Where do we draw the line between Appreciation of the nude form/sexuality and Sexual objectification?
Easy. If your “appreciation of the nude form/sexuality” changes the way you interact with the person in a non-sexual context, you are engaging in objectification.
Is it sufficient that you interact with them differently than with others? I think that’s too narrow, because then everyone, both men and women, would be objectifying each other constantly.
The origin of the word “objectification is the thought that under some circumstances, you cease to view the other human as a person with desires, fears, wishes and views to be respected, treating them as a mere object for achieving other ends. For example, in emergency situations such as traffic accidents, objectifying bystanders can be useful. You, call 911, you, secure the accident area and place warning signs, *you, help me free these injured from their car.
There is no sharp boundary of what is and what isn’t socially acceptable, so when we talk about objectification, it’s good to have this in mind and remember the numerous ways words can be wrong. If we know which behaviours are okay and which are not, we don’t need to bring forth an explicit definition.
If we know which behaviours are okay and which are not, we don’t need to bring forth an explicit definition.
But when people inevitably disagree about which behaviors are okay and which are not, there cannot be a dialogue between them without explicit definitions. Even if you just want to make sure there are no misunderstandings, and when we all say we know which is which we are talking about the same things, you need definitions.
Where do we draw the line between Appreciation of the nude form/sexuality and Sexual objectification?
Easy. If your “appreciation of the nude form/sexuality” changes the way you interact with the person in a non-sexual context, you are engaging in objectification.
Is it sufficient that you interact with them differently than with others? I think that’s too narrow, because then everyone, both men and women, would be objectifying each other constantly.
The origin of the word “objectification is the thought that under some circumstances, you cease to view the other human as a person with desires, fears, wishes and views to be respected, treating them as a mere object for achieving other ends. For example, in emergency situations such as traffic accidents, objectifying bystanders can be useful. You, call 911, you, secure the accident area and place warning signs, *you, help me free these injured from their car.
There is no sharp boundary of what is and what isn’t socially acceptable, so when we talk about objectification, it’s good to have this in mind and remember the numerous ways words can be wrong. If we know which behaviours are okay and which are not, we don’t need to bring forth an explicit definition.
But when people inevitably disagree about which behaviors are okay and which are not, there cannot be a dialogue between them without explicit definitions. Even if you just want to make sure there are no misunderstandings, and when we all say we know which is which we are talking about the same things, you need definitions.