Social and Psychological Aspects

The Relationship Between Self-Sexualization and Sexually Objectified Experience

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Abstract

Will women who use their sexuality as a source of power, empowering themselves through self-sexualization, experience negative consequences resulting from sexually objectifying experiences? This study explored the relationship between self-sexualization and sexually objectifying experiences, which leads to body shame, with age as a moderator. An online questionnaire was created to measure the four variables (self-empowering sexualization, general self-sexualization, sexually objectified experiences; body shame). A total of 308 female respondents participated through MTurk, and the data were analyzed with SEM. The findings showed that not all self-sexualizing women experienced a negative consequence from sexually objectified experiences; the use of self-sexualization for power was not related to negative consequences. However, young women were at greater risk from self-sexualization because regardless of differences in self-sexualization, self-sexualization can not only lead to more sexual objectification but also directly lead to a feeling of body shame even in the absence of sexual objectification. 

Keywords: body shame, sex is power, sexually objectified experience, self-sexualization

How to Cite:

Choi, D. & Lee, H., (2022) “The Relationship Between Self-Sexualization and Sexually Objectified Experience”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 79(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.15875