The effects of objectification are as widespread as they are damaging.

Contests such as Best Buns, Party Darts, and Babe of the Day ran by 100.3 The Bear encourage women to view themselves as objects for others’ pleasures and desires -- as well as place their value on their physical appearance. These contests also show a certain amount of sexism, as they do not allow men to participate.

Women are largely affected by the following mental problems associated with objectification (Symanski et al., 2011):

• Eating Disorders
• Sexual Dysfunction
• Body Shame
• Depression

Sexual objectification causes the women to be dehumanized, seen as less competent, and also leads to an increased tolerance of sexual harassment and rape myths as seen in comment sections for many of these contests. (Ms. Magazine)

Stats from MissRepresentation:

• 1 in 4 girls experience teen dating violence
• 1 in 4 women are abused by a partner in their lifetime
• 1 in 6 women are survivors of rape or attempted rape.

The media plays one of the biggest roles in the perpetuation of this sexually objectified image of girls and women. It gives us the false notion that all the goals of feminism have already been achieved and thus women do not need to worry about objectification or misogyny (Levy, 2005).  This is untrue however, as the media tends to reduce women to body parts separated from an individual. The many contests operated by 100.3 The Bear judge women based on features such as their “buns” or their breasts therefore inhibiting people from seeing these women as persons but rather as objects

The media profits from the degrading way in which it presents women and it will not stop unless we speak up for all the women struggling from the many adverse effects of sexual objectification. 

Please sign our petition if you are as tired as we are with the way 100.3 The Bear reduces women to sex objects for the pleasure of their male demographic.