Want A Satisfying Relationship? Don’t Present Yourself As A Sex Object
When Joan Holloway – the bombshell office worker on the show “Mad Men” – enters a room, she knows she looks good and is going to turn heads. Every morning, Joan meticulously does her makeup and hair and puts on a skintight dress. The men in her office take notice and are quick with the catcalls and sexual comments.
Rather than becoming embarrassed or angry, for the most part Joan finds the attention invigorating. Her hourglass figure is a source of power that she wields intentionally. Male attention is welcome and men’s reactions seem largely innocuous. But her male co-workers’ reactions are objectifying and ultimately may not produce the empowerment Joan desires.
Objectification occurs when one person treats another like a thing or commodity, ignoring his or her humanity and dignity. Ob...