Dehumanization and ostracism : responses to sexualized images of women

Abstract

Women are frequently sexualized in media portrayals. As such, how women are perceived, and the treatment they receive, are in need of further study. Across three studies, this research explored whether people dehumanized and ostracized women depicted in sexualized images. The first hypothesis was that people would respond with dehumanization after being exposed to the sexualized portrayal of females. The second hypothesis was that as the downstream consequence of dehumanization, those sexualized women would then be ostracized. I also explored potential gender differences. I hypothesized that female participants would respond with more dehumanization and ostracism to the sexualized female targets than male participants. In Experiment 1, I presented six sexualized and six non-sexualized female images to participants, and recorded their responses of dehumanization and ostracism. The participants reported higher levels of dehumanization and ostracism to the sexualized women. Because sexualized images can be categorized as either sexuality-based or appearance-based, my aim in Experiment 2 was to extend Experiment 1 by testing whether people responded differently to these two types of sexualized images. Participants viewed three kinds of Instagram profiles (sexuality-based sexualized, appearance-based sexualized, and non-sexualized), and reported their estimations of the targets' human nature and uniqueness traits. I also tested their interaction intentions. The results showed that the participants had perceived the sexualized targets (both sexuality-based and appearance-based) as less human, and had shown less intention to interact with them. Furthermore, sexuality-based sexualized images showed a stronger effect on all three variables. Sexuality-based sexualized images consist of both revealing clothing and suggestive posture. In Experiment 3, I set up three conditions to manipulate the extent to which the targets were sexualized: non-revealing (low), revealing (mild), and sexually revealing (high). The results showed that participants dehumanized the (sexually) revealing targets more than the non-revealing targets. Nevertheless, there was no statistically significant difference between revealing and sexually revealing conditions. Additionally, I discussed the limitations of the present studies, as well as future directions. As for the theoretical implications, this research has enriched the literature by exploring the relationship between sexualized images and dehumanization from a more comprehensive viewpoint. Practically, it reveals the tip of the prejudice iceberg, and calls for more attention to the intervention strategy of societal prejudice toward sexualized females.