Excellent article on objectification of women in photos
They kind of had me when they quoted Martha Nussbaum to structure the objectification / subjectification dichotomy.. Nussbaum says:
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum has said that objectification “includes denial of autonomy, denial of subjectivity. Not taking people’s feelings into account, but also treating them as a mere instrument.”
The article goes on to give two examples, one of an objectified woman in a photo and one in a subjectified woman — and explains the differences, including the way the photo is posed, cropped, the background and other considerations.
It’s brilliant — and an important means of deciding which images are empowering and which are objectifying.
philosophyfactory 