Objectify
/əbˈdʒektɪfaɪ/verb
To treat someone or something as if they are an object or a thing, not a person or equal.
The advertising industry is often criticized for objectifying women.
Often appears as...
- objectify women
- tend to objectify
Usage tips
Disapproving
verb
To express something in a concrete or physical form.
The architect objectified his vision for the city in a series of detailed, scale models.
Often appears as...
- objectify a concept
- objectify an idea
verb
In philosophy, to treat something abstract as a material or concrete thing.
Within Marxist theory, commodity fetishism is the process by which products are objectified in capitalist society.
Often appears as...
- objectify a phenomenon
- objectify a process
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
verb
To treat someone or something as if they are an object or a thing, not a person or equal.
The advertising industry is often criticized for objectifying women.
Often appears as...
- objectify women
- tend to objectify
Usage tips
Disapproving
verb
To express something in a concrete or physical form.
The architect objectified his vision for the city in a series of detailed, scale models.
Often appears as...
- objectify a concept
- objectify an idea
verb
In philosophy, to treat something abstract as a material or concrete thing.
Within Marxist theory, commodity fetishism is the process by which products are objectified in capitalist society.
Often appears as...
- objectify a phenomenon
- objectify a process
Usage tips
Formal
Academic
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Using 'objectify' indicates disapproval and criticizes the reduction of people to objects.
The movie's portrayal of its characters seemed to objectify women.
Pro Tip 2/3Person's Worth
To 'objectify' someone often implies ignoring their personality or feelings.
Reality shows can objectify participants, focusing on their looks rather than abilities.
Pro Tip 3/3Social Context
The term is frequently used in discussions about gender, power, and social issues.
The debate about objectifying ads sparked protests.
Compare with
debasedegradeexploithumanizereduceutilize
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Video examples
The data behind...
Now, all joking aside, theories suggest, research confirms, exposure to thin ideals and objectifying content can lead to body dissatisfaction, internalization of the thin ideal and self-objectification among some female viewers. Obviously, what we see on-screen and what we see in the world, they do not match.
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 242 PIPE...
all the objectified dish on camera with me today so we are searching for a sauna he was seen in the middle of the day around the main access road into Jumma and we think he might have moved a little bit further to the south now of course we've had quite a bit of rain
Video examples
Eve Ensler: Suddenly, my...
that it had failed me, that it was broken. My life became about getting rid of it and obsessing about getting rid of it. In fact, it became so extreme I wrote a play about it. But the more I talked about it, the more objectified and fragmented my body became.
Video examples
Wendy MacNaughton: The...
and I put it together with drawings that I do, mostly from life, just like you all just did. I found that drawing like this does a lot of things that photography can't do. So when somebody points a camera at you, how do you feel? A little objectified, right?
Video examples
Eve Ensler: Embrace your...
to tone it down, not to be too intense. We sell them, we kill them as embryos, we enslave them, we rape them. We are so accustomed to robbing girls of the subject of being the subjects of their lives that we have now actually objectified them
Video examples
I'm not your inspiration,...
because they objectify one group of people for the benefit of another group of people. So in this case, we're objectifying disabled people for the benefit of nondisabled people. The purpose of these images is to inspire you, to motivate you,
Video examples
Sarah Jones: What does...
just to, like, prove that you are a feminist. Like, not that there's anything wrong with that, but my mom, she's like, like, why do you have to wear pants that, like, objectify your body? I like my pants. Like, I like my voice.
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 272 PIPE...
pride who are a portion of them there are snoozing under a ton booty and under gray skies good afternoon my name is Brent jasmine I have my friend dimpled Dave the objectified dish on camera for
Video examples
Stuart Brown: Play is...
that we're hoping to complete underway at the moment. The reason I put this here is also to queue up my thoughts about objectifying what play does. The animal world has objectified it.
Video examples
How I unlearned...
was made and done so easily. Early life experiences had set the stage for me to be well-suited to objectify others, act in a socially detached manner,
Video examples
The data behind...
Now, all joking aside, theories suggest, research confirms, exposure to thin ideals and objectifying content can lead to body dissatisfaction, internalization of the thin ideal and self-objectification among some female viewers. Obviously, what we see on-screen and what we see in the world, they do not match.
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 242 PIPE...
all the objectified dish on camera with me today so we are searching for a sauna he was seen in the middle of the day around the main access road into Jumma and we think he might have moved a little bit further to the south now of course we've had quite a bit of rain
Video examples
Eve Ensler: Suddenly, my...
that it had failed me, that it was broken. My life became about getting rid of it and obsessing about getting rid of it. In fact, it became so extreme I wrote a play about it. But the more I talked about it, the more objectified and fragmented my body became.
Video examples
Wendy MacNaughton: The...
and I put it together with drawings that I do, mostly from life, just like you all just did. I found that drawing like this does a lot of things that photography can't do. So when somebody points a camera at you, how do you feel? A little objectified, right?
Video examples
Eve Ensler: Embrace your...
to tone it down, not to be too intense. We sell them, we kill them as embryos, we enslave them, we rape them. We are so accustomed to robbing girls of the subject of being the subjects of their lives that we have now actually objectified them
Video examples
I'm not your inspiration,...
because they objectify one group of people for the benefit of another group of people. So in this case, we're objectifying disabled people for the benefit of nondisabled people. The purpose of these images is to inspire you, to motivate you,
Video examples
Sarah Jones: What does...
just to, like, prove that you are a feminist. Like, not that there's anything wrong with that, but my mom, she's like, like, why do you have to wear pants that, like, objectify your body? I like my pants. Like, I like my voice.
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 272 PIPE...
pride who are a portion of them there are snoozing under a ton booty and under gray skies good afternoon my name is Brent jasmine I have my friend dimpled Dave the objectified dish on camera for
Video examples
Stuart Brown: Play is...
that we're hoping to complete underway at the moment. The reason I put this here is also to queue up my thoughts about objectifying what play does. The animal world has objectified it.
Video examples
How I unlearned...
was made and done so easily. Early life experiences had set the stage for me to be well-suited to objectify others, act in a socially detached manner,
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Frida Kahlo
Mexican Artist
Since my subjects have always been my sensations, my states of mind and the profound reactions that life has been producing in me, I have frequently objectified all this in figures of myself, which were the most sincere and real thing that I could do in order to express what I felt inside and outside of myself.
Quote examples
Lauren Mayberry
Scottish Musician
People have said it's hypocritical for me to call myself a feminist and make the kind of music we are making, because we signed to a major in the U.K., and that system objectifies women. Or people have complained that I don't dance. But I like the idea that I can stomp around the stage if I want.
Quote examples
Luca Guadagnino
Italian Director
The concept of muse is alien to me. To speak of a muse implies there is a couple in which one person is the objectified passive element - there to help the creative, active, often male part of the duo to create. A muse is very passive. Who wants a muse? I don't want a muse.
Quote examples
Rush Limbaugh
American Entertainer
A bunch of liberals wanted to outlaw men gazing at women because the gaze was said to objectify women. Sorry, liberals, it can't be helped among the heterosexual crowd.
Quote examples
Adrianne Lenker
American Musician
My mother was really beautiful, and I had to deal with her being objectified my entire childhood. But she also had this depth and purity that was almost otherworldly.
Quote examples
Kalki Koechlin
French Actress
There's a lot of pressure on women to look in a certain way. It's not easy to live in a world that objectifies women.
Quote examples
Tim O'Brien
American Author
By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths.
Quote examples
Tom Bateman
English Actor
There's a funny line between feeling objectified and feeling supported and it's a very odd one.
Quote examples
Roger Ebert
American Critic
Movies that encourage empathy are more effective than those that objectify problems.
Quote examples
Leslie Mann
American Actor
Men. We love them. We respect them. But we rarely get to objectify them.
Quote examples
Frida Kahlo
Mexican Artist
Since my subjects have always been my sensations, my states of mind and the profound reactions that life has been producing in me, I have frequently objectified all this in figures of myself, which were the most sincere and real thing that I could do in order to express what I felt inside and outside of myself.
Quote examples
Lauren Mayberry
Scottish Musician
People have said it's hypocritical for me to call myself a feminist and make the kind of music we are making, because we signed to a major in the U.K., and that system objectifies women. Or people have complained that I don't dance. But I like the idea that I can stomp around the stage if I want.
Quote examples
Luca Guadagnino
Italian Director
The concept of muse is alien to me. To speak of a muse implies there is a couple in which one person is the objectified passive element - there to help the creative, active, often male part of the duo to create. A muse is very passive. Who wants a muse? I don't want a muse.
Quote examples
Rush Limbaugh
American Entertainer
A bunch of liberals wanted to outlaw men gazing at women because the gaze was said to objectify women. Sorry, liberals, it can't be helped among the heterosexual crowd.
Quote examples
Adrianne Lenker
American Musician
My mother was really beautiful, and I had to deal with her being objectified my entire childhood. But she also had this depth and purity that was almost otherworldly.
Quote examples
Kalki Koechlin
French Actress
There's a lot of pressure on women to look in a certain way. It's not easy to live in a world that objectifies women.
Quote examples
Tim O'Brien
American Author
By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths.
Quote examples
Tom Bateman
English Actor
There's a funny line between feeling objectified and feeling supported and it's a very odd one.
Quote examples
Roger Ebert
American Critic
Movies that encourage empathy are more effective than those that objectify problems.
Quote examples
Leslie Mann
American Actor
Men. We love them. We respect them. But we rarely get to objectify them.
Example 1 of 10
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