The War on Women

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190901264.003.0005 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Caron E. Gentry

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Health ◽

International Society ◽

Sexual Objectification ◽

Women's Bodies ◽

Legal Restrictions ◽

National Coalition ◽

Paternalistic Attitude

This chapter looks at how the War on Women is manifested in multiple vulnerabilities for women, namely economic, bodily, and reproductive health. The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate that the legal restrictions placed on women’s bodies and lives serves to police and limit women’s citizenship and contribution to America’s polis. A need to control women is an anxious response to women’s continued independence, which is seen as a threat to patriarchal structures. As such, the chapter turns to the language used by the National Coalition for Men, the Red Pill forum on Reddit, and Breitbart to describe women’s positions in US and international society, demonstrating the sexual objectification and violently paternalistic attitude toward women that helped promote the Trump campaign.

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The Gendered Body Project: Motivational Components of Objectification Theory

The Oxford Handbook of Human Motivation ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195399820.013.0018 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 322-334 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tomi-Ann Roberts ◽

Patricia L. Waters

Keyword(s):

Well Being ◽

Objectification Theory ◽

Sexual Objectification ◽

Women's Bodies ◽

Psychology Of Women ◽

Theoretical Perspectives ◽

Body Project ◽

Objectification Of Women ◽

Patriarchal Power ◽

Self Objectification

In this chapter, we attempt to explore the motivational questions that arise when we view the psychology of women through the lens of objectification theory, which highlights the centrality of appearance concerns, or “body projects,” for girls and women today. We examine theoretical perspectives on what motivates the sexual objectification of women, considering the ways this treatment may reflect an adaptive evolutionary mating strategy, may serve as a tool for the maintenance of patriarchal power, or may lend existential “protection” against the creaturely, death reminders that women's bodies provide. We then investigate both developmental processes and situational/contextual features that motivate girls and women to internalize a sexually objectifying view on their physical selves. And, finally, we review evidence that self-objectification, though motivating in itself, carries significant consequences for their health and well-being.

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The Embrace of the Proabortion Turnaway Study

The Linacre Quarterly ◽

10.1177/0024363918782156 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 85 (3) ◽

pp. 204-212 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

David C. Reardon

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Reproductive Health ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Case Series ◽

Advocacy Group ◽

The Public ◽

News Releases ◽

Legal Restrictions ◽

Mental Health Effects ◽

Abortion Clinics

The abortion advocacy group Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) has published over twenty papers based on a case series of women taking part in their Turnaway Study. Following the lead of ANSIRH news releases, major media outlets have described these results as proof that (a) most women who have abortions are glad they did, (b) there is no evidence of negative mental health effects following abortion, and (c) the only women really suffering are those who are being denied late-term abortions due to legal restrictions based on gestational age. Buried in ANSIRH’s papers are the facts that over 68 percent of the women they sought to interview refused, their own evidence confirms that the remnant who did participate were atypical, there are no known benefits from abortion, their methods are misleadingly described, and their results are selectively reported. Summary: Widely publicized claims regarding the benefits of abortion for women have been discredited. The Turnaway Study, conducted by abortion advocates at thirty abortion clinics, reportedly proves that 95 percent of women have no regrets about their abortions and that abortion causes no mental health problems. But a new exposé reveals that the authors have misled the public, using an unrepresentative, highly biased sample and misleading questions. In fact, over two-thirds of the women approached at the abortion clinics refused to be interviewed, and half of those who agreed dropped out. Refusers and dropouts are known to have more postabortion problems.

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Examining Objectification Theory

The Counseling Psychologist ◽

10.1177/0011000007301669 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 36 (5) ◽

pp. 745-776 ◽

Cited By ~ 72

Author(s):

Melanie S. Hill ◽

Ann R. Fischer

Keyword(s):

Sexual Orientation ◽

Objectification Theory ◽

Future Research ◽

Sexual Objectification ◽

Moderating Effects ◽

Women's Bodies ◽

Heterosexual Women ◽

Self Objectification ◽

The Relationship

Many theorists have suggested that living in a culture in which women's bodies are sexually objectified socializes girls and women to treat themselves as objects. This study developed a theory-based measure of cultural sexual objectification and explored the relationship between women's reports of cultural sexual objectification experiences and self-objectification. The possible moderating effects of sexual orientation were explored using hierarchical moderated regressions. The major findings, in a sample of 361 women, were (a) women's reports of sexualized gaze/harassment were significantly related to their own self-objectification, (b) lesbian and heterosexual women reported similar levels of sexualized gaze/harassment, and (c) the relationship between sexualized gaze/harassment and self-objectification was not significantly different for the lesbian and heterosexual subsamples. Potential implications for counseling and directions for future research are discussed.

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