Women's Body Parts example essay topic

The objectification of women is commonly used to refer to the presentation of women in the media as an object. Women's bodies are routinely used as objects to sell various products. In certain pictures women are presented as being vulnerable and easily overpowered especially in ads were they have on revealing clothing and take on submissive roles. These images are found in music videos as well, where the focus is only a particular body part. Lyrics to some songs promote this objectification as well. "In many magazine advertisements women are often viewed as objects rather than human beings.

Instead of focusing on the woman as a whole, many ads will just focus on one part of her body" (Objectification of Women). Often the focus is on a leg, a neck, a headless torso, etc. One Guess Eyewear ad has a man's head resting on a woman's torso. While her breasts are visible, her head is not. Sky Vodka continually uses women's legs in their advertisements.

One ad for Lily of France which spans the bottom of two pages not only focuses on a headless torso, but compares the breasts to speakers. Women's bodies are used as desirable objects to attract attention to the product. This is occurring in increasingly ridiculous ways. An ad for Visa found in several teen magazines shows only a woman's stomach. A naked woman with her face tucked away holds a Palm Pilot. The text reads, "Simply Palm".

About-Face (an organization which combats negative and distorted images of women) features commentary on that particular ad. "Simply gratuitous use of naked female body to sell high-end electronic gizmo to gullible (mostly male) public. Esquire magazine featured on its Febuary 2001 cover, a naked Italian actress covered in cavie r. The featured photo spread included one of her covered in honey as well. In one extremely disturbing photograph from Esquire, several (what appear to be) Barbie dolls with broken limbs litter the landscape.

Closer inspection, however, reveals them to be women. A male figure in the background is throwing one over his shoulder while he holds another in his hand. The central female has her head severed with her body lying behind it. The title of the article the picture a companies is "46 Women Who Were Not My Wife" which focuses on the author's various affairs. This is the image of intimate sexual relationships?

The picture vividly illustrates that those involved are merely objects for the man's sexual pleasure. Music lyrics and videos continually objectify women. Dr. Dre and friends spray champagne on women in Next Episode. In Maxwell's video Let's Not Play the Game, Maxwell pauses on women's body parts. In DMX's No Love For Me, footage is shot looking up women's skirts. Sugar Ray's Fly video features several shots of various parts of female dancers' bodies.

"In a raft of Rock and Hip Hop videos, women get turned into pieces of booty served up for the pleasure of powerful men... ". (Mtv News Now) Eminem's Kim includes the lyrics, "Sit down bitch If you move again I'll beat the shit out of you... Now shut the fuck up and get what's comin to you. You were supposed to love me {choking} NOW BLEED!

BITCH BLEED! BLEED! BITCH BLEED! BLEED!"Fuckin your bitch in the ass with a tire iron... " is a line from Under the Influence.

Who Knew says, "Fuck that, take drugs, rape sluts... ". Amityville includes the lyrics, "My little sister's birthday, she " ll remember me. For a gift I had ten of my boys take her virginity...

". Korn's Kill You says, "All I want to do, is kill you... I'd beat and stab and fuck her. ". Jordan's Night's Give it to You contains the lines, It's creepin' around in your head Me holding you down in my bed You don't have to say a word I'm convinced you want this Baby you know that I'll give it to you Your body needs a man like me Anything goes when I give it to you Magazine articles serve to reduce women to merely parts. Often they include a variety of articles on how to tone the abs, slim the upper arms, tighten thighs, etc.

Interviews with female celebrities often question which body part she'd most like to change, which one she likes best, which one she hates, etc. "They tell their terrible secret. It's my breasts, they say. My hips.

It's my thighs. I hate my stomach... ". (Wolf 149-150).

Women learn to see themselves as disconnected parts and not as a whole human being. For women, appraisal and self-worth are determined by appearance. When a person's features are severed, that allows the observer's attitude to shift towards objectification. This is particularly true when facial features are hidden or non-existent.

Facial features reveal a A cperson's emotions and therefore identity. So by severing them, this facilitates the viewer's ability to see that person as merely an object: treating and thinking about the subject as though it were an object with no needs, feelings, or identity. (Dietrich) One consistent theme in magazine advertisements is one of the woman who needs not speak. The idea is that her beauty or scent are enough of an attraction; she doesn't need to and shouldn't speak" (Zarchikov).

She is not a person with thoughts and opinions, but rather a pretty decoration. "Make a statement without saying a word", says an perfume ad. "The silence of a look can reveal more than words", says another perfume ad. "More than words can say", says yet another perfume ad, and one clothing ad says, "Classic is speaking your mind (without saying a word)".

An ad for lipstick says, "Watch your mouth, young lady", while one for nail polish says, "Let your fingers do the talking" A 1999 University of Michigan study found that, girls are told to be quiet much more often than boys starting as early as preschool. Although boys were much noisier than girls, the girls were told to speak softly or to use a "nicer" voice about three times more often. The researchers concluded that one of the consequences of this socialization is that girls grow into women afraid to speak up for themselves or to use their voices to protect themselves from a variety of dangers. Girls, seeing these images of women are encouraged to be quiet and not talk too much.

(Kilbourne, 138-140) According to the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 75, No. 1,269-284): "Objectification theory posits that American culture socializes women to adopt observers' perspectives on their physical selves... ". The first psychological consequence of this objectification in the media is self-objectification. A woman views her own body as an object (or each piece as a separate object). That article stated that self-objectification induced through experiments caused women (not men, however) to feel shame about their bodies, and therefore restrain eating. (Sexual Objectification of Women).

Amy Beck, coordinator at Harvard's Adams House who worked in an eating disorder unit at a psychiatric hospital firmly believes that the media plays a role in eating disorders and sexual abuse. "I am absolutely convinced that the objectification of women by the media is an integral part of both of these problems, presenting women with unrealistic role models while encouraging men to think of women solely in terms of their sexuality" (Beck). The average supermodel weights twenty-three percent less than the average American female. Yet these images of models bodies are constants in fashion magazines and videos. The personality of the model is typically not portrayed. Only her breasts, legs, arms, etc. are visible.

Therefore, women are encouraged to look at their own body parts completely out of context of them being just one aspect of the whole person. Women focus on thinning down their thighs, enlarging their breasts, firming their stomachs, etc. The encouragement is to see the body as a series of parts which each have a value. The entire person, however, has little or no value. The objectification of women acts as a barrier to the equality of women. As long as women are seen as sex objects existing solely to please men, their status will be determined by men.

How can someone be on equal terms with an object? If the woman isn't viewed as a person, she's merely a collection of objects to be used and therefore will never be equal to men. Violence against women is another consequence of seeing women as objects. The New York Governor's Task Force on Sexual Harassment found o The increase in the popular culture's tolerance for matters relating to sex and violence presents unique obstacles. In recent years, the influence of popular culture (e.g. music videos, "rap" and "hip hop" music) has increased, influencing public attitudes to a much greater extent than ever before. The objectification of women in rap lyrics and music videos and the sexual violence against women depicted in these and other media promote sexual harassment as normal, and even good.

Most men aren't genetically predisposed to abuse and disrespect women. Their attitudes are conditioned by society. Violent lyrics and videos encourage abuse because women aren't viewed as individuals, but rather as body parts. "Turning a human being into a thing, an object, is almost always the first step toward justifying violence against that person... The violence, the abuse is partly the chilling but logical result of the objectification". (Kilbourne 274) Women are portrayed as objects that exist solely for the pleasure of men and are therefore treated as such by some men.

(Beck). According to Mtv News Now: "When Sex Goes Pop: Not That Innocent", "What happens when a woman's sexual allure exists merely for males? She's no longer viewed as a person, but as a man's play thing. Out in the real world, that can have serious consequences... The incessant barrage of booty offered up with joyous aplomb can turn sexual appreciation into fetishistic gimmee gimmee" (Mtv News Now). These images are designed to arouse men, but research shows that they also arouse feelings of acceptance of violence against women.

Men also have less pity or mercy for victims of rape because of such images. (Objectification of Women). Some encourage men not to believe women who have been raped. The Fetish perfume ad with the woman who appears to have black eyes and the text", "Apply generously to your neck so he can smell the scent as you shake your head 'no'", promotes that idea. The concept is that women mean yes even when they say "no". And since clothes and perfume are said to "Make a statement without saying a word", and reveal "More than words can say", one is lead to assume that even if a woman says "no", if her perfume or clothing says otherwise, her words are not to be believed.

If a woman wears such perfume or clothing, she was asking for it. Her words may contradict that, but men are lead to believe her scent and dress speak louder than her voice. o In our society, a woman's body is objectified daily on television, music videos, advertisements. What do we do with objects? We buy, sell, and trade them - prostitution. We tame them through rape and domestic abuse.

Finally, we destroy them (Bonzo).