Objectification 101

Some years ago my youngest daughter got a tattoo.  Expressing my disapproval I told her, "people don't put bumper stickers on Ferraris."  She retorted that the only person in her life who had every objectified her was me, when I compared her to a Ferrari.

She was wrong.  I am reasonably certain that every man and boy who ever wanted to bed her objectified her.  Further, she missed the definition of objectification, and so took offense when none was offered.

Objectification happens when a person is reduced to being considered like an object, without thought for their real self, their intelligence, and their feelings.  When a woman (or a man) is objectified as a sex object they are only considered for how their body can be used to gratify the sexual desires of another person, without regard to the needs, feelings, and intelligence of the person being objectified.

Here is the real lesson in Objectification 101 - you can't objectify an object.  

When I compared my daughter's body to a Ferrari, I was referring to the object that is her body and comparing it to another object. A car body.  I was not saying anything about her intelligence, her needs, or her feelings. I was questioning her judgement in how she was using one of the most important objects in her life.  I was making an analogy that points out the fact that when you have a very expensive and valuable object you don't mark it up with graffiti or stickers.  Our bodies are very expensive and valuable objects, but they are objects after all.

The Apostle Paul said that our bodies are temples for the spirit of God and that if we defile that temple God will destroy us. (1 Corinthians 3:17 & 6:19-20).  So, at least as far back as the first century AD it has been understood that our bodies are objects provided for our use by God, and He will hold us accountable for what we do with them.

The confusion conflating making an analogy about our body and objectification of our self arises because most of us identify ourselves too much with our bodies, rather than looking on our bodies for what they are, a home for our spirit and mind.  While it is true that our spirit, mind, and body are intertwined, our body does not truly represent our self.

A body may, like that of Stephen Hawking, be broken, weak, or twisted.  Or, like Arnold Schwarzenegger's be well formed, agile, and muscular.  But, neither the broken body, nor the well-formed one is a reflection of our mind and spirit.  The body is a temporary home for our mortal probation.

The world does its best to conflate our physical appearance with our self, and our self-worth.  Fashion models are worshipped and esteemed because of their bodies, rather than because of any particular intelligence or goodness they manifest.

When I was a young man Kathy Ireland was a world-famous fashion model.  At the time, her fame and fortune was wholly based on the attractiveness of her body.  Many years later I met Kathy Ireland in person.  When I met her I found that she was someone worthy of admiration.  She is a woman of intelligence, integrity, and ingenuity.  She took the monies she earned from her fashion career and turned them into a business empire which she runs.  She invested her money and her intelligence wisely.  Now that she is far beyond competing with young girls for the lustful attentions of the world, her brilliance, and her goodness are evident in both her deeds and her words.  When I met she expressly warned people about the false doctrine of the "prosperity Gospel" which equates righteousness with financial and physical well-being.

Kathy Ireland and Tom Sheppard

After we resurrect our bodies will be glorified and perfected and then they will reflect our true selves.  Until then, our body is an object, a mobile home, a Ferrari in which we travel through this life.

What is more is it is given to us as a loaner, and the true owner will hold us accountable for what we do with it.  God gives us our body, whether it is bent or straight, sickly or healthy, weak or strong.  He gives us a body out of his wisdom and love according to what he sees we need to help us grow more like Him.  Just as He gives us the circumstances of our life.  

When life is over we will face him again with all the bandages of self-deception ripped away and we will account to Him for what use we made of what He provided us.  

He won't judge us for the objects in our life.  Our physical frailties won't define us.  What we did with what He gave us will define us.  Did we trash it, hide it away, or do our best to use it well and honorably until it was no longer in our grasp?

Most of our world is comprised of objects.  Our bodies are objects.  Our minds, our feelings, our thoughts, our intentions, our imaginations, our will, those are not objects.  Those are the powers inherent in us that we apply to the objects in our life to shape and change the world.   

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Tom Sheppard is a business consultant and coach to small business owners and individuals. He is a recognized author with dozens of titles in business and fiction to his credit. One of his endeavors is to help those who want to see their own book in print. He does this through his trademarked Book Whispering Process (TM).

The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein.

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