Objectification and the Candidate: Examining the Effects of Objectification Paired with Candidate Coverage on Candidate Evaluations and Gender Bias

Abstract

In an experiment conducted during the 2016 presidential primary season, participants viewed an article about a speech attributed to either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. Men who read the Clinton article alongside an ad featuring an objectified woman (deemed paired objectification) rated Clinton as significantly less competent than when the article was accompanied by a neutral ad. No effect of paired objectification was found among women nor among participants who read the Sanders article. These results support existing calls to reduce media sexual objectification of women, highlighting its potential role in the underrepresentation of women in politics.

Keywords:

• Competence
• Explicit Sexism
• Implicit Sexism
• Objectification
• Women in Politics

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This work was completed with the support of the Gallaudet University’s Small Research Grants. The authors would like to thank research assistants Ashley Anderson, Kelly Doleac, and Ryssa Berry Fleischer for their work on this project.

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Gallaudet University’s Small Research Grants Program.

Notes on contributors

Deborah Schooler

Deborah Schooler, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Gallaudet University. Her research examines adolescent and adult development in social and cultural contexts, focusing on media, body image, and sexual health.

Jennifer Stevens Aubrey

Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, PhD, is a Professor of Communication at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on media effects on emotional, mental, and physical health, especially in regard to gender, sexuality, and body image.