Objectification In The Outside To The Inside Fukuyama Analysis
From the Outside to the Inside
In society, human beings are constantly being objectified. Body objectification dehumanizes an individual, hence affecting one’s identity and rights. Fukuyama’s essay helps readers understand the importance of respect in relation to human dignity. On the other hand, Roach focuses on the question of ethics for the purpose of using cadavers in ballistics testing. Both essays bring attention to the issue of body objectification and how it influences an individual. Body objectification strips the identity and rights of an individual until he or she is dead.
Identity is what makes a living individual unique and definable. Body objectification results in human beings becoming stripped of their own identity. This happens when a person objectifies another, he/she treats that individual as an object rather than a person. In order to create an identity, people need to be seen for who they are instead of for what they look like. Roach …show more content…
states, “they’re not a person, you think of them as a separate specimen” (358). In this statement, the author is explaining that when an individual is objectified, that person is no longer considered a human being. If an individual is an object, that person no longer has an identity because one is no longer human. More specifically, women are constantly losing their identity because of body objectification. In many cultures body objectification is considered part of the norm. For example, in some countries women are required to cover their bodies in order to keep men from temptation. As a result, their bodies are being treated as an object. These women are not being treated equally and they do not have their own identity. This is because they have to dress a certain way and hide their entire body. In the eyes of an outsider, these women would all look the same; individuality is nonexistent. If they are all the same then they do not have an identity because they lack individuality. Fukuyama states, “the human individual cannot be subordinated as a pure means or a pure instrument, either to the species or to society; he has a value per se. He is a person” (143). As human beings, people need to be respected and valued in order to have their own identity. In addition, in today’s society, women are constantly being stripped of their identity due to sexual objectivity of the body. Feminism is constantly devalued which brings down women and affects their identity. Both men and women are responsible for picking apart females. Instead of embracing them as a person, they are focused on their exterior. This affects their identity because then women are not being seen for who they really are. They are being seen as an object. Females have become dehumanized because of society’s views. Their bodies are looked at as a “thing” instead of a living being. They are being pushed to being the “perfect ten.” They have to look hot, sexy, and have a “banging” body. All of these characteristics are materialistic. Women are stripped of their identity due to body objectification because they are being made into an object and being judged based on their looks rather than the qualities that come from within the heart. According to Fukuyama, “skin color, looks, social class and wealth, gender, cultural background, and even one’s natural talents are all accidents of birth relegated to the class of nonessential characteristics” (143). Thus, he is saying that all of these characteristics are not important to an individual. What makes a person’s identity does not come from the outside but from what is in the inside.
Furthermore, one also suffers from a loss of rights due to body objectification. An individual’s rights are affected since there is no respect when a human being is objectified. Objectification takes away one’s humanity because one is no longer seen as a human. Instead, one is perceived as an object. When a person is seen as an object there is no respect. With no respect, there is a loss of rights because one is no longer recognized as an entire individual, which “would violate [one’s] dignity” (Roach 357). Fukuyama claims that, “we are required to respect people equally on the basis of their possession of Factor X. You can cook, eat, torture, enslave, or render the carcass of any creature lacking factor X, but if you do the same thing to a human being, you are guilty of a crime against humanity” (143). He explains that as long as one is human, we are required to respect that individual. Respect is a right that every human being is entitled to. Moreover, due to body objectification, individuals are making decisions based off of materialistic characteristics. This violates an individual’s rights of equality. Fukuyama states that, “we make decisions on whom to befriend, whom to marry or do business with, or whom to shun at social events on the basis of these secondary characteristics. But in the political realm we are required to respect people equally on the basis of their possession of Factor X” (143). Fukuyama illustrates that people make decisions based on outward appearances, when in reality, as humans people deserve to be treated equally based on their internal qualities. For instance, in today’s society, some women are hired based on beauty, rather than actual intelligence and experience. Therefore, the rights of a less attractive woman who is not hired has been violated. That individual who had her rights violated deserved to have been treated equally. Her body should not have been objectified because that violates her rights of equal opportunity. If objectification did not play a role in this scenario she would have received the job she deserved.
Eventually one will die, and when one does, body objectification does not affect the individual’s identity and rights. A human’s body is objectified during medical studies such as ballistic research. An individual does not have his/her identity and rights violated because there is informed consent for research. Informed consent means that the individual gave permission and filled out a form saying it is ok to use his/her own body for medical research once he/she is dead. Roach claims, “the sticking point is the word ‘informed’” (359). If someone signs a consent form, there are no rights violated because that individual understands that his/her body is being used for medical research. If that person did not like the idea of having his/her own body being touched then consent should have not been given. Furthermore, an individual’s rights are not violated because that person is dead. In the essay, The Cadaver Who Joined the Army, Roach interviews a few scientists such as Cindy Bur, who works with human cadavers. Bir states, “I know they can’t feel it, and I know that I’m not going to hurt them” (358). In other words, she is simply saying that since she works on deceased people, she knows that they do not have a sense of feeling or emotions and they cannot be injured. In addition, a deceased individual’s rights are not violated because in order to do good scientific research, you have to have objectivity. According to Roach, “Bir copes like most other cadaver researchers do, with a mix of compassion and emotional remove. ‘You treat them with dignity, and you kind of separate the fact that… I don’t want to say that they’re not a person, but you think of them as a separate specimen’” (358). It is necessary to treat a cadaver as an object in order to do sufficient research. A researcher is not disrespecting the individual. Instead, they are just doing what needs to be done in order to better our society by: saving lives, curing diseases, and protecting people (armor). Roach states, “They focus on the ends, rather than the means: someone’s vision may one day be saved” (357). What she means is that we have to focus on the big picture; that cadaver research helps save lives and protect people. Once a person is dead, they only go to ballistic research if they have given their consent, so their identity and rights are not violated. Therefore, they are actually being respected because their wishes are being made: to be used for research. In conclusion, body objectification violates and strips an individual of his/her identity and rights, until he/she is dead.
Objectification makes a human being into an object, which deprives a living human of having human qualities. People are stripped of their identity when they are body objectified because then they are just an individual body part. Identity is who an individual is. Therefore, when one is objectified that individual is no longer living because one is an object. Without being alive, people cannot make an identity for themselves because an identity does not come from physical characteristics, it comes from a person’s internal qualities. Additionally, body objectification violates the rights of people that are alive because then people are not treated fairly and with respect. But when a human being dies, he/she is no longer affected by body objectification because that individual is no longer living. Overall, body objectification has a negative impact on a human being unless he or she is
dead.
Works Cited
Fukuyama, Francis. “Human Dignity.” Emerging: Contemporary Readings For Writers. Ed. Barclay. Barrios. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. 142-163. Print.
Roach, Mary. “The Cadaver Who Joined the Army.” Emerging: Contemporary Readings For Writers. Ed. Barclay. Barrios. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. 347-360. Print.
In society, human beings are constantly being objectified. Body objectification dehumanizes an individual, hence affecting one’s identity and rights. Fukuyama’s essay helps readers understand the importance of respect in relation to human dignity. On the other hand, Roach focuses on the question of ethics for the purpose of using cadavers in ballistics testing. Both essays bring attention to the issue of body objectification and how it influences an individual. Body objectification strips the identity and rights of an individual until he or she is dead.
Identity is what makes a living individual unique and definable. Body objectification results in human beings becoming stripped of their own identity. This happens when a person objectifies another, he/she treats that individual as an object rather than a person. In order to create an identity, people need to be seen for who they are instead of for what they look like. Roach …show more content…
states, “they’re not a person, you think of them as a separate specimen” (358). In this statement, the author is explaining that when an individual is objectified, that person is no longer considered a human being. If an individual is an object, that person no longer has an identity because one is no longer human. More specifically, women are constantly losing their identity because of body objectification. In many cultures body objectification is considered part of the norm. For example, in some countries women are required to cover their bodies in order to keep men from temptation. As a result, their bodies are being treated as an object. These women are not being treated equally and they do not have their own identity. This is because they have to dress a certain way and hide their entire body. In the eyes of an outsider, these women would all look the same; individuality is nonexistent. If they are all the same then they do not have an identity because they lack individuality. Fukuyama states, “the human individual cannot be subordinated as a pure means or a pure instrument, either to the species or to society; he has a value per se. He is a person” (143). As human beings, people need to be respected and valued in order to have their own identity. In addition, in today’s society, women are constantly being stripped of their identity due to sexual objectivity of the body. Feminism is constantly devalued which brings down women and affects their identity. Both men and women are responsible for picking apart females. Instead of embracing them as a person, they are focused on their exterior. This affects their identity because then women are not being seen for who they really are. They are being seen as an object. Females have become dehumanized because of society’s views. Their bodies are looked at as a “thing” instead of a living being. They are being pushed to being the “perfect ten.” They have to look hot, sexy, and have a “banging” body. All of these characteristics are materialistic. Women are stripped of their identity due to body objectification because they are being made into an object and being judged based on their looks rather than the qualities that come from within the heart. According to Fukuyama, “skin color, looks, social class and wealth, gender, cultural background, and even one’s natural talents are all accidents of birth relegated to the class of nonessential characteristics” (143). Thus, he is saying that all of these characteristics are not important to an individual. What makes a person’s identity does not come from the outside but from what is in the inside.
Furthermore, one also suffers from a loss of rights due to body objectification. An individual’s rights are affected since there is no respect when a human being is objectified. Objectification takes away one’s humanity because one is no longer seen as a human. Instead, one is perceived as an object. When a person is seen as an object there is no respect. With no respect, there is a loss of rights because one is no longer recognized as an entire individual, which “would violate [one’s] dignity” (Roach 357). Fukuyama claims that, “we are required to respect people equally on the basis of their possession of Factor X. You can cook, eat, torture, enslave, or render the carcass of any creature lacking factor X, but if you do the same thing to a human being, you are guilty of a crime against humanity” (143). He explains that as long as one is human, we are required to respect that individual. Respect is a right that every human being is entitled to. Moreover, due to body objectification, individuals are making decisions based off of materialistic characteristics. This violates an individual’s rights of equality. Fukuyama states that, “we make decisions on whom to befriend, whom to marry or do business with, or whom to shun at social events on the basis of these secondary characteristics. But in the political realm we are required to respect people equally on the basis of their possession of Factor X” (143). Fukuyama illustrates that people make decisions based on outward appearances, when in reality, as humans people deserve to be treated equally based on their internal qualities. For instance, in today’s society, some women are hired based on beauty, rather than actual intelligence and experience. Therefore, the rights of a less attractive woman who is not hired has been violated. That individual who had her rights violated deserved to have been treated equally. Her body should not have been objectified because that violates her rights of equal opportunity. If objectification did not play a role in this scenario she would have received the job she deserved.
Eventually one will die, and when one does, body objectification does not affect the individual’s identity and rights. A human’s body is objectified during medical studies such as ballistic research. An individual does not have his/her identity and rights violated because there is informed consent for research. Informed consent means that the individual gave permission and filled out a form saying it is ok to use his/her own body for medical research once he/she is dead. Roach claims, “the sticking point is the word ‘informed’” (359). If someone signs a consent form, there are no rights violated because that individual understands that his/her body is being used for medical research. If that person did not like the idea of having his/her own body being touched then consent should have not been given. Furthermore, an individual’s rights are not violated because that person is dead. In the essay, The Cadaver Who Joined the Army, Roach interviews a few scientists such as Cindy Bur, who works with human cadavers. Bir states, “I know they can’t feel it, and I know that I’m not going to hurt them” (358). In other words, she is simply saying that since she works on deceased people, she knows that they do not have a sense of feeling or emotions and they cannot be injured. In addition, a deceased individual’s rights are not violated because in order to do good scientific research, you have to have objectivity. According to Roach, “Bir copes like most other cadaver researchers do, with a mix of compassion and emotional remove. ‘You treat them with dignity, and you kind of separate the fact that… I don’t want to say that they’re not a person, but you think of them as a separate specimen’” (358). It is necessary to treat a cadaver as an object in order to do sufficient research. A researcher is not disrespecting the individual. Instead, they are just doing what needs to be done in order to better our society by: saving lives, curing diseases, and protecting people (armor). Roach states, “They focus on the ends, rather than the means: someone’s vision may one day be saved” (357). What she means is that we have to focus on the big picture; that cadaver research helps save lives and protect people. Once a person is dead, they only go to ballistic research if they have given their consent, so their identity and rights are not violated. Therefore, they are actually being respected because their wishes are being made: to be used for research. In conclusion, body objectification violates and strips an individual of his/her identity and rights, until he/she is dead.
Objectification makes a human being into an object, which deprives a living human of having human qualities. People are stripped of their identity when they are body objectified because then they are just an individual body part. Identity is who an individual is. Therefore, when one is objectified that individual is no longer living because one is an object. Without being alive, people cannot make an identity for themselves because an identity does not come from physical characteristics, it comes from a person’s internal qualities. Additionally, body objectification violates the rights of people that are alive because then people are not treated fairly and with respect. But when a human being dies, he/she is no longer affected by body objectification because that individual is no longer living. Overall, body objectification has a negative impact on a human being unless he or she is
dead.
Works Cited
Fukuyama, Francis. “Human Dignity.” Emerging: Contemporary Readings For Writers. Ed. Barclay. Barrios. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. 142-163. Print.
Roach, Mary. “The Cadaver Who Joined the Army.” Emerging: Contemporary Readings For Writers. Ed. Barclay. Barrios. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. 347-360. Print.