This presentation was delivered live over zoom on December 4th 2020 at our annual academic symposium. Isabelle was a third-year student at Ikon at the time of recording. This talk is the result of her personal final research project.
ABSTRACT:
In today’s climate of Instagram celebrities, endless selfie taking and cosmetic obsession, sexual self-objectification is more rampant than ever. Images perpetuating cultural body ideals are exponentially entering our field of awareness; it’s virtually impossible to go a day without seeing such images if you live in a built-up metropolitan area, and all the more so if you frequent social media. In this evening’s talk I’d like to draw attention to the core experience of shame which underlies this sexual self-objectification. I will examine the developmental origins of early-life experiences which generate a painful deficit embedded in the self and present sexual self-objectification as an adaptive strategy in the face of such. My hope is that it will become evident that sexual self-objectification, especially in its chronic form, is an indication of disruption in the formation of self and agency. I believe that if this was recognised at a collective level it might result in cultural disillusionment for hyper-sexual self-expression and lead to positive effects on psychological and physical well being.
Isabelle Ruiz, Bachelor of Counselling and Psychotherapy.