Reveal or conceal your body? Differential manifestations of self-objectification are related to different patterns for women
Reveal or conceal your body? Differential manifestations of self-objectification are related to different patterns for women
StatusVoR
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Authors
Cervone, Carmen
Vezzoli, Michela
Ruzzante, Daniela
Galdi, Silvia
Formanowicz, Magdalena
Guizzo, Francesca
Suitner, Caterina
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Date
2025-06-11
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Body Image
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54
Pages
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1-16
ISSN
1740-1445
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Access date
2025-06-11
Abstract PL
Abstract EN
Body concealment, namely the attitudes and strategies specifically aimed at avoiding the other’s gaze towards one’s body, is here advanced as a relevant manifestation of chronic self-objectification. We juxtapose it to body exposure, that is the pursuit of being the object of others’ gaze. Three validation studies conducted in Italy (Studies 1 and 2) and the UK (Study 3), and an additional focus group, showed that body concealment and exposure are distinct responses, both positively linked to self-objectification. Importantly, distinct dimensions of self-objectification were associated with body concealment and body exposure: the internalization of the observer’s perspective was linked to body concealment via body shame; the internalization of objectifying ideals, instead, was associated with greater exposure (Study 4, Italy). Notably, body concealment, but not body exposure, was related to health issues typically linked to self-objectification, such as depression and disordered eating (Study 5, UK). Together, these studies (Ntotal = 2853) introduce body concealment as a new phenomenon within the sexual objectification framework, distinct from body exposure. From a theoretical perspective, this distinction reconciles seemingly contradictory evidence. From an applied point of view, body concealment has specific negative implications for women’s well-being, deserving the attention of scholars and practitioners.
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Keywords PL
Keywords EN
Self-objectification
Body concealment
Self-sexualization
Body exposure
Sexual objectification
Body concealment
Self-sexualization
Body exposure
Sexual objectification
Keywords other
Sustainable Development Goals
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