Objectification theory provides a theoretical framework for understanding how socialization and experiences of objectification can lead women to place excessive value on their appearance—a process known as self-objectification. Despite the number of women that are mothers, the application of objectification theory to motherhood has been relatively limited. This review synthesizes the available research exploring objectification during motherhood. We conducted a systematic search for published and unpublished articles that quantitatively examined the objectification of, or self-objectification during, motherhood across five databases in March 2019. The search yielded 23 studies across 20 articles, which in combination revealed strong evidence of societal objectification of mothers and self-objectification by mothers. Effects were found for pregnant and postpartum women, in both community and university samples of mothers. Outcomes included more body shame, concerns about the negative impact of breastfeeding, barriers to breastfeeding, fear of childbirth, disordered eating, and greater appearance concerns in mothers, and sexualized behaviors and body surveillance for their children. Some evidence indicated that self-objectifying may be protective for mothers in certain situations, but it was mostly associated with harmful consequences. Finally, some evidence suggested that there may be age and generational effects of objectification, which may impact all women, including mothers. We hope these findings highlight the benefits for women to engage in healthy relationships with their bodies and to consider the functionality of their body as it changes in preparation for entering motherhood.

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探索客观化和母性的系统文献综述

客观化理论提供了一个理论框架，用于理解社会化和客观化经历如何导致女性过度重视自己的外表——这一过程被称为自我客观化。尽管成为母亲的女性人数众多，但客观化理论在母性方面的应用相对有限。本综述综合了探索母性期间客观化的现有研究。我们对 2019 年 3 月五个数据库中已发表和未发表的文章进行了系统搜索，这些文章定量检查了母亲在母亲期间的客观化或自我客观化。搜索产生了 20 篇文章中的 23 项研究，这些研究结合起来揭示了社会客观化的有力证据母亲和母亲的自我物化。在社区和大学的母亲样本中发现了对孕妇和产后妇女的影响。结果包括更多的身体羞耻、对母乳喂养的负面影响的担忧、母乳喂养的障碍、对分娩的恐惧、饮食失调、母亲对外表的更大担忧，以及对孩子的性行为和身体监控。一些证据表明，在某些情况下，自我客观化可能对母亲有保护作用，但它主要与有害后果有关。最后，一些证据表明，物化可能存在年龄和代际影响，这可能会影响所有女性，包括母亲。