Level(s): Grades 8 - 9
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Overview
This is the third of three lessons that address gender stereotypes. The objective of these lessons is to encourage students to develop their own critical intelligence with regard to culturally inherited stereotypes, and to the images presented in the media - film and television, rock music, newspapers and magazines.
The lesson begins with a discussion about how self-violence may be promoted by the fashion industry when men and women put their health at risk to attain impossible standards of attractiveness and thinness. Students also explore how stereotypes about masculinity can fuel male violence.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- recognize the potentially damaging effects of living up to stereotypes, and how they can lead to abuse and violence against ourselves and others;
- understand that "going along with the crowd" can involve sacrificing one's own principles (which is one way of being aggressive towards oneself), as well as infringing on the rights of others;
- explore and practice a positive approach to situations involving peer pressure.
Preparation and Materials
- A magazine photo of a thin woman, for distribution or overhead projection.
- Copies of newspaper articles
- Hand out copies of Thinness Statistics to students.
- Recommended resources: The NFB's Killing Us Softly (film) and Still Killing Us Softly (video), Toughguise (video).
Procedure
Background:
When we unconsciously try to live up to the unattainable standards of the stereotype we can do physical and emotional harm to ourselves. Often, we don't notice this because we tend to mould ourselves to fit these stereotypes as a matter of course. This can be damaging. A boy with a very slight build who wants to be muscle-bound is fighting against himself if he tries to change his physique to match that of the stereotypical male. A girl who has an angular nose can fall into the same trap if she listens to her friends and/or relatives who are trying to convince her she needs a nose job.
It takes conviction and self-assurance to accept oneself despite of the disapproval of others. The first step is seeing that beliefs in stereotypes stem from a weak sense of self. Being accepted by others, as desirable as it may be, is not as important as self-acceptance. The activities in this lesson are designed to help students see the harmful effects of believing in gender stereotypes.
Activity 3.1: Dying to be Thin
Introduction: There is another way that male and female stereotypes lead to violence. They portray the perfect face, the perfect body, the ideal build images that are totally cool. We tend to want to be like them. We want to look like the woman on the cover of Seventeen or high fashion models or the men that we see in commercials, in the movies, and on TV. If we are not careful, we can begin to lose self-esteem, because we want to be like someone else - our media heroes.
What does this have to do with violence? It means not liking who we are. This is a subtle form of violence towards ourselves, rather than the more obvious violence towards others that we have been exploring so far. The next step is that we begin to expect and want others to fit these stereotypes too - we begin to like the stereotypes more than real people, and so we try to fit our friends into these boxes. This causes lots of problems in relationships.
Note: Students may need help with this point because there is a big difference between thinking somebody else looks good, and wanting to be like them. It's important for us to fundamentally like the way we are.
- Show photos of "fashionably" thin women from any women's magazine on an overhead projector or as handouts.
Ask students:
- How does this person live up to the "ideal" standards found in the stereotype box (from the lessons Exposing Gender Stereotypes and Learning Gender Stereotypes)?
- How is she successful at being a woman according to these norms?
- What is the connection between ads like this and eating disorders?
- Do you think women would want to be thin if they were not bombarded with thin images of women, like this, in the media?
- How do these Caucasian standards for body image differ from standards for other cultural groups, such as: African Canadians, Inuit or various Asian cultural groups? (Consider that the vast majority of models have white skin.) Note: In some cultures, heavy body weight is considered to be a sign of beauty and healthiness!)
- What about at different times in history? Has the thin woman always been the ideal? (Paintings that pre-date this century often depict full-bodied women. The women Matisse painted were anything but thin!)
Women's preoccupation with the beauty myth is evident in most cultures that consume television and other media influences. Sadly, more and more women want to be the stereotypical ideal, and they are preoccupied with either getting thin or staying thin. For many young girls, it starts as early as elementary school.
This is a form of violence that women do to themselves. Excessive dieting can not only damage the organs by robbing the body of essential nutrients, it can cause death. The "dying to be thin" mindset also fosters a very unhealthy set of attitudes, which affect relationships, both now and in the future.
- How would you define the eating disorders known as anorexia nervosa and bulimia? (Anorectics pursue thinness through extreme dieting and excessive exercise, while bulimics eat out of control and then purge themselves by vomiting, fasting, taking laxatives, and exercising.)
- Read to the class, or distribute for individual or group study and discussion, the newspaper article, The Beautiful, the Bulemic and the Dead
Closure: The violence we can do to ourselves if we unknowingly accept these stereotypes can be very subtle. We don't have to look like Hollywood or soap opera stars. They put a huge amount of effort into maintaining a certain look, and they get paid lots of money for their trouble. What does that have to do with us? We're leading ordinary lives in the real world, yet for some reason we have a hankering to be like them. It's important to understand why there are so many women who are suffering with eating disorders. First, it can help us avoid falling into the same pitfalls, and, secondly, it can help us feel empathy for those who do suffer from these disorders.
Extension: Use the newspaper article Starve and Binge for homework or group discussion.
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Activity 3.2: Pondering Manhood's Price
- Display stereotype boxes from the first two lessons.
Introduction: The impact of gender stereotypes on women is that they have to be a certain way in order to fit into the stereotype box. For men and boys, the pressure to conform to the gender stereotype takes the form of pressure to do or act in certain ways. Physical ability is very important in becoming a man, and it is often used to prove one's manhood. Men are violent to other men. "Gay bashing," sports activities (like the World Wrestling Federation), and certain initiation rituals are physical - often abusive - reminders that to be a real man, you must be the toughest to survive.
Men's Violence Against Men
Ask your students:
- What do men do physically to prove that they are "real men?"
- Let's look at our Act Like A Man stereotype box. If you are a victim of bullying, or sexual abuse, how do the attitudes in this box make it difficult for you to talk about your problems?
- What names will you be called if you talk?
These stereotypes push an unhealthy message on men: When we get hurt, we take it in, keep it in, don't ever tell anyone. When we raise a child to take the pain, keep it to himself, and to not show any feelings, we're training an emotional time bomb. What is going to happen when this person finds himself getting mad or upset about something at the age of 17 or 18 or 20?
When we hear "men's violence against other men," we typically think of blatant acts of aggression, like hitting, stabbing, or gunning down. But there are a lot of other forms of violence we don't normally think of. Take initiations, for instance.
Ask your students:
- What do we mean by initiation?
- Define "initiation," and call students' attention to initiations in sports. Give two examples:
1. Heat Liniment: Heat liniment is poured down the front of the new team member's shorts in the locker room. One student in Brookfield, N.S. was reportedly sent to hospital with second degree burns.
2. Peanut Butter Jog: The new team member goes jogging with peanut butter smeared on his under arm. When he returns from the jog, he has to eat the peanut butter with crackers while his team members watch.
- Have you heard about other initiations in sports?
- Why is it important in this type of initiation for the person to be uncomfortable?
- What does discomfort have to do with being a "real man?" (Note: According to the male stereotype, men have to prove that they're tough; that they can take it; that they're not sissies so the best way to know if someone is a "real man" [i.e., one of the guys] is to put him to the test, which involves making him suffer.)
- Distribute Pondering Manhood's Price for in-class use or homework.
Extension: To learn more about how the media promotes stereotypes about masculinity, show the video Toughguise to students.
© Men For Change
