Alright, so let's jump right into this. It's no secret that some (not all) men objectify women, and sometimes some women objectify men, as well.
The way I see it, a person is viewed as either a rock (an object) or a turtle (a living, breathing being with feelings).
Objectification is defined as "the action of degrading someone to the status of a mere object." This can happen when someone disassociates another person from being a human being, or doesn't view them as more than just "something nice to look at."
One example is the way an individual looks at a picture of a male or female. Say someone shows them an image of a random person, and the viewer uses words to describe the pictured individual, such as "hot," or "she's got a nice butt," or "he's got great abs!"
There isn't necessarily anything wrong with saying those things, but it's also how you say it, why you're saying it and if you purposefully choose to continue to only view people in this manner, without caring about their hearts or personalities. It's one thing to appreciate someone's outward characteristics, but it's another for that to be the only way you appreciate them.
So, say we have this random guy named Gaston (of no relation to the Beauty and The Beast character), who views most females as "rocks" unless they are women who are close to him, such as his mom, sister, niece, etcetera, whom he views as "turtles."
One day, he meets a particularly interesting rock whom we'll call Genevieve. Slowly, Gaston falls in love with her, and he begins to realize that she is not a rock, she's a turtle, with feelings, a mind and soul. From then on out, she is viewed as a lovable being who is more than just some "body" walking down the street or an individual on a computer screen. Granted, objectification goes a bit deeper than that, but you get the point.
Additionally, once Genevieve becomes a turtle, she will always be a turtle, there's a very little chance that she will ever go back to being a rock. Once you've been seen for who you really are, it can be hard for someone to see you as anything else.
However, you can be a rock to a certain guy, and always have the potential of being seen as a turtle, but never quite become one (to no fault of your own); sometimes turtles are confused for rocks.
The problem is, all women (and men, too), have always been turtles, whether they are viewed as such, or not. The way someone sees you, even if it is inaccurate, does not change who you are and how much you matter.
No matter how you throw it, spin it or put a nice big analogy on it to make sense of it and make objectification seem OK, it won't ever be OK, no matter who does it or how it's done.
People aren't possessions and they weren't created to be stared at or lusted after like cupcakes waiting to be devoured.
Objectification is not always done on purpose, it's somewhat of a learned behavior that the person does not always realize they are doing. It can also depend on how the individual was raised, too.
Of course, any learned behavior can be unlearned, no matter how ingrained the idea has become. Once a habit is realized, how the individual continues to choose to view someone else is always a choice. The decision has always been ours.
