Objectification: Is there really a 'perfect body'? 6 Minute English

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!