Lesson Plan

A Classroom Lesson on Body Image

By Faith Rogow

As an introduction, I've always found that the more concrete, the better, especially with elementary and middle school students. You might want to try any of the following to spark an initial discussion about what it takes for people to look like models and why society insists that people conform to this image (i.e., who benefits from the current standards of beauty):

1. Take any fashion layout from a magazine that includes in small print the sources of what the model is wearing. Make sure it includes the brand(s) and types of cosmetics she is (supposedly) wearing. Then take a field trip to a department store and calculate the cost of the model's "look". Students who are more advanced in math might want to calculate what it would cost over the course of a month or a year. Then discuss what else they might use that money for (including, perhaps, community needs and not just new Game Boy games!).
2. Compare a picture of Wonder Woman with a picture of Superman. (I use versions from a box of superhero Valentine's for kids). Then ask what each had to do to get ready for work that morning. (Wonder Woman had to shave her legs and armpits, put on make up, etc.) Obviously, you can use any two pictures for this, but the superheroes always seem to work well. Somehow the idea of a superhero having to shave her legs always seems to get folks thinking.
3. This one is best for older students and requires some careful supervision so no one sprains an ankle: Bring in a pair of spike heeled shoes (stiletto’s)and ask boys to try walking in them. They soon discover that it's hard! Then bring in medical evidence about what wearing such shoes does to one's feet and spine. In high school and college classes I also invite women to share stories about their first pair of high heels and learning to walk in them. I've also used this activity to challenge students' Eurocentric mindset when they find out about things like the Chinese practice of binding women's feet. The temptation is to see the Chinese as backwards or barbaric. They soon find that our own current standards of beauty actually deform women's bodies.