether the inclusion of powerful female characters in movies with sexualized content influences both male and female viewers’ attitudes towards women as well as anxiety responses of female reviewers. Participants included 134 undergraduate students attending a private liberal arts university in the southern region of the United States. Participants were randomized to watch one of three movie conditions: first, movies that involve strong female lead characters, but which also include sexualized characters, Second, movies that involve strong female lead characters without sexualization and third, movies that involve sexualized female characters without strong portrayals (i.e. damsels in distress). Participants were measured on attitudes toward women, rape myth acceptance and anxiety. Results indicated little support for the view that sexualized media impacted viewers’ attitudes toward women, rape myth acceptance or anxiety.

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 disav...

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is considered an important public health concern that can derail the developmental course of children. Given that children rely upon their attachment figures when they experience upsetting events, attachment organization may play a critical role in predicting victims' adaptation to CSA. To date, no studies have delineated the unique and interactive contributions of these two risk factors in the prediction of psychopathology. The aims of this study were to examine attachment in CSA victims and a comparison group and to assess the contributions of each risk factor to child psychological difficulties. Participants included 111 children aged 7-13, of whom 43 were CSA victims. Children completed an attachment interview and reported on their depressive symptoms. Their mothers reported on children's externalizing symptoms, internalizing symptoms, dissociation, and sexualized behavior. Our key findings showed that child victims of CSA were more likely to be classified as having insecure and disorganized attachment. Further, insecure attachment was the primary factor associated with higher self-reported depressive symptoms in all children and that CSA was associated with more parent-reported child externalizing problems, sexualizing problems, and dissociation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

We investigated the relationship of self-sexualization to self-objectification, weight concerns, self-efficacy, academic outcomes, and career aspirations among preadolescent girls. Participants were 89 six- to nine-year-old girls; parental reports were also obtained. Two thirds of girls showed signs of self-sexualization by choosing a sexualized doll over a nonsexualized doll as who they preferred to look like and/or who they currently look like. Girls who self-sexualized reported higher self-objectification and weight concerns than girls who did not self-sexualize. Self-sexualization was unrelated to social, emotional, and academic self-efficacy and to girls’ career confidence and interest. However, parents of girls who self-sexualized reported their daughters had lower academic performance and enjoyed school less compared to girls who did not self-sexualize. Additionally, parents of girls who self-sexualized had lower academic expectations for their daughters. It is possible that in preadolescence self-sexualization affects girls’ body cognitions and parental expectations without (yet) affecting self-efficacy or academic goals.

An emerging literature suggests that females are more likely than males to take and post selfies and that such selfies tend to both conform to and legitimize the sexualization of femininity. It has been found that key predictors of selfie behaviors are narcissistic personality traits and that taking a higher number of selfies may, in turn, put young people at risk of engaging in negative social interactions online. No studies to date have investigated the mediating effects of selfies and, moreover, selfies that are taken with the intention of to appear physically attractive (i.e., sexualized selfies), on the relationship between narcissism and cyber behaviors. The following study examined selfie taking among a group of 262 adolescent girls (aged 13–16). Results of a path model found a serial mediation effect, indicating that exploitativeness was associated with increased selfie taking, which increased sexualized selfie taking and in turn increased cyber aggression and victimization. In contrast, contingent self-esteem was associated with taking sexualized selfies (with indirect positive effects on cyber behaviors). Results of this model also show that the effect of taking selfies on cyber behaviors is fully mediated by taking sexualized selfies. These findings are discussed in relation to the characteristics of the online environment and the risks of young women’s sexualized online self-presentations.

Introduction Puberty is a critical biopsychosocial event that has long-term consequences for adolescents' behavior and well-being. Research has shown that developing earlier than one's peers may worsen adolescent girls' body image, in part due to weight redistribution and increases in adiposity resulting from pubertal development. However, research has yet to examine if pubertal timing is associated with girls' body beliefs related to self-objectification, self-sexualization, and positive body image beyond the adolescent years. We address that issue here. Methods Participants were 287 undergraduate White women (Mage = 18.62, SDage = 0.93) from the United States who completed surveys containing a retrospective report of pubertal timing and several scales assessing their current body beliefs. Results Regression analyses demonstrated that earlier pubertal timing was linked to greater body surveillance, greater sex appeal self-worth, and less body appreciation, but not to body shame or enjoyment of sexualization, which were negatively related to age. Conclusions This study provides preliminary evidence that pubertal timing has downstream consequences for a variety of women's body beliefs. However, older women reported less body shame and less enjoyment of sexualization than younger women, suggesting possible age (and not puberty-) related developmental trends in these two body beliefs. These findings highlight a need for future work with larger, more diverse samples and longitudinal data.

Eighteenth-century masculinity, despite some important interventions in recent decades, remains an underdeveloped area in literary studies of the period. This essay seeks to redress the balance by reconsidering a now canonical text, the popular sentimental novel The Man of Feeling (1771), in light of the insights that theories of queerness and affect, particularly shame, have to offer to historical studies of masculinity. My argument takes as its starting point the contention that all normative social structures must incorporate, rather than entirely expel, the non-normative in order to function. Engaging with theorists including Lee Edelman and Heather Love, I argue that Harley, the hero of Henry Mackenzie’s novel, should be understood as an embodiment of weak sexualization, a figure who refuses the positive progress of capital accumulation for wilful oblivion. In doing so, the essay provides new ways of thinking through eighteenth-century ideas of masculinity that demonstrate that the queer, the backward, and the weak are integrated within normative con temporary discourses of the masculine, rather than excluded from them.

Traditional views on how sex is coded in Spanish nouns are revolutionized in this article. To the initial discovery that sex coding yields not only singlets and doublets but also triplets, it is added that Spanish employs three sex coding modes whose productivity correlates with structural cost. The suppletive and the derivational modes require investing in sex-specific morphemes, which makes them costly, whereas the inflectional mode achieves maximal economy by exploiting the exponent of another grammatical category: declension. The transfer of productive sex coding to the grammar is another major innovation. Lexical Specification is appropriate to formalize the suppletive and the derivational modes, but it is defeated by the intricacies of the inflectional mode, for which a semantic process of Sexualization is introduced. It is further uncovered that syncretism is pervasive and obscures the effects of Sexualization partially or fully. Because sex originates at a deeper level than gender and declension, both of the latter categories can conceal it; hence the common misperception that inflectional sex triplets are doublets or even singlets. The analysis also reveals that plurality facilitates genericity and that inflectional markers are generated from features which, for most words, can be grammatically supplied since they are predictable.

The traditional association of whiteness with fairies warrants a closer examination, as this mythological yearning for a specific childlike realm reveals an idealization of a white past. Indeed, the likening of women to a pure, infantile domain reveals an elevation of whiteness, which, by default, degrades people of color as lesser. While there has been considerable scholarship on the racialization of Charlotte Brontë’s Haitian character Bertha Mason, the construction of whiteness in conjunction with Jane Eyre’s character has remained largely unexplored. I explore these themes of the construction of whiteness through fairies and the romanticization of a white past through a close analysis of humanity in Jane Eyre. I first investigate Victorian and Edwardian fairy visuals, moving on to demonstrate how Jane’s individuality and feminism gains autonomy with her religious spiritualism. I also show, however, how the faerie language in the novel serves to override and disregard Jane’s position as a human being with agency due to Mr. Rochester’s aesthetic of white femininity. Through close readings of the supernatural in Jane Eyre, I scrutinize how the use of fairy language creates a power imbalance where the dehumanization of women and minorities creates a male fantasy directly opposed to the theme of the individual. I discuss how the sexualization and racialization of women as supernatural beings bolsters the self-serving, problematic construct of the ‘human’ which continuously labels women and minorities as less than. Therefore, to restructure this racism and misogynistic thought, I propose a decentering of humanity from a white male perspective, seeing women and minorities not as a monolithic “Other,” almost supernatural beings, but as equally human and worth of respect and dignity.

Author(s): Crull, Chloe Victoria Ruby | Abstract: In Medieval manuscript images from 1200 to 1400, mermaids appear as supernatural female archetypes performing a variety of acts like standing idle, playing musical instruments, embodying sirens to lure sailors, and using weaponry.n These early images show mermaids with short or partially concealed hair and sagging breasts.n Medieval manuscript images begin depicting mermen in the 1400s, with the mermen performing acts like wielding weaponry, playing musical instruments, and raising phallic objects over their heads.n These mermen appear primarily clothed in cloth garments or metal armor with head coverings and weaponry.n As images of mermen appear, mermaids embrace a more decorative role with depictions of them primarily combing their hair and looking into mirrors while neglecting most of their previous actions.n Medieval mermen act as heroic entities of the Medieval merfolk species, consequently forcing Medieval mermaids to forfeit their agency and serve as sexual entities of the Medieval merfolk species.

This chapter on children and beauty culture begins by discussing aspects of appearance as they appear in pre-adolescent girlhood. Activities like child beauty pageants and various forms of dance are discussed, though the long-term impacts of early sexualization and media exposure are not well understood, which reveals the need for future research in this area.

Background: There is a dearth of research which explores sexual abuse from perspectives of Caribbean women, despite its high prevalence in the region. While sexual violence is universal, tackling it requires a deep understanding of the contextual specificities in which it arises and of the intersections of gender with other sources of oppression and marginalisation. It also calls for the recognition that intimate partner violence against women is not separate from, but linked to violence against girls, not only because both are forms of gender-based violence but because together they speak to its historical, persistent and accumulative effects.Methods: In-depth intensive interviews were carried out with 35 women from Barbados and Grenada, aged 18–60 years who had experienced intimate partner violence under one of the following circumstances: during pregnancy (n = 15), as a woman a with disability (n = 8), as a woman living with HIV (n = 12). Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed and thematically analyzed.Results: The participants experienced multiple forms of violence within their relationships, often concurrently. Twenty-one of the women had been subject to sexual violence and of these, 19 had experienced sexual abuse as children; these experiences were viewed as interconnected and bolstered by the high level of violence-acceptance reported within communities. Women were subject to different forms of control by their partners depending upon prevailing discourses related to their circumstances (as pregnant, disabled, or HIV positive); being ‘vulnerable’ was synonymous with having one’s agency as an independent, autonomous person constrained and little external help was available.Conclusion: The study identified a clear chain of sexual behaviors, each of which fuel different layers of the problem: the prevalence of early sexualization of children is associated with the prevalence of child sexual abuse; child sexual abuse is pervasive in large part, because of the normalisation and social acceptance of violence against women and girls; “cultural” normalcy, in turn, fuels attitudes which contribute to sexual violence against women and women in especially vulnerable circumstances face additional risks. Integrated policy, which tackles these as interconnected issues is called for.

Sexual objectification of others has seen a growing research interest in recent years. While promising, the field lacks standardized stimuli, resulting in a confusion between sexualization and sexual objectification, which limits the interpretability of published results. In this study, we propose to use point-light display (PLD) as a novel methodology for manipulating sexualization levels as a first step toward isolating movement from other visual cues (e.g., clothing or physical appearance) for studying effects of sexual objectification of others. To do so, we first developed 8 virtual reality animations varying on 3 dimensions: 1) nature of movement (dance vs. walk), 2) level of sexualization (low vs. high), and 3) animation speed (slow and fast). Then, we validated these stimuli with perception ratings from 211 participants via an online survey. Using mixed linear regression models, we found evidence that our manipulation was successful: while participants took longer, were less accurate, and less confident in their response when confronted with a dancing, sexualized PLD, they also rated it as significantly more sexualized. This latter effect was stronger for participants perceiving a woman dancing compared to participants who perceived other genders. Overall, participants who reported more frequent sexual objectification behaviors also perceived the animations as more sexualized. Taken together, these results suggest that sexual suggestiveness can be manipulated by rather simple movement cues, thus validating the use of PLD as a stepping stone to systematically study processes of sexual objectification. From there, it is now possible to manipulate other variables more precisely during immersions in virtual reality, whether by adding a skin to the animated skeleton, by situating the PLD into different context, by varying the amplitude and the nature of the movements, or by modifying the context of the virtual environment.

This variable aims at identifying how bodies and movements of (mostly female) characters are portrayed in video games. This is often done by coding specific bodily attributes of characters or to what degree certain body parts are covered or (not covered) by clothing. Fielf of application/theoretical foundation: The variable sexualization is an indicator commonly used in studies investigating the depiction of gender roles in video games and especially in studies aiming to identify stereotypical or sexist portrayals of women in games. Other variables that are often considered in such analyses are character attributes like being physically capable in terms of strength and agility (which is often how male characters are portrayed; Lynch et al., 2016) or whether characters are perpetrators or victims in violent interactions. References/combination with other methods of data collection: Content analytic codings of stereotypical or sexist gender representations can be complemented by surveys among players to ask about their perception of the games they play. In addition, researchers may consider using computer vision methods for, e.g., detecting the amount of skin shown by characters (if they use screenshots or printed ads as coding materials). Example studies Coding Material Measure Operationalization Unit(s) of analysis Source(s) (reported reliability of coding) 20-minute segment of game play Sexualization by clothing skin-revealing clothing, nudity (none, partial, full, not applicable, cannot tell), appropriateness of attire (appropriate, inappropriate, not applicable, cannot tell) Primary and secondary characters Downs & Smith, 2010 (Scott’s Pi = .87; 90; 90) 5-minute segments of recorded gameplay after “the player had taken control of the character’s onscreen action” (Lynch et al., 2016, p. 571) Sexualization by clothing Bare skin between armpits and bottom of the breasts (both dummy coded: bare skin vs. no bare skin) Target female character Lynch et al., 2016 (α = .70) 20-minute segment of game play Sexualization by size of body parts and proportions body proportion (realistic, unrealistic, not applicable, cannot tell), breast size (flat, average, voluptuous, cannot tell), waist size (disproportionately small, average, disproportionately large, cannot tell) Primary and secondary characters Downs & Smith, 2010 (Scott’s Pi = .82; .98; .88) 5-minute segments of recorded gameplay after “the player had taken control of the character’s onscreen action” (Lynch et al., 2016, p. 571) Sexualization by size of body parts and proportions Breast proportion to body size (dummy coded: proportionate vs. disproportionate) Target female character Lynch et al., 2016 (α = .81) 20-minute segment of game play Sexualization by specific behavior(s) sex talk (dummy coded: present vs. absent); sexual behavior (dummy coded: present vs. absent) Interactions between characters Downs & Smith, 2010 (Scott’s Pi = .99; 1.00) 5-minute segments of recorded gameplay after “the player had taken control of the character’s onscreen action” (Lynch et al., 2016, p. 571) Sexualization by specific behavior(s) presence of sexualized movement (dummy coded, “unnecessary undulation or jiggling that drew attention to their body in a sexual manner”, Lynch et al., 2016, p. 572) Target female character Lynch et al., 2016 (α = .75) 5-minute segments of recorded gameplay after “the player had taken control of the character’s onscreen action” (Lynch et al., 2016, p. 571) Physical capability dummy coded: engagement in feats of physical strength or agility vs. no engagement in feats of physical strength or agility Target female character Lynch et al., 2016 (α = .84) References Downs, E., & Smith, S. L. (2010). Keeping abreast of hypersexuality: A video game character content analysis. Sex Roles, 62, 721–733. doi:10.1007/s11199-009-9637-1. Lynch, T., Tompkins, J. E., van Driel, I. I., & Fritz, N. (2016). Sexy, strong, and secondary: A content analysis of female characters in video games across 31 years. Journal of Communication, 66(4), 564–584. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12237

Background Researchers have studied the online sexual grooming of minors extensively since the early 2000s. However, the grooming process is neither new nor restricted to digital media. While grooming and child sexual abuse existed long before the Internet, the advent of the Internet has resulted in more ways in which offenders can interact with candidate victims including offline-only, online-only, and a mix of offline and online. Objective In this study, we conducted a scoping review of grooming strategies both pre- and post-Internet. Our goal was to enumerate strategies analyzed in both time periods, provide similarities and differences, and discuss how changing datasets and technology have impacted the grooming process in both online and offline environments. Methods We performed a scoping review of peer-reviewed journal articles from 1970 to 2020 within PubMed, Medline, PsychInfo, and ERIC. This resulted in 19,679 unique articles. Titles and abstracts were screened resulting in 266 articles which were then read in full, resulting in 93 papers which qualified based on inclusion criteria. Results Grooming strategies identified pre-Internet included: enticements, coercion, isolation, substance abuse, gradual sexualization, and secrecy. In comparison, the strategies identified post-Internet were: enticements, risk assessment, trust, sexualization, fantasy, secrecy, isolation, meeting, media progression, deception, coercion, substance use as a tool, authority, and repetition. Conclusions While grooming strategies overlapped pre and post-Internet, the timing and scope of concepts differed. Additionally, grooming offline began to incorporate technology post-Internet which functioned to increase accessibility and isolation of the victim in a similar manner to online grooming.

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.

In this chapter, several plays from post-revolutionary Cuban theatre are examined, focusing on the strategies of representation of black women characters. Through the analysis of four plays—two from the 1960s and two from the twenty-first century—Lugo Herrera compares the strategies of representation in each period and demonstrates the persistence of racism in contemporary Cuban society. One finding is the need to create new forms of affiliation, opportunity, and recognition for black women. Plays by Maite Vera, Jose Milian, Eugenio Hernandez Espinosa, Rogelio Orizondo, Georgina Herrera, and Fatima Patterson offer us new ways to consider the sexualization of black female bodies, and the ways in which racism affects family, economic survival, and the professionalization of black women in the Cuban Revolution.

The potential negative impact of sexualized video games on attitudes toward women is an important issue. Studies that have examined this issue are rare and contain a number of limitations. Therefore, it largely remains unclear whether sexualized video games can have an impact on attitudes toward women. This study examined the consequences of sexualized video game content and cognitive load (moderator) on rape victim blame and rape perpetrator blame (used as a proxy of rape myth acceptance), and whether the degree of humanness of the victim and of the perpetrator mediated these effects. Participants (N = 142) played a video game using sexualized or non-sexualized female characters. Cognitive load was manipulated by setting the difficulty level of the game to low or high. After gameplay, participants read a rape date story, and were then asked to judge the victim’s and the perpetrator’s degree of responsibility and humanness. Based on the General Aggression Model (GAM), it was hypothesized that playing the video game with a sexualized content would increase the responsibility assigned to the victim and diminish the responsibility assigned to the perpetrator. Further, degree of humanness of the victim and the perpetrator was expected to mediate this relation. The results were partially consistent with these predictions: Playing a video game containing sexualized female characters increased rape victim blame when cognitive load was high, but did not predict degree of humanness accorded to the victim. Concerning the perpetrator, video game sexualization did not influence responsibility, but partly influenced humanness. This study concludes that video games impact on attitudes toward women and this, in part, due to its interactive nature.

Harassment is endemic in Australian workplaces, alongside limited community understanding of either its gravity or its pervasiveness. Sexual and sex-based harassment are frequently (mis)understood as simply inappropriate behaviour rather than as part of a wider structural discrimination against women, thereby undermining its seriousness. In this submission to Australian Senate Education and Employment Committees, we focus on the proposed amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act. We argue that they are not enough to recognise and address harassment as a form of systemic discrimination against women, nor to realise the broader promise of women’s rights and substantive equality as set out in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women [CEDAW]. We argue that the scope of SDA should not be limited by “practicability” considerations or restricted to only certain areas or public life. We also recommend that proposed amendments under the Bill should explicitly recognise that the creation of a ‘sexually hostile’ environment at work or in other areas of public life, through sexually explicit material and pornography for example, is a form of harassment, and part of wider structural discrimination against women. Systemic and structural social harms, such as harassment and other forms of discrimination against women, require systemic and structural changes. They should not be addressed via piecemeal legislative amendments limited to certain areas of public life, such as workplaces. Our submission emphasises the importance of a holistic approach in addressing harassment as a systemic problem, as part of wider structural discrimination against women.

The self-sexualization of women is an important issue as sexualization is believed to support the low status of women and contribute to body related anxieties and concerns as well as results in negative perceptions by others. Our research purpose was to systematically review the available research in this area. Thirty-one journal articles published from 2007 to 2020 were reviewed. In our review, we focused on what theories were used in self-sexualization research? what measures of self-sexualization were employed? and what are the major findings? Important precursors to self-sexualization include exposure to media and social media, self-objectification, internalization of sexualization, and desiring attention from others. Empowerment has been studied as an outcome of self-sexualization along with negative inferences concerning both young women and girls that self-sexualize. Future research opportunities exist in theory development and scale development in order to strengthen and build research in self-sexualization.

Instagram is a visually centered social media that involves the presence of sexualized imagery posted by users. Such Instagram sexualization may have a negative impact on women's body image. The present study examined whether exposure to Instagram sexualization, namely posts of sexualized women along with appearance-related comments, affected women's body satisfaction and cosmetic surgery intentions. In doing so, it also considered the moderating role of Instagram Addiction Proclivity (IAP). Young Italian female participants (N = 247) were randomly exposed to one of four video conditions resulting from the combination of either sexualized or non-sexualized women's pictures on Instagram, paired with appearance or neutral comments. In the sexualized picture condition participants’ body dissatisfaction increased compared to pre-exposure levels and to the non-sexualized picture condition. The type of comments did not affect participants’ body satisfaction. Moreover, IAP predicted cosmetic surgery intentions and moderated their reactions to Instagram content. Indeed, the higher the IAP, the higher the cosmetic surgery intentions of participants viewing sexualized pictures with neutral comments and non-sexualized pictures with body appearance comments. These findings suggest that female Instagram users should be aware of the negative impacts of viewing sexualized imagery as well as the role that IAP may play. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

This chapter argues that current (homo)nationalism must be placed in a historical genealogy. The case study focuses on the Second German Empire, wherein the discourse of political crisis was represented by a “male gender crisis,” which revolved round the Kaiser and his alleged “homosexual” circle. Just as with debates within the incipient gay movement, the discourse focused on the dispositive of “normal masculinity” as representative of the nation/state. This chapter addresses a religious contour of, and possible Jewish inflection in, this discursive constitution of homosexualities. The sexualization of Jewish religion played a significant role in marking an internal differentiation between an “effeminate,” “degenerate” Jewish inversion and an “ultra-virile,” Aryan, and state-supportive homosexuality of the “masculinists” around Hans Bluher. They were the right-wing, antisemitic part of the early gay rights movement in Germany. Their key model of an ideal state became the homoerotic “male band” as a misogynist and antisemitic form of male society.

The body positive movement on social media seeks to challenge narrow conceptualizations of beauty that media outlets traditionally perpetuate and reinforce. Through a 2 × 2 between-subjects online experiment, we examined how the nature and authenticity of body-positive imagery on social media affects female viewers and their evaluations of body-positive content (N = 425, Mage = 35.47, SDage = 13.52). Specifically, participants viewed and reacted to a series of 10 body-positive images of women on social media varying in their degree of sexualization (sexualized vs. non-sexualized) and evidence of digital photo modifications (modification icons vs. no modification icons). A control group that featured landscape images was also included. Results indicate body-positive images that are considered sexualized and are believed to be digitally modified can undercut the movement's intended aims: Participants who viewed body-positive images that were sexualized (vs. non-sexualized) and included photo modification icons (vs. no modification icons) reported greater endorsement of traditional beauty ideals (e.g., thinness) and thought the images were shared for self-serving reasons (e.g., to gain likes/shares/endorsements); these relationships were mediated by the extent to which viewers believed these images were sexualized and digitally modified. Further, results indicate that sexualized body-positive images can instigate sexual objectification of others and oneself. Those who viewed control images (vs. experimental body-positive images) produced significantly fewer sexually objectifying words about others and themselves. Implications for both viewers and producers (e.g., individuals, corporations) of body-positive imagery on social media are discussed in light of objectification theory.

This article charts the gradual sexualization of marriage in twentieth-century Greece, exploring both expert and lay ideas. First, through official writings and marital correspondence, it sketches the subtle transformation of the nineteenth-century ideal of conjugal love into a more sexualized emotion by the turn of the century. Then, it analyzes the writings of “sex experts” and the correspondence with their clients, showcasing how sexual pleasure became a priority within marriage after World War II. Lastly, the records of a postwar mental health service show that by the late 1970s, the consensus on the importance of mutual sexual satisfaction was being established.

Theory and research indicates that sexual fantasies about children are associated with child sexual abuse and the proclivity to engage in child sexual abuse. The present study aimed to add to the literature by examining whether sexual fantasies depicting an adult partner dressed in school uniform are related to a self-reported sexual interest/proclivity towards child sexual abuse. We also investigated whether Adult-as-Schoolgirl sexual fantasies are related to other factors underlying the reason for finding children sexually appealing (e.g. lower self-esteem, the need for sexual dominance, and innocence-related fantasies). The measures assessing each variable were completed in randomized order by 87 community males recruited online (after data cleaning). The results showed significant correlations between Adult-as-Schoolgirl sexual fantasies and the interest in/proclivity to sexually offend against children, as well as sexual fantasies about innocence in general. A direct multiple regression revealed that these two variables statistically predicted Adult-as-Schoolgirl sexual fantasy scores. The present study provides the first indication that Adult-as-Schoolgirl fantasies are linked to the self-reported interest and proclivity in sexually abusing children. Given the correlational nature of these findings, the causal direction cannot be determined. Moreover, the results do not indicate that people with Adult-as-Schoolgirl fantasies will act up these fantasies with a real child. Nevertheless, the findings suggest the need to address the sexualization of schoolgirl uniforms in popular media. Future research should aim to uncover the impact that Adult-as-Schoolgirl sexual fantasies have on actual behavior.

Black females in the United States disproportionately suffer from STDs, including HIV. Understanding the sociocultural conditions that affect their risk is essential to developing effective and culturally relevant prevention programs. Methods: In 2016-2017 in Madison, Wisconsin, 20 black females aged 19-62 completed interviews that explored the sociocultural conditions associated with sexual development and STD/HIV risk. Interviews were guided by grounded theory; open, axial and selective coding and constant comparative analysis were used to identify developmental phases and relevant sociocultural conditions. Results: Three phases of becoming a sexual black woman were identified: Girl, when participants reported beginning to understand their sexuality; Grown, marking a transition to adulthood, when participants began to feel more self-sufficient yet still grappled with their emerging sexuality; and Woman, when participants developed a strong sense of self and took ownership of their bodies. Two sociocultural conditions affected progression through these phases: stereotype messaging and protection (both self-protection and protecting others). Negative life events (e.g., sexual trauma) and early sexualization reportedly affected sexual development, and STD experience influenced self-perceptions of sexuality and sexual behavior, often leading to self-protective behaviors. Older participants reported strategies to protect young black females from negative sexual experiences. Conclusion: Interventions at multiple levels of the social ecology throughout the life course may help reduce STD/HIV risk among black women in the United States. Future research should include examination of the experiences of black females younger than 18 and evaluation of the protective strategies employed by older black females.

Labour is a central topos of Soviet imaginary, yet it is also an empty signifier, which is constantly replaced with the more seductive and eye-pleasing forms of human activities, such as singing, dancing, which ultimately function as a substitute of sexual act. This operation of replacement creates a hybrid construct of “labour libido,” which, to use Freud’s expression, makes work “bearable” or even, as his Ukrainian translator put it, “turns it into a pleasure”. This research explores sexualization of work in Soviet imaginary and discerns two levels of its operation: the narrative and the symbolic. The narrative level presupposes sexual reward for a hard labour; on the symbolic level, the work itself becomes a substitute for sexual act. The visual regimes of representation of work and their operation on both of these levels are comparatively explored in Stalinist and post-Stalinist collective-farm musicals (Tractor-drivers, The Top Guy) and the film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, which combines aesthetic intentions of the avant-garde of 1920s and neorealism of 1960s. Close, shot-by-shot analysis of the novella Working days (Budni) from the film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors reveals the cultural operation of disidentification with the official Soviet work propaganda, which was based on the implicit identification of sexual and labour libido. Thus, the film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is included in the genealogy of Soviet regimes of representation of work, which widens usual interpretative context of the film, considered mainly in terms of national identity.