“I Am a Hot Box of Rice”: Influence of Makeup Advertisements on Women’s Self-Objectifying Statements

Objectification theory posits that makeup advertisements socialize women to self-objectify (habitually control external perceptions through monitoring of appearance) and have negative effects on women. An emerging literature suggests the benefits of promoting positive body image through media campaigns portraying broader definitions of beauty. Therefore, we sought to evaluate whether an alternative makeup ad, “Be a Force of Beauty,” would counteract the inherently objectifying effects of makeup ads. We found that participants who viewed the alternative ad reported less self-objectifying statements, more trait self-statements, and more positive self-statements overall than those who viewed a typical or neutral ad