Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 21, 2026

Building Up Skin Models for Numerous Applications - from Two-Dimensional (2D) Monoculture to Three-Dimensional (3D) Multiculture
Published on: October 20, 2023
The swimsuit becomes us all: ethnicity, gender, and vulnerability to self-objectification
Michelle R Hebl1, Eden B King, Jean Lin
1Department of Psychology, Rice University-MS 25, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005, USA.
Abstract:
Self-objectification theory posits and past research has found that Caucasian women's body image is negatively affected by a stigma of obesity and sociocultural norm of thinness that leads women to self-focus from a critical external perspective. However, research in this area is limited by its methodology and the restricted demographic composition of its study participants. The current study tested 176 men and 224 women of Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and Asian American descent in a situation that induced a state of self-objectification (e.g., wearing a one-piece Speedo bathing suit) or that served as a control condition (e.g., wearing a sweater). Contrary to previous research, when put in a self-objectifying situation, men and women of every ethnicity experienced negative outcomes (e.g., lower math performance) that parallel those previously found for Caucasian women.
Related Concept Videos
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Sources of Self-Esteem I: Family Experience
Factors Influencing Attraction II: Physical Attraction
Social Identity
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
Social Foundations of Self IV: Self in Digital Communication

