Skin or Sin?

Skin or Sin?
The Sexualization of Women’s Bodies
by Kathryn Bell

All over the world women’s bodies are seen and treated as sexual objects. While many people may feel that they do not subscribe to this view, there is still a cross-cultural obsession with ideas of modesty and decency surrounding the female body. This fear of over-exposure comes because we associate women’s bodies with a sexuality that labels them inappropriate, rather than regarding them as natural and normal. Women’s bodies are sexualized by others – for example, men or various forms of media and popular culture – and also by women themselves. All of these forms of sexualisation act as a barrier to equality, and work to perpetuate sexism.

In western society, the sexualisation of women is often fairly obvious, and is recognized in certain forms by most people. Women are commonly reduced to their appearance in popular culture and media, from misogynistic song lyrics to television ads showing women how to be “sexier” by changing the way they look. What sometimes goes unnoticed, however, are the ways in which we have naturalized this sexualisation in other situations. It is common to see a man without a shirt, and it is not automatically assumed to be in a sexual context. At the same time that we accept this “natural” behaviour, we make judgements about women who dress in a revealing way, exposing “too much” of their bodies. As soon as a woman shows her skin, it is seen as a sexual act. These assumptions about the sexual nature of women’s bodies, along with our societal norms of valuing modesty and chastity, often lead to judgements that are harmful to women individually, and also on a wider scale by promoting sexism.

This sexualisation of women’s bodies is not limited to western culture, but rather can be seen around the world, in different cultural groups. One example that has become a controversial topic in western countries recently is the requirement or choice of Muslim women to wear a veil. The most common type of covering that a Muslim woman might wear is called the hijab, which covers a woman’s hair and neck1. Some Muslim women cover themselves with the veil in front of all men who are not direct relatives or their husband, to prevent indecent acts or thoughts2. This suggests a sexualisation of women’s bodies by all other men, so much so that women have to cover themselves to avoid being seen as an object of sexual desire. This explanation also places all responsibility on the wearer of the garment, and not on the person who will be viewing and interpreting the situation. If the body is not seen as a sexual object, but as a natural and very normal thing, it could be seen without shame or a sense of indecency. The hijab is also only worn by women, which brings up issues about the equality of this tradition. As one Muslim woman who chooses not to wear the veil explains: “Both men and women are required to dedicate themselves to God, but it is only women who are expected to demonstrate this dedication outwardly in the form of hijab”3. As in western culture, the male body is seen as something natural, and very few cultural guidelines are given for how men should present their bodies in an “appropriate” way. The female body, however, is a constant source of controversy and there is no end to the often contradictory cultural expectations and restrictions for the way a woman should dress and present her body.

While many westerners are critical of the veil because they see it as a restriction of women’s rights, we must realize that the same sort of restriction is at play when a western woman is criticised for wearing what our culture might consider “revealing” clothing. In western culture there exist similar ideas about modesty, although to a different degree, and many cultures maintain the idea that a woman should limit how much of her body she reveals. Women who fail to dress to western cultural norms often face insults and harassment that are reminiscent of the kind of judgement women in Muslim countries may face if they choose not to wear a veil. The sexualisation of women’s bodies is a widespread issue that has many similarities across cultures.

In addition to the many instances in which women are sexualized by outside forces, it is also common for women to internalize these ideas and to begin to see themselves as sexualized objects. Many children are taught from a young age that attractiveness is important for success and love, and the media emphasises that this is especially true for women. There have been several studies which demonstrate the negative psychological effects of women’s self-sexualized images. One such study, (Fredrickson et al., 1998) involved a group of college students who were asked to try on and evaluate either a swimsuit or a sweater. While wearing the item of clothing, they were asked to complete a math test. The results revealed that women wearing swimsuits performed significantly worse than those wearing sweaters. The experiment was also conducted with young men, in which case the garment seemed to make no difference4. These results suggest that the sexualised images that women hold of themselves and their bodies have a negative effect on their cognitive abilities. Something as natural as wearing little clothing caused anxiety for these women, perhaps not consciously, but enough that their ability to complete a simple task was impaired. The sexualisation of women’s bodies leads to discrimination and inequality which can have negative consequences for women who internalize these messages.

The sexualisation of women has also been linked to three of the most common mental health problems for girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression5. The harmful effects of sexualisation are clear. If a woman feels that her only value comes from the sexual pleasure she gives to others, then it is unlikely that she will have a strong sense of self-respect. Research also shows that the sexualisation of girls decreases their ability to develop healthy sexuality (Impett et al. 2006). Self-objectification among young women has been directly linked to diminished sexual health, including decreased condom use and diminished sexual assertiveness6.

Finally, the sexualisation of women is harmful in the way that it perpetuates stereotypes of women as objects, and allows sexism to continue. Sexualisation often leads to judgement based on competing societal norms. Women are expected to be attractive but not too sexy and modest but not uptight. The judgement that women face when they fail to live up to these norms can in turn lead to harassment. When men feel that women are objects to be used, harassment about the way a woman looks or other aspects of her sexuality often occur. One specific kind of harassment that has devastating consequences for women, and one that perpetuates sexism, is sexual harassment in the workplace. A report in the Journal of Population Research and Policy Review determined that “Harassment has significant negative consequences for the economic, emotional and physical condition of women, delimiting further an economic position for women which has already been affected severely by occupational segregation and employment discrimination” 7. If women’s bodies were seen as simply bodies, and not as sexual objects, it would allow women to be seen as equal members of not only the working environment, but of society. Our obsession with the female body as a sexual object is constantly working against women who try to find success through other aspects of themselves,  undermining their talent, intelligence and hard work. While it may be argued that in some cases women use their sexuality to their advantage in the workplace, this is not a demonstration of agency, but rather a symptom of societal stereotypes. Women often operate within the framework of social stereotypes because it is much easier to do so than to work against it. This does not demonstrate an endorsement of the sexualisation that goes on, but rather its forced acceptance.

Sexuality is an important aspect of humanity; however, the treatment of the female body as exclusively a sexual object is detrimental to women’s struggle for equality. The fact that female modesty exists as a cross-cultural value illustrates the widespread view that women’s bodies are something shameful and inherently sexual. This ubiquitous sexualisation and objectification affects the way that women are seen and see themselves, which in turn limits their experience, and fundamentally, their rights.

1 Asser, Martin. “Why Muslim women wear the veil,” BBC news 5 Oct. 2006.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5411320.stm>.
2 “Why do Muslim women wear the hijab?” Islam for Today retrieved Sept.10, 2009.
<http://www.islamfortoday.com/hijabcanada4.htm>.
3 Ibid.
4 Zurbriggen, Eileen L. et al. “Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls” American Psychological
Association (2007). <http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualizationsum.html>.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 Schnieder, Beth E. “Approaches, assaults, attractions, affairs: Policy implications of the sexualization of the
workplace” The Journal of Population Research and Policy Review (1985).
<http://www.springerlink.com/content/h724171j86574217/>.

1. 

   Nicola says:

   April 20, 2010 at 3:59 am

   This blog post presented me an entire load of ideas, thank you for sharing