Magazine Standards
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Source used to build lesson: Male Body Image and Magazine Standards: Considering Dimensions of Age and Ethnicity
This source talks about how the males perception of an ideal body figure is affected by magazines (even though we don't really think about it as much as we do with females). No matter what age,gender, or ethnicity someone is, everyone as a whole is affected by the unattainable body standards of the media.
Learning Goals:
-Be able to understand that males are affected by beauty and body standards just as much as females are.
-Be more educated on how the media affects our perception of an ideal body type.
-Understand why we want to change our bodies not just for ourselves, but for other people.
-Understand what makes us compare ourselves to one another so much (competition, wanting to be better than the person next to us).
Focus of the class:
-Male and female body images are affected by the media.
Student Take-Away:
-Be able to understand that males are also affected by beauty standards of the media just as much as women are.
Key points:
-Discuss how men are affected and how women are affected by media body/beauty standards.
-Talk about competition and why we compare ourselves to much.
-Discuss the reasons why we shouldn't be comparing ourselves (unattainable beauty standards).
-Discuss how males and females use magazines to find the ideal body type.
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Activity:
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Purpose
-To help students realize that males and females are affected by media body standards , especially in magazines
Materials needed (If Applicable):
-Magazine (fitness/health/sports)
-Paper
-Pencil
-2 big poster papers
-Glue
-Red marker
-Green marker
-Groups of 5
Step 1:
-Divide groups by gender (boys/girls), 5 in each group.
Step 2:
-Have boys cut out at least 8 things they find in the magazine that they would love to have in a perfect world.
-Cut outs could be… (clear white/straight teeth,thin body shape,perfect stomach, big muscles, high cheekbones, skinny legs,fresh shaved legs, thin arms) etc.
Step 3:
Have all the boys gather up and glue their cut outs in one big poster labeled ‘’perfect boy’’ (same thing with girls).
Step 4:
Put the two posters side by side in front of the class.
Step 5:
Ask the class...
-What is it that you guys would want out of these pictures? mark them with a red marker (eventually they will most likely all be marked).
Step 6:
Then ask the class..
-How many of you guys actually have these features , mark them with a green marker (eventually there won't be a lot of them marked).
Discussion:
-Have the class understand that no matter what gender you are, men and women are both negatively affected by medias body standards , most of the time these beauty standards are unattainable and no matter what we do in our lives and no matter who we are, we will never look like the models on magazines because they are not realistic. We are all beautiful and unique in our own way and we need to embrace that. We can't keep comparing ourselves to each other because we will never reach happiness or satisfaction.
References:
-Pompper, D., Soto, J., & Piel, L. (2007). Male Body Image and Magazine Standards: Considering Dimensions of Age and Ethnicity. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 84(3), 525–545. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769900708400308
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