181101

[00:01.35] BBC LEARNING ENGLISH

[00:04.10] 6 Minute English

[00:04.61] Objectification

[00:05.36] This is not a word-for-word transcript

[00:07.11] 6 Minute English ©British Broadcasting Corporation 2018

[00:08.85] bbclearningenglish.com Page 1 of 4

[00:10.60] Neil

[00:12.61] Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English, I'm Neil.

[00:13.61] Sam

[00:13.86] And I'm Sam.

[00:16.86] Neil

[00:17.36] And in this programme we're looking at the word objectification.

[00:18.60] Sam

[00:19.61] Objectification is when we reduce people to objects.

[00:23.85] Neil

[00:25.11] An example of this is advertising and the media and in particular the way women have been

[00:29.61] shown. Impossibly attractive and implausibly perfect models in adverts and in movies and on

[00:35.11] TV you are much more likely to see naked or half-naked women than men.

[00:39.11] Sam

[00:39.87] Objectification can lead to issues in society such as inequality and discrimination.

[00:40.36] Objectification of women is a problem but what about the objectification of men?

[06:11.42] Neil

[06:13.42] Before we hear more, it's time for a question. Today's question is: on British TV in which

[00:00.00] decade was a completely naked man first seen? Was it…

[00:00.00] a) the 1940s

[00:00.00] b) the 1950s

[00:00.00] c) the 1960s

[00:00.00] What do you think Sam?

[00:00.00] Sam

[00:00.00] I'm going for the 60s.

[00:00.00] Neil

[00:00.00] I'll give the answer later in the programme. Now Sam, do you know the TV programme

[00:00.00] Love Island?

[00:00.00] 6 Minute English ©British Broadcasting Corporation 2018

[00:00.00] bbclearningenglish.com Page 2 of 4

[00:00.00] Sam

[00:00.00] Yes, it's a kind of a dating show and all the contestants - men and women - spend a lot of

[00:00.00] time in their swimming costumes and they've all got perfect bodies.

[00:00.00] Neil

[00:00.00] Yes, that's right. It's a programme that seems equally to objectify men and women equally.

[00:00.00] But is that a bad thing? Dr Peter Lucas is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of

[00:00.00] Central Lancashire. He spoke on this topic on the BBC's Woman's Hour programme. What

[00:00.00] does he suggest might be the advantage of featuring men with 'perfect' bodies?

[00:00.00] Dr Peter Lucas

[00:00.00] If you look at the impact of TV series like Love Island for instance, the producers of that

[00:00.00] programme present that as, have described that as being aspirational for their audience.

[00:00.00] It's presenting role models, its presenting models that people are supposed to aspire to.

[00:00.00] Now many women, thinking about the male bodies that are on display there might think

[00:00.00] well, if it means that more men get off to the gym, look after themselves physically, surely

[00:00.00] that's a good thing.

[00:00.00] Neil

[00:00.00] So what might be an advantage of these highly fit athletic bodies on show?

[00:00.00] Sam

[00:00.00] Dr Lucas suggests that seeing those bodies might encourage men to go to the gym and

[00:00.00] work hard to improve their fitness and health and that could be a good thing.

[00:00.00] Neil

[00:00.00] Yes, the people in the programme are described as role models. A role model is someone

[00:00.00] whose behaviour is seen as a good example for others to copy.

[00:00.00] Sam

[00:00.00] I'm not sure the behaviour of the people in Love Island makes them good role models, but

[00:00.00] perhaps from the point of view of their physical fitness they give us something to aspire to.

[00:00.00] If you aspire to something, it's something you can aim for, something you want to achieve.

[00:00.00] Dr Lucas also used a related word, aspirational. The TV series Love Island was described

[00:00.00] as being aspirational. It shows a lifestyle that people would like to have, something they

[00:00.00] might aim to achieve.

[00:00.00] Neil

[00:00.00] But there are also dangers to encouraging people to get to the gym. Here's Dr Lucas again.

[00:00.00] Dr Peter Lucas

[00:00.00] But also it's likely to generate higher levels of narcissism, self-consciousness, becoming

[00:00.00] obsessive about your appearance. It's not particularly an attractive feature either in men or

[00:00.00] in women and I suspect that's impacting on men's behaviour in a way which is detrimental

[00:00.00] in the same sort of way that's been detrimental for women really, for decades.

[00:00.00] 6 Minute English ©British Broadcasting Corporation 2018

[00:00.00] bbclearningenglish.com Page 3 of 4

[00:00.00] Neil

[00:00.00] He talks about behaviour that is detrimental, this means behaviour that has a negative

[00:00.00] impact. What behaviours does he say are detrimental?

[00:00.00] Sam

[00:00.00] If people become obsessed by their appearance it could lead to narcissism. This is a

[00:00.00] condition where you spend so much time focussing on yourself, your own looks, your own

[00:00.00] body that you stop caring about anyone else.

[00:00.00] Neil

[00:00.00] And because it's very very hard to get that kind of body it can also lead to people being very

[00:00.00] self-conscious. They might become embarrassed about their bodies and lose confidence in

[00:00.00] themselves as a result.

[00:00.00] Right. It's almost time to review this week's vocabulary, but before that let's have the

[00:00.00] answer to the quiz. In what decade was the first naked man seen on British TV? Was it…

[00:00.00] a) the 1940s

[00:00.00] b) the 1950s

[00:00.00] c) the 1960s

[00:00.00] What did you say, Sam?

[00:00.00] Sam

[00:00.00] I said c) the 60s.

[00:00.00] Neil

[00:00.00] I'm afraid the revolution had come earlier than that. The correct answer is the 1950s. It was

[00:00.00] a 1957 documentary called Out of Step, part of which was filmed at a nudist colony. Now,

[00:00.00] time for our vocabulary.

[00:00.00] Sam

[00:00.00] Our first word was objectification. This is the noun for when we reduce a human being

[00:00.00] to an object. We don't think of them as a real person anymore. The verb is to objectify.

[00:00.00] Neil

[00:00.00] Someone whose behaviour is a good example that others want to copy is a role model.

[00:00.00] Sam

[00:00.00] When it comes to presenting 6 Minute English, you are my role model, Neil.

[00:00.00] Neil

[00:00.00] You're too kind, and I aspire to your level of professionalism, Sam. To aspire to - to aim

[00:00.00] to be, to hope to achieve.

[00:00.00] Sam

[00:00.00] That is related to the next word, aspirational. This adjective is used to describe the desire

[00:00.00] to improve parts of you life - for example, getting a better job or a better body.

[00:00.00] 6 Minute English ©British Broadcasting Corporation 2018

[00:00.00] bbclearningenglish.com Page 4 of 4

[00:00.00] Aspirational TV programmes or adverts show lifestyles that people might want to be

[00:00.00] theirs.

[00:00.00] Neil

[00:00.00] Our next word is an adjective for something that is bad for you, something that has a

[00:00.00] negative effect. The adjective is detrimental.

[00:00.00] Sam

[00:00.00] We heard that aspiring to the perfect body can be detrimental because it might lead to

[00:00.00] narcissism. Narcissism is the term for someone who is so obsessed with their own body

[00:00.00] and life that they don't care about anyone else.

[00:00.00] Neil

[00:00.00] Achieving that perfect body is incredibly hard and impossible for most real people and not

[00:00.00] achieving it can make people overly self-conscious - which in this situation means that they

[00:00.00] can lose confidence in themselves.

[00:00.00] Sam

[00:00.00] That's all we have time for today. Do join us next time and remember you can find us on

[00:00.00] the website bbclearningenglish.com. Bye bye.

[00:00.00] Neil

[00:00.00] Bye!