Sigmund Freud And The Objectification Theory

The passage begins with a quote from Ambrose Bierce, stating, “To men a man is but a mind. Who cares what face he carries or what he wears? But a woman’s body is the woman.”(Bierce). This quote reflects the misogynistic views that psychology was not immune to. Even one of the most popular psychologists, Sigmund Freud, believed in the theory of “anatomy is destiny”, or that our physical bodies influence our motivations and personal development and suit our gender roles (i.e. women can be mothers but not scholars). Stanley Hall and Edward Clarke shared views that women were “too frail” to withstand the rigor of higher education and should reserve their energy for home life and child-bearing. In 1873, Clarke wrote a book titled “Sex in Education” which outlined that blood flow to the brain that was required to support studying was actually diverted into the ovaries and uterus in order to “preserve reproductive health”. Many psychologists of the time believed that motherhood was a women’s ultimate fulfillment and any woman who strayed from that path would live a sad and empty life. When women began to study …show more content…
I did not, however, know it was called the objectification theory until relatively recently. I think learning that self-worth is not determined by other peoples opinions is the same thing as learning fearlessness. As I see it, there are two sides to the same evil, objectifying coin: if are conventionally beautiful (or, swiss model beautiful) you are valued by many for only your beauty. If you aren’t conventionally beautiful (or, described as “other”), you aren’t valued for your accomplishments at all. Angelina Jolie is a spokeswoman for a charity, when the media covers it, their only remarks are about her outfit. Michelle Obama speaks out about getting children active in their communities, a response is that she looks like a “monkey”, which is not only incredibly sexist, but also