Research

 As years went by there has been a development between the relationship with women’s social class and objectification, the action of degrading a person to an object. Objectification serves as a type of psychological phenomena that was invented as a result of stereotypes, that now affect women all around the world. Exposure to objectification has an effect on women’s abilities to live as regular individuals because they view themselves based on how men decide to view them (Loughnan, Steve. “Class and objectification:An investigation into the relationship between men’s social class and self-and other-objectification.” 2019). In fact, this type of phenomena is the result of psychological problems. These problems develop in women because of their role in society, which is to care about what men say and being able to fix their appearance to please them. Women tend to develop anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and eating disorders (Loughnan, Steve. “Class and objectification:An investigation into the relationship between women’s social class and self-and other-objectification.” 2019). Most women still undergo this situation, but know their worth. Women believed that objectification was going to end as they got their rights but now in modern days, society has not changed.

Many psychological ideas presented in the real world are presented in pieces of literature, whether it’s non-fiction or fiction. Short story, The Daemon Lover, by Shirley Jackson, did a great job demonstrating objectification and this story serves as a connection to how women in the real world feel. There have been studies where women paid more attention to their physical appearances and had doubts (Loughnan, Steve. “Class And Objectification:An investigation into the relationship between men’s social class and self-and other-objectification.” 2019). The woman Shirley Jackson introduced had the same doubts, when she said “ It’s as though I was trying to make myself look prettier than I am, just for him…It isn’t what you’re wearing that matters, she told herself firmly”(Jackson 11). She also explained, “It was two minutes after ten; she was not satisfied with her clothes, her face, her apartment” (Jackson 12). The “him” signified the woman’s husband and after thinking of him, her views of appearance changed and was now feeling stressed because of the clothing.

When a woman is being sexually objectified, the way her body and face look is the only thing that represents her rather than their personality (Guizzo, Francesca. “Objecting to Objectification: Women’s Collective Action against Sexual Objectification on Television). Jackson does another great job demonstrating this idea in The Daemon Lover. After the woman’s husband was nowhere to be found, she went out and searched for him. She came in contact with a man that worked in a flower shop and asked for help. The man acted like he was helping but really was just staring at her body and face and gave more compliments rather than advice. Women tend to live in fear and frustration because they never know what a man would do to them if they were alone. They limit what they wear for the sake of their safety (American Psychological Association. “Smile Pretty and Watch Your Back: Personal Safety Anxiety and Vigilance In Objectification Theory.” 2020). The woman in the short story was very frustrated after dealing with the florist. She mentioned, in an upsetting tone, “Going up the street she thought, Everyone thinks it’s so funny : and she pulled her coat tighter around her, so that only the ruffle around the bottom of the print dress was showing”(Jackson 23). She was a woman that knew her worth and hated the fact that she had to hide her body by adjusting her clothing, so men can help her instead of simply staring.

We see psychological ideas everywhere and this short story about a woman dealing with a psychological phenomena, did a great job at explaining to the readers what objectification is. Sometimes it is hard to tell, right away, what a person is going through, but that’s why moments are used to help. If we pay close attention, these are moments that other people undergo in the real world. Shirley Jackson’s short story was able to connect the main characters’ experiences with what women go through now.