Objectifying women is not on

London – Regularly watching television shows, films or advertisements that sexually objectify women and degrade them may make you a sexist person, researchers say.

The findings showed that when people get habitually exposed to scantily dressed actresses or models on television, they tend to see the female sex as mere sexual objects.

“The chronic exposure to objectifying media might lead to the dangerous assumption that such female portrayal is the norm, thus further reducing people’s likelihood to react,” said lead author Francesca Guizzo of the University of Padova in Italy.

Women are far more likely than men to be hyper-sexualised in advertisements, magazines, films and television, which influences the way women are treated in the society.

This also affects women’s psyche and their sense of selfworth, the researchers said.

According to researchers, sensitising campaigns could represent, at least for women, a powerful tool to raise awareness against sexualised images and unrealistic beauty ideals. Collective action should be aimed at improving media portrayals of women. – IANS