“I don’t care about you as a person”: Sexual minority women objectified.

Abstract

This study investigates sexual minority women's experiences of objectification in the United States. Data from 5 focus groups with 33 sexual minority women were analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2012). Results revealed 6 themes and 34 subthemes grouped into "manifestations of objectification: general and explicit intersections," "immediate context of relational and situational characteristics," and "broader context of oppression and privilege along gender and sexualities." First, sexual minority women's experiences of objectification included both general manifestations described in prior research with heterosexual women and manifestations of objectification that reflected intersections of systems of inequality based on sexual orientation, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, and age. Second, participants identified novel relational and situational characteristics of objectification. Finally, participants included experiences of stereotyping, discrimination, and dehumanization in their conceptualizations of objectification, connecting their experiences of objectification with broader dynamics of power related to gender and sexuality. Centralizing sexual minority women's experiences, this study produced a fuller understanding of objectification experiences in general and of sexual minority women's experiences in particular. (PsycINFO Database Record

Sexual Objectification, Internalization, and College Women’s Depression: The Role of Shame

“…Due to an understanding of patriarchal and sexist systems, women who self-identify as feminist may be more likely to contextualize their sexual objectification experiences and less likely to internalize them via body surveillance and self-blame. Future research might replicate and extend this study's findings by focusing on sexual minority women and integrating their unique, intersectional experiences of sexual objectification (e.g., fetishized, treated as an experiment, regarded as a spectacle) and other minority stressors based on sexual orientation and gender identity (e.g., external and internalized heterosexism and bisexism; Tebbe, Moradi, Connelly, Lenzen, & Flores, 2018).…”

Conceptual and design thinking for thematic analysis.

“…There are few in-built restrictions around data collection methods or sources in reflexive TA research. A wide range of data sources has been used in published TA research, including everything from more conventional and extensively used methods such as interviews (e.g., Robinson-Wood et al, 2020) and focus groups (e.g., Tebbe et al, 2018), to other self-report techniques such as open-ended/qualitative survey responses (e.g., Blackie et al, 2020) and solicited diaries (e.g., Schnur et al, 2009). From innovative and creative methods such as story completion (e.g., Jennings et al, 2019) and visual methods (e.g., Devine-Wright & Devine-Wright, 2009), with forms of reflexive TA specifically developed for the analysis of imagery (e.g., Gleeson, 2011), to "naturalistic" and preexisting data sources such as psychotherapy sessions (e.g., Willcox et al, 2019), online forum posts (e.g., Fletcher & StGeorge, 2011), and political speeches (e.g., Pilecki, 2017).…”

Femslash Fanfiction and Lesbianism: Efforts to Empower and Express Asian American Woman Sexuality

“…Another challenge that is experienced by women and lesbians is being objectified. Women are heavily sexualized in media, and lesbian women experience this equally, and sometimes at greater rates, than heterosexual women (Tebbe, Moradi, Connelly, Lenzen, & Flores., 2018).…”

“…Lesbian relationships have become increasingly comodified, exploited, and hyper sexualized by popular media, most often targeting male consumers' ideals of being sexually involved with two (or more) women at one time (Szymanski, Moffitt, & Carr, 2011). Studies have found that sexual minority women are primarily sexualized by men (Tebbe, Moradi, Connelly, Lenzen, & Flores., 2018). However, cyberspace is also believed to be a safe place to express one's self including minorities.…”