Empowered Sexual Objects? The Priming Influence of Self-Sexualization on Thoughts and Beliefs Related to Gender, Sex, and Power

• In Event: Research Exploring Individual Differences

Abstract

The present study investigated the priming influence of self-sexualization, in which women willingly engage in sexualizing behaviors and other posing techniques in order to encourage a sexually objectifying gaze. An experimental design in which male and female undergraduates were exposed to music videos that featured the self-sexualization of female artists (experimental) or non-sexualizing performance-based music videos of the same artists (control) revealed statistically significant interactions between condition and liking of the music video artist. Among male participants who liked the artists, watching the self-sexualizing music videos predicted modern sexist beliefs, the belief that sex is power for women, the belief that women are sex objects, and the belief that men are sex-driven. Among female participants who liked the artists, watching the self-sexualizing music videos predicted their enjoyment of sexualization. Results are discussed in light of the media priming framework (Roskos-Ewoldsen & Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2009).

Authors

• Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, U of Arizona

• Hilary Gamble, University of Arizona

• Rachel Hahn, University of Arizona