By the time a young girl reaches adolescence, she has been well schooled in the primary importance of physical appearance. Socializing girls to invest so heavily in appearance contributes to serious emotional health problems during adolescence. Because attractiveness is associated with personal worth, an unattractive body translates into low self-esteem. Preoccupation with female beauty also causes serious physical health problems. In a culture where a woman's value is determined by the attractiveness of her body, her identity becomes closely connected with how she looks.
Objectification is a form of oppression.
Objectification may leave women vulnerable to acts of sexual violence. Seeing a woman as less than human makes it easier to insult, degrade, harass and abuse her. Women who objectify themselves may do this as a form of self-punishment. Treating the body as an object may affect an adult woman's physical health. It can also have an enormous long term impact on emotional health.