Objectization

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of viewing people solely as objects, reducing their individuality and agency, and the process of converting the subjectivity of individuals into mere items without value
2. The process by which individuals are perceived only as objects, disregarding their personal identity and autonomy, and the transformation of subjects into items lacking inherent worth
3. The act or process of regarding or presenting a person as an inanimate entity without personal qualities or rights

Etymology: "Objectization" is a plain formation: the noun "object" combined with the suffix "-ization," which turns a base into a noun meaning the process of making something into that thing. Here "object" is the thing being acted upon, so the word describes the act of turning a person into an object, treating them as a thing to be used rather than as a subject with their own will and interests. The suffix does most of the work. "-ize" (from Greek "-izein") forms verbs meaning "to make into," and "-ation" turns the verb into a noun for the act or result. So "objectize" means to make into an object, and "objectization" names that process. The root "object" comes from Latin "objectum," something thrown or placed before the mind, a sense that gradually narrowed to a material thing.

Synonyms: objectification, dehumanization, reification, materialization, subjugation