Objectification Theory: Toward Understanding Women's Lived Experiences and Mental Health Risks

1997/06/01 by Barbara L. Fredrickson, Tomi‐Ann Roberts · 25 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Eating Disorders and Behaviors #Gender Roles and Identity Studies #Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x

openalex publication_date 1997/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

This article offers objectification theory as a framework for understanding the experiential consequences of being female in a culture that sexually objectifies the female body. Objectification theory posits that girls and women are typically acculturated to internalize an observer's perspective as a primary view of their physical selves. This perspective on self can lead to habitual body monitoring, which, in turn, can increase women's opportunities for shame and anxiety, reduce opportunities for peak motivational states, and diminish awareness of internal bodily states. Accumulations of such experiences may help account for an array of mental health risks that disproportionately affect women: unipolar depression, sexual dysfunction, and eating disorders. Objectification theory also illuminates why changes in these mental health risks appear to occur in step with life-course changes in the female body.

Citations

• Sexuality, Schooling, and Adolescent Females: The Missing Discourse of Desire
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