Beauty & Body Image

Objectives :: Beauty & Body Image (50 min)

Students to be made aware of beauty representations in the media for boys/men & girls/women Students to be aware that such representations sometimes perpetuate problematic standards of beauty

Materials Needed
Internet access for videos

Activities:
Note: Activities A and B can be used as stand-alone activities or together, in any order. 15 min: Activity A Dove Evolution (for boys/men & girls/women) Watch: Dove Evolution [01.14, via Youtube] How do you think advertising affects ones perception of girlhood/womanhood? Why do think this is the case? Does the image perpetuate any stereotypes with regards to gender? If so, what? How do you think advertising affects ones perception of boyhood/manhood? Why do think this is the case? Watch: Dove Campaign for Real Beauty (male version) [04.13, via Youtube] Have you ever felt pressured to live up to the particular standards of masculinity, femininity or beauty? How do people respond to such pressures? Additional resource: Fotoshop by Adobe [02.16, via Youtube] 10 min: Activity B The London Weight Management advertisement Note: The following video is only available in Mandarin. Although it can be easily understood without translation, educator can get Mandarin-speaking students to translate it for the class. Show video London Weight Management Capsule [02:00, via Vimeo] Discuss how different genders are represented in this advertisement. How do the students feel?

Who is the intended audience of this advertisement (gender, ethnicity, age, geographic location, sexual orientation etc)? Who may be affected by this advertisement?

Additional resources: Cast your Alamak! vote now (AWARE, 10 Aug 2012) and Slimming company defends its controversial ad (Yahoo! News Singapore, 29 Sept 2011)

25 min: Conclusion
Students should read one of the following articles: Boys hit by body image pressure (BBC News, 1 May 2006) More men seeking help for eating disorders in past 2 years (Channel NewsAsia, 1 Jan 2010)

Concluding discussion (based on the reading) Do you think the beauty industrys media representation of beauty is a factor in lowering peoples self esteem? What are your thoughts? How can the situation be improved?

Additional Resources

FAQ on Eating Disorders (AWARE) Kate teaches her daughter to love her body (marieclairvoyant.com, 8 Nov 2011) Launch of Dove Self Esteem Fund (Singhealth, 17 Jan 2007) Stories from Not Just Surface Damage Note: Not Just Surface Damage is a free compilation of heartfelt testimonials from eating disorder survivors and supporters in Singapore, together with additional information on avenues for support.