Olweus Activity for January 20, 2016 No Name-Calling Week Beauty is Only Skin Deep

How does the media influence your perception of what’s attractive and what’s not attractive?  Think about these questions and share your thoughts only if you feel comfortable:  Have you ever been on the receiving end of a cruel comment about your physical appearance?  If so, have you considered changing your appearance in some way because of these comments?  Have you made cruel comments to others about their appearance?  Do you think advertisements show a person’s true appearance?  Do pictures in magazines and advertisements ever make you feel negatively about your own appearance?

How advertisements allow us to see ONLY what THEY want us to see…  Watch the video clip below. You will be amazed!   How does the Dove commercial relate to what we are talking about today?  Is beauty only the result of a photoshopped image? Aren’t we beautiful on the inside, too?  Beauty Standards Around the World - in the next video clip, a young woman sent an unaltered photo of herself to photoshop experts around the world and told them to “make me beautiful”. The results show how beauty is perceived in different countries.   Hey guys! Advertisements affect you, too! Check out this video clip:  Body Image Issues Increasingly Affecting Boys?!  RHJaR0kzd1k/view?usp=sharing RHJaR0kzd1k/view?usp=sharing

Check out these statistics !  A study of over 4,000 television commercials revealed that 1 out of every 3 to 4 commercials sends some sort of “attractiveness message,” telling viewers what is or is not attractive. The average teenager sees over 5,000 “attractiveness messages” each year.  Another study found that identification with television stars (for girls and boys), models (for girls), and athletes (for boys), is related to their unhappiness with their bodies.  Do you find these statistics to be true? Do you feel bombarded with advertisements telling you if you do this or that, you will be more attractive?

We Challenge You…  We challenge you, our students, to think about concrete ways we can change the culture in our school regarding this issue.  What can you do to go beyond appearance as a dominant force in the way you relate to your peers.  Remember that beauty is skin deep and you can’t always judge a book by its cover. It’s what’s on the inside that counts even more

If time allows, please read this passage from the novel The Skin I’m In by Sharon G. Flake  “It’s bad enough that I’m the darkest, worse-dressed thing in school. I’m also the tallest, skinniest thing you ever seen. And people like John-John remind me of it every chance I get. They don’t say nothing about the fact that I’m a math whiz, and can outdo ninth graders when it comes to figuring numbers. Or that I got a good memory and never forget one single, solitary thing I read. They only see what they see, and they don’t seem to like what they see much.”  Why are we so quick to judge others by their appearance without getting to know them?  How does this passage fit the sayings, “Beauty is only skin deep” and “Don’t judge a book by its cover?”  Where do we get our ideas about how people are “supposed” to look?