She Works In Science Communication And Is Breaking Down Both The Physical And Psychological Effects Of Objectification On Women Based On Her Research
Most women can agree that one of the hardest things you have to deal with when trying to get people to take you seriously in this world is objectification and being objectified.
Whether you’re being objectified because of your body or compared to animals and other inanimate objects, dealing with objectification isn’t a walk in the park and does more damage than one may realize.
Science communicator and TikTok content creator Roxanne Felig (@naia_papaia) made a TikTok video to break down research she’s done on the psychological and physical effects objectification has on people and women specifically, and it’s quite eye-opening.
“When people are objectified, it is done very literally,” says Roxanne at the beginning of her video.
“What do I mean by that? Objects can’t feel pain. What do you think the consequences are of that for people who are being objectified by others? I will tell you.”
In a research article published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Roxanne and other researchers took a look into what happens when women are objectified and treated like or compared to literal objects.
During her research, Roxanne found that when women are acquitted with literal objects versus being acquitted with animals, it predicts “reduced perceptions of their capacity to suffer.” Why is this? Well, it’s because objects can’t feel pain.
In a domestic violence scenario, this lack of perceived suffering leads to less blame toward the perpetrator, as it doesn’t make sense for someone to be punished for harming or offending an object.
Months after Roxanne’s research paper was published, she came across another one that supported hers. Just like hers, those researchers found that objectified women are dehumanized, and because of that, people may experience a lack of empathy for them when they experience pain.
Evrymmnt – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
“Behavioral results from the study support that claim, and so does their neural evidence,” says Roxanne.
“They find when we are shown [objectified] women, we neurologically cannot recognize their perceptions of pain.”
Additionally, further research suggests that when women objectify themselves, they lose access to certain body sensations.
For instance, some women who objectify themselves or have been objectified by others may not feel as cold when they’re wearing skimpy clothing because, like objects, they lack sensation.
“This should really be frightening to you because we live in a culture where specific groups of people are objectified a lot,” says Roxanne.
“I mainly study the objectification of women, but other people can be and are objectified [Like] laborers [and] factory workers who are treated as tools and objects to get a job done. Do you think their employers are considering their potential suffering?”
Roxanne finishes her video by explaining that objectification isn’t just a “buzzword” you may hear in the news or on social media. It’s something that carries severe consequences and happens often.
Thank you for your important research and insight, Roxanne.
@naia_papaia can you tell that doing this work is starting to really make me depresso? #Psychology #science
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