There are as many ways to objectify others as there are aspects of a person to focus on to the exclusion of the others. Sexual objectification gets the most attention on a societal level, but the many ways a person could disregard all but one part of a person's humanity extend far beyond mere sexuality. Every different form of objectification dehumanizes someone by ignoring almost the whole of their personhood and individuality in favor of whatever part of them is convenient for one's desires. Even someone who has not yet associated the term objectification with nonsexual reduction to one thing might have already feared that they are being trivialized to a single aspect of their existence. They have at least somewhat struggled with the hurt this can bring.
Of course, focusing on a part of a person that is situationally useful is not the same as believing or pretending that this is all there is to them. The latter is what constitutes objectification. Any person is hypothetically capable of objectifting anyone else in any possible way, but anyone who cares about deep connections with others or acknowledging everyone's shared humanity could easily sidestep this problem without even putting any effort into specifically avoiding objectification. Since objectification is in actuality a very extreme attitude towards someone because nothing but the pretense that someone is absolutely nothing but one aspect of themselves is truly objectification, it is not difficult for a sincere, rational person to reflect their desire for deep relationships in friendships, dating, or marriage.
If two people, in a romantic sense or a platonic one, truly love each other, they want to benefit each other without being loved merely because they offer benefits of various kinds. To be useful to someone one loves but not loved only for one's usefulness, to be perceived as physically attractive but not reduced down to just aesthetic pleasure or sex appeal, to be personally intimate but not used as a source of attention only when it is convenient--these are things one might hope for in a close friendship or romantic partnership. Where usefulness and appreciation is found and yet no person is thought of as no more than what they can offer the other party, there is the potential for a deep, fulfilling relationship based on truth instead of manipulation.
The only core relationships (friendships and romantic relationships, whether in dating or marriage) that will last for any reason beyond luck or happenstance are ones where these truths are understood, celebrated, and lived out. In turn, the only relationships where these truths can be understood without assumptions or distortions except by happenstance are ones between rationalistic individuals. Only through the necessary truths of reason and the self-awareness enabled through rationalism can relationships of the deepest and most lasting kinds develop intentionally. In this context, two people can relish the opportunity to share their lives and learn about each other, embracing the full scope of the pair's individuality and humanity.
This inevitably involves seeing others as more than just a means to an end, even if some people are more deserving of love and attention than others. Anyone who wants a friendship or romantic partnership that has substance (the only kind of friendship or romantic relationship worthy of pursuing) needs to embrace more than one aspect of the person they want to bond with. Thankfully, this is easy when one truly cares about another person as an individual and can be easy even when only only cares about others in the more impersonal sense of honoring their human rights. Mutuality and a genuine desire to know someone as well as epistemological limitations allow for is one of the most vital keys to relationships that, no matter how personal or deep or new they are, entail far more than just one person using another to pass time or appease selfish desires.
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