What is it about?
"Objectification" refers to the phenomenon of perceiving human beings in a manner akin to objects. Past research finds that people tend to objectify adult women more than adult men. In our work, we find evidence that people also objectify young girls relative to young boys -- that is, they associate their concepts of "girls" with "objects" and, conversely, their concepts of "boys" with "humans." We find broad evidence of this pattern in adult participants and more narrow evidence in children themselves.
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Why is it important?
Understanding the extent to which young girls -- not only adult women -- experience objectification by others is an important step in documenting the scope of this phenomenon. Moreover, if we can understand when and how objectification first emerges toward young girls, we can be better equipped to learn how to intervene on this process. Ultimately, illuminating the forms of objectification directed toward young girls (vs. boys) provides insight into how we, intentionally or unintentionally, grow to perceive girls and women as lesser humans.
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This page is a summary of: Girls as objects, boys as humans: Young children tend to be objectified along gender lines., Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, April 2025, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/pspa0000448.
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