In this study, we developed and psychometrically evaluated the Online Sexual Objectification Experiences Scale (OSOES). We collected data from 816 emerging adult college women across two samples. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed three factors: Unwanted Sexual Advances (example item: “How often have you received unwanted messages online asking about your sexual experience?”), Negative Appearance Commentary (example item: “How often has another person insulted you by calling you unattractive online?”), and Indirect Sexual Objectification (example item: “How often have you read a sexual comment posted to a photo of another woman's body online?”). OSOES scores were internally consistent and were strongly correlated with scores of self-objectification, body surveillance, and body shame. OSOES subscale scores also provided evidence of incremental validity in predicting self-objectification and objectified body consciousness above and beyond offline interpersonal sexual objectification. We hope that findings from the present study and the OSOES can be used by researchers, clinicians, and educators to understand the frequency of online sexual objectification experiences among women and as a result, work to mitigate harmful outcomes. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/DOI:10.1177/03616843241250295
BakerA. C.BrownL. M.RagoneseM. (2016). Confronting barriers to critical discussions about sexualization with adolescent girls. Social Work (United States), 61(1), 79–81. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swv046
4.
BaldissarriC.AndrighettoL. (2021). Being treated as an instrument: Consequences of instrumental treatment and self-objectification on task engagement and performance. Human Performance, 34(2), 85–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2021.1878182
BartkyS. L. (1990). Femininity and domination: Studies in the phenomenology of oppression. Routledge.
7.
BuchananT. S.FischerA. R.TokarD. M.YoderJ. D. (2008). Testing a culture-specific extension of objectification theory regarding African American women’s body image. The Counseling Psychologist, 36(5), 697–718. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000008316322
8.
BurnayJ.BushmanB. J.LarøiF. (2019). Effects of sexualized video games on online sexual harassment. Aggressive Behavior, 45(2), 214–223. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21811
9.
CalogeroR. M. (2011). Operationalizing self-objectification: Assessment and related methodological issues. In CalogeroR. M.Tantleff-DunnS.ThompsonJ. K. (Eds.), Self-objectification in women: Causes, consequences, and counteractions (pp. 23–49). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513570210418923
10.
CalogeroR. M.TylkaT. L.SiegelJ. A.PinaA.RobertsT. A. (2020). Smile pretty and watch your back: Personal safety anxiety and vigilance in objectification theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 121(6), 1195–1222. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000344
11.
CeglarekP. J. D.WardL. M. (2016). A tool for help or harm? How associations between social networking use, social support, and mental health differ for sexual minority and heterosexual youth. Computers in Human Behavior, 65, 201–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.07.051
12.
CheungC. M. K.WongR. Y. M.ChanT. K. H. (2016). Online disinhibition: Conceptualization, measurement, and relation to aggressive behaviors. 2016 International Conference on Information Systems, ICIS 2016.
13.
Choukas-BradleyS.RobertsS. R.MaheuxA. J.NesiJ. (2022). The perfect storm: A developmental–sociocultural framework for the role of social media in adolescent girls’ body image concerns and mental health. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 25(4), 681–701. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-022-00404-5
14.
DanielsE. A.ZurbriggenE. L.WardL. M. (2020). Becoming an object: A review of self-objectification in girls. Body Image, 33, 278–299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.02.016
15.
DavisS. E. (2018). Objectification, sexualization, and misrepresentation: Social media and the college experience. Social Media and Society, 4(3), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118786727
16.
DedkovaL. (2015). Stranger is not always danger: The myth and reality of meetings with online strangers. In LorentzP.SmahelD.MetykovaM.WrightM. F. (Eds.), Living in the digital age: Self-presentation, networking, playing, and participating in politics (pp. 78–94). Muni Press.
17.
DouglassC. H.WrightC. J. C.DavisA. C.LimM. S. C. (2018). Correlates of in-person and technology-facilitated sexual harassment from an online survey among young Australians. Sexual Health, 15(4), 361–365. https://doi.org/10.1071/SH17208
18.
DrentenJ.GurrieriL.TylerM. (2020). Sexualized labour in digital culture: Instagram influencers, porn chic and the monetization of attention. Gender, Work and Organization, 27(1), 41–66. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12354
19.
FahlmanE.MejtoftT.CrippsH. (2018). Evaluation of push notifications for social media applications[Paper presentation]. 31st Bled EConference: Digital Transformation: Meeting the Challenges, BLED 2018 (pp. 317–329). https://doi.org/10.18690/978-961-286-170-4.21
20.
FredricksonB. L.RobertsT. A. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(2), 173–206. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x
21.
FredricksonB. L.RobertsT.-A.NollS. M.QuinnD. M.TwengeJ. M. (1998). “That swimsuit becomes you: Sex differences in self-objectification, restrained eating, and math performance”: Correction to Fredrickson et al. (1998). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(5), 1098–1098. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0090332
22.
FritzN.MalicV.PaulB.ZhouY. (2021). Worse than objects: The depiction of black women and men and their sexual relationship in pornography. Gender Issues, 38(1), 100–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-020-09255-2
23.
GervaisS. J.SáezG.RiemerA. R.KleinO. (2020). The social interaction model of objectification: A process model of goal-based objectifying exchanges between men and women. British Journal of Social Psychology, 59(1), 248–283. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12339
24.
GramazioS.CadinuM.GuizzoF.CarnaghiA. (2021). Does sex really sell? Paradoxical effects of sexualization in advertising on product attractiveness and purchase intentions. Sex Roles, 84(11–12), 701–719. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01190-6
25.
HarmerE.LewisS. (2022). Disbelief and counter-voices: A thematic analysis of online reader comments about sexual harassment and sexual violence against women. Information Communication and Society, 25(2), 199–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2020.1770832
26.
HawesT.Zimmer-GembeckM. J.CampbellS. M. (2020). Unique associations of social media use and online appearance preoccupation with depression, anxiety, and appearance rejection sensitivity. Body Image, 33, 66–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.02.010
27.
HenryN.FlynnA.PowellA. (2020). Technology-facilitated domestic and sexual violence: A review. Violence Against Women, 26(15–16), 1828–1854. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801219875821
28.
HillM. S.FischerA. R. (2008). Examining objectification theory: Lesbian and heterosexual women’s experiences with sexual- and self-objectification. Counseling Psychologist, 36(5), 745–776. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000007301669
29.
HollandE.KovalP.StratemeyerM.ThomsonF.HaslamN. (2017). Sexual objectification in women’s daily lives: A smartphone ecological momentary assessment study. British Journal of Social Psychology, 56(2), 314–333. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12152
30.
HollandG.TiggemannM. (2016). A systematic review of the impact of the use of social networking sites on body image and disordered eating outcomes. Body Image, 17, 100–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.02.008
31.
HsuJ. L.PannJ.-H. (2017). Subsequent reaction to online advertisement disturbance. International Journal of Business Administration and Management Research, 3(3), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.24178/ijbamr.2017.3.3.01
32.
HuL. T.BentlerP. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
33.
KavanaghE.LitchfieldC.OsborneJ.KavanaghE. (2019). Sporting women and social media: Sexualization, misogyny and gender-based violence in online spaces. International Journal of Sport Communication, 12(4), 552–572. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.2019-0079
34.
KirkpatrickD. (2010). The Facebook effect: The inside story of the company that is connecting the world. Simon & Schuster.
35.
KovalP.HollandE.ZyphurM. J.StratemeyerM.KnightJ. M.BailenN. H.ThompsonR. J.RobertsT. A.HaslamN. (2019). How does it feel to be treated like an object? Direct and indirect effects of exposure to sexual objectification on women’s emotions in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 116(6), 885–898. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000161
36.
KozeeH. B.TylkaT. L.Augustus-HorvathC. L.DenchikA. (2007). Development and psychometric evaluation of the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31(2), 176–189. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00351.x
37.
LindnerD.Tantleff-DunnS. (2017). The development and psychometric evaluation of the self-objectification beliefs and behaviors scale. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 41(2), 254–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684317692109
38.
LindnerD.Tantleff-DunnS.JentschF. (2012). Social comparison and the “circle of objectification.”. Sex Roles, 67(3–4), 222–235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-012-0175-x
39.
LuoY.NiuG.KongF.ChenH. (2019). Online interpersonal sexual objectification experiences and Chinese adolescent girls’ intuitive eating: The role of broad conceptualization of beauty and body appreciation. Eating Behaviors, 33, 55–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2019.03.004
40.
LynchT.TompkinsJ. E.van DrielI. I.FritzN. (2016). Sexy, strong, and secondary: A content analysis of female characters in video games across 31 years. Journal of Communication, 66(4), 564–584. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12237
41.
MaasM. K.DeweyS. (2018). Internet pornography use among collegiate women: Gender attitudes, body monitoring, and sexual behavior. SAGE Open, 8(2), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018786640
42.
MarengoD.LongobardiC.FabrisM. A.SettanniM. (2018). Highly-visual social media and internalizing symptoms in adolescence: The mediating role of body image concerns. Computers in Human Behavior, 82, 63–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.01.003
43.
McKinleyN. M.HydeJ. S. (1996). The Objectified Body Consciousness Scale: Development and validation. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 20(2), 181–215. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1996.tb00467.x https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1996.tb00467.x
MegarryJ. (2014). Online incivility or sexual harassment? Conceptualising women’s experiences in the digital age. Women’s Studies International Forum, 47(PA), 46–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2014.07.012
46.
MoradiB.HuangY. P. (2008). Objectification theory and psychology of women: A decade of advances and future directions. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32(2008), 377–398. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2008.00452.x
47.
MoradiB.VarnesJ. R. (2017). Structure of the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale: Reevaluated 20 years later. Sex Roles, 77(5–6), 325–337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0731-x
NesiJ.Choukas-BradleyS.PrinsteinM. J. (2018). Transformation of adolescent peer relations in the social media context: Part 2—application to peer group processes and future directions for research. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 21(3), 295–319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-018-0262-9
50.
NollS. M.FredricksonB. L. (1998). A mediational model linking self-objectification, body shame, and disordered eating. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22(4), 623–636. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1998.tb00181.x
RostadW. L.Gittins-StoneD.HuntingtonC.RizzoC. J.PearlmanD.OrchowskiL. (2019). The association between exposure to violent pornography and teen dating violence in grade 10 high school students. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48(7), 2137–2147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-1435-4
53.
SeabrookR. C.WardL. M.GiaccardiS. (2019). Less than human? Media use, objectification of women, and men’s acceptance of sexual aggression. Psychology of Violence, 9(5), 536–545. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000198
54.
SkowronskiM.BuschingR.KrahéB. (2022). Links between exposure to sexualized Instagram images and body image concerns in girls and boys. Journal of Media Psychology, 34(1), 55–62. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000296
SzymanskiD. M.CarrE. R.MoffittL. B. (2011). Sexual objectification of women: Clinical implications and training considerations. The Counseling Psychologist, 39(1), 107–126. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000010378450
57.
TalmonA.GinzburgK. (2016). The nullifying experience of self-objectification: The development and psychometric evaluation of the Self-Objectification Scale. Child Abuse and Neglect, 60, 46–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.09.007
58.
TebbeE. A.MoradiB.ConnellyK. E.LenzenA. L.FloresM. (2018). I don’t care about you as a person”: Sexual minority women objectified. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 65(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000255
59.
ThomasJ. B.PetersC. O.HowellE. G.RobbinsK. (2012). Social media and negative word of mouth: Strategies for handing unexpecting comments. Atlantic Marketing Journal, 1(2), 87–108. https://doi.org/https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/amj/
60.
TiggemannM.LynchJ. E. (2001). Body image across the life span in adult women: The role of self-objectification. Developmental Psychology, 37(2), 243–253. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.37.2.243
61.
TiggemannM.SlaterA. (2002). A test of objectification theory in adolescent girls. Sex Roles, 46(9–10), 343–349. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020232714705
62.
TiggemannM.ZaccardoM. (2018). Strong is the new skinny’: A content analysis of #fitspiration images on Instagram. Journal of Health Psychology, 23(8), 1003–1011. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105316639436
63.
VanceK.SutterM.PerrinP. B.HeesackerM. (2015). Research on perceptions of rape: The media’s sexual objectification of women, rape myth acceptance, and interpersonal violence. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 24(5), 569–587. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2015.1029179
64.
VandenboschL.EggermontS. (2012). Understanding sexual objectification: A comprehensive approach toward media exposure and girls’ internalization of beauty ideals, self-objectification, and body surveillance. Journal of Communication, 62(5), 869–887. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01667.x
65.
VandenboschL.EggermontS. (2015). The role of mass media in adolescents’ sexual behaviors: Exploring the explanatory value of the three-step self-objectification process. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44(3), 729–742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0292-4
66.
WatsonL. B.RobinsonD.DispenzaF.NazariN. (2012). African American women’s sexual objectification experiences: A qualitative study. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 36(4), 458–475. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684312454724
67.
WidamanK. F.RevelleW. (2023). Thinking thrice about sum scores, and then some more about measurement and analysis. Behavior Research Methods, 55(2), 788–806. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-022-01849-w
68.
WirtzJ. G.SparksJ. V.ZimbresT. M. (2018). The effect of exposure to sexual appeals in advertisements on memory, attitude, and purchase intention: A meta-analytic review. International Journal of Advertising, 37(2), 168–198. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2017.1334996
69.
YbarraM. L.MitchellK. J. (2008). How risky are social networking sites? A comparison of places online where youth sexual solicitation and harassment occurs. Pediatrics, 121(2), e350–e357. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2007-0693
70.
YueZ.TohZ.StefanoneM. A. (2017). Me, myselfie, and I: Individual and platform differences in selfie taking and sharing behaviour[Paper presentation]. ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, Part F1296. https://doi.org/10.1145/3097286.3097310
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
