Objectification: Is there really a 'perfect body'? Listen to 6 Minute English - YouTube
Neil: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute
English, I'm Neil.
Sam: And I'm Sam.
Neil: And in this programme we're looking
at the word objectification.
Sam: Objectification is when we reduce
people to objects.
Neil: An example of this is advertising and
the media and in particular the way
women have been shown. Impossibly
attractive and implausibly perfect models
in adverts and in movies and on TV
you are much more likely to see naked
or half-naked women than men.
Sam: Objectification can lead to issues
in society such as inequality
and discrimination.
Objectification of women is a problem but
what about the objectification of men?
Neil: Before we hear more, it's time for a
question. Today's question is: on British
TV in which decade was a completely
naked man first seen? Was it...
a) the 1940s, b) the 1950s or
c) the 1960s?
What do you think Sam?
Sam: I'm going for the 60s.
Neil: I'll give the answer later in the
programme. Now Sam, do you know the
TV programme Love Island?
Sam: Yes, it's a kind of a dating show and
all the contestants - men and women -
spend a lot of time in their swimming
costumes and they've all got perfect bodies.
Neil: Yes, that's right. It's a programme
that seems to objectify men and
women equally. But is that a bad thing?
Dr Peter Lucas is Senior Lecturer in
Philosophy at the University of Central
Lancashire. He spoke on this topic on the
BBC's Woman's Hour programme.
What does he suggest might be the
advantage of featuring men
with 'perfect' bodies?
Dr Peter Lucas: If you look at the impact
of TV series like Love Island for instance,
the producers of that programme present
that as, have described that as
being aspirational for their audience.
It's presenting role models, its presenting
models that people are supposed
to aspire to. Now many women, thinking
about the male bodies that are on display there
might think well, if it means that more
men get off to the gym,
look after themselves
physically, surely that's a good thing.
Neil: So what might be an advantage of
these highly fit athletic bodies on show?
Sam: Dr Lucas suggests that seeing
those bodies might encourage men
to go to the gym and work
hard to improve their fitness and health
and that could be a good thing.
Neil: Yes, the people in the programme
are described as role models.
A role model is someone whose
behaviour is seen as a good
example for others to copy.
Sam: I'm not sure the behaviour of the
people in Love Island makes them
good role models,
but perhaps from the point of view of
their physical fitness they
give us something to
aspire to. If you aspire to something, it's
something you can aim for, something you want
to achieve. Dr Lucas also used a related word,
aspirational. The TV series Love Island was
described as being aspirational. It shows
a lifestyle that people would like to have,
something they might aim to achieve.
Neil: But there are also dangers to
encouraging people to get to the gym.
Here's Dr Lucas again.
Dr Peter Lucas: But also it's likely to
generate higher levels of narcissism,
self-consciousness, becoming obsessive
about your appearance. It's not
particularly an attractive feature
either in men or in women and I suspect
that's impacting on men's behaviour in a
way which is detrimental in the same
sort of way that's been detrimental for
women really, for decades.
Neil: He talks about behaviour that is
detrimental, this means behaviour that
has a negative impact.
What behaviours does he say
are detrimental?
Sam: If people become obsessed by their
appearance it could lead to narcissism.
This is a condition where you spend
so much time focussing on yourself, your
own looks, your own body that
you stop caring about anyone else.
Neil: And because it's very very hard to
get that kind of body it can also lead to
people being very self-conscious.
They might become embarrassed about
their bodies and lose confidence
in themselves as a result.
Right. It's almost time to review this
week's vocabulary, but before that let's
have the answer to the quiz.
In what decade was the first naked man
seen on British TV? Was it...
a) the 1940s, b) the 1950s or
c) the 1960s? What did you say, Sam?
Sam: I said c) the 60s.
Neil: I'm afraid the revolution had come
earlier than that. The correct answer is
the 1950s.
It was a 1957 documentary called
Out of Step, part of which was filmed
at a nudist colony.
Now, time for our vocabulary.
Sam: Our first word was objectification.
This is the noun for when we
reduce a human being
to an object. We don't think of them as a
real person any more.
The verb is to objectify.
Neil: Someone whose behaviour is
a good example that others want
to copy is a role model.
Sam: When it comes to presenting
6 Minute English, you are my role model, Neil.
Neil: You're too kind, and I aspire to your
level of professionalism, Sam. To aspire to
- to aim to be, to hope to achieve.
Sam: That is related to the next word,
aspirational. This adjective is used
to describe the desire to improve parts
of you life - for example, getting a better
job or a better body. Aspirational TV
programmes or adverts show lifestyles
that people might want to be theirs.
Neil: Our next word is an adjective for
something that is bad for you, something
that has a negative effect.
The adjective is detrimental.
Sam: We heard that aspiring to the
perfect body can be detrimental
because it might lead to
narcissism. Narcissism is the term for
someone who is so obsessed with their own
body and life that they don't
care about anyone else.
Neil: Achieving that perfect body is
incredibly hard and impossible for
most real people and not achieving it
can make people overly self-conscious
- which in this situation means that they
can lose confidence in themselves.
Sam: That's all we have time for today.
Do join us next time and remember
you can find us on the website
bbclearningenglish.com. Bye bye.
Neil: Bye!
