What is objectification? The word has various meanings. Objectification is often used in a general way to describe disrespectful ideas about another person when those ideas involve emphasis on physical beauty (or lack thereof) or dismissal of the objectified person's full personality and attributes.
So, as the saying goes, what do we talk about when we talk about objectification? Treating or regarding someone - a person - as an object or thing is objectification. However, "objectification" can also be the process of giving form or expression to an abstract concept or feeling. Objectification in art and literature may not necessarily be negative. In the colloquial sense, objectification is usually used with a negative connotation. It often refers to the reduction of a complete, whole person to a mere one-dimensional thing.
One of the main complaints about objectification is that it denies the humanity of the "object." For example, feminists often critique images or statements that treat women as sex objects. A sex object may be seen to exist only for the viewer's gratification, without regard to any other mental, physical or spiritual aspect of the person. Objectification also makes the "object"-person passive. An object receives the action instead of acting. An object lacks autonomy or power, and may even be owned.
Among the many feminist theorists and authors who have written about objectification are Catharine MacKinnon, Mary Kate McGowan, Martha Nussbaum, Gloria Steinem, Alice Walker and Jeanette Winterson.