Decoding the Objectifying Gaze - An Empirical Exploration with Sexualized Media and Non-Sexualized Images

Abstract

Sexual objectification is a form of objectification where a person is reduced to his/her sexual functionalities. In general, women and minority people are primary victims of sexual objectification, although sexualization of men has been on the rise. Initial research believed sexual objectification to be a behavioral phenomenon. That is, a person is sexually objectified through thoughts or actions of the objectifier. For example, studies have found a strong correlation between the body-biased gaze (greater attention to sexual body parts), also termed the objectifying gaze, and the sexual objectification of women. Recent studies indicate that the manifestation of sexual objectification may extend to sub-conscious cognitive processes. There are fundamental differences in brain activity when processing human stimuli versus object stimuli. A recent study indicates that when objectified, sexualized female images but not sexualized male images are visually processed more locally, similar to objects. For decades, there have been concerns regarding the growing hyper-sexualization of women in popular media like music videos, video games, etc., leading to content analysis studies on the music videos in various countries across the globe. And the results show that female characters’ bodies are overly emphasized, primarily through revealing clothes and close-up shots of their bodies or sexual body parts. Frequent exposure to these objectifying media can lead to the manifestation of the objectifying gaze in the viewer. For example, a recent study reported that after watching sexualized pop music videos, viewers gaze objectified female images more. That is, they spent more time fixating on the sexual body parts of the female characters. In this thesis, we explore different forms of gaze objectification of women and the priming effect of sexually objectifying music videos on the viewers’ gaze when looking at female images in a South Asian context. The thesis comprises of two studies. In the first study, we explore gaze objectification of nonsexualized female images. We have used the eye-tracking mechanism to capture the gaze pattern and the local/global paradigm to understand the underlying visual process when looking at non-sexualized female images. In the subsequent study, we investigate the priming effect of camera-induced objectifying gaze, operationalized via sexualized music video (MV), when looking at target female images in traditional (saree, salwar) and western (shirt-pant, short-dress) attire. Our results show both genders’ gaze-objectified female sexual body parts. Participants spent more time looking at female sexual body parts. And male (vs. female) images are processed more locally, similar to objects. The findings suggest that women are gaze-objectified even in non-sexualized attire. In the second study, we found that, when primed with sexualized music videos (vs. non-sexualized), female images are more gaze-objectified. Our studies provide concrete evidence supporting existing research, which emphasizes that women experience elevated levels of gaze objectification. Additionally, exposure to sexualized media is identified as a factor contributing to the heightened objectification of women. This highlights the connection between media exposure and a cultural context where women are more commonly objectified. Recognizing and addressing these dynamics becomes crucial in understanding and mitigating the impact of sexual objectification.