Bodies and Fat Phobia
Diversity in Education Course 2017
Conclusion

With the increase in social medias influence on bodies and fat phobia I feel that students must be educated in accepting differences. Many forms of bullying that are seen inside and outside of school are based around some form of body related ‘issue’. Informing students that there are differences in everyone’s shape, size, and appearance is important in fostering an open-minded classroom. Though bullying can be a difficult topic to cover in class, reenactment could benefit a classroom. Finding the right role-play scenario where everyone can partake in understanding how bullies feel and how victims feel could create a clearer understanding. Students should also be taught to embrace how they look, creating a confidence in students appearance, which in turn creates confidence in school. Teaching students how to stand up for their peers against bullying especially in the form of body and fat phobia helps students choose right from wrong in social justice. Create a classroom where all are accepted regardless of body appearance, race, and gender, acceptance is key to understanding. 

Fat Youth as Common Targets for Bullying

Course Text Response #3

            Youth bullying, particularly against fat youth, is a common occurrence in society. Fat phobias are a great concern in society but along with this and other forms of body issues is a bullying factor. Weinstock and Krehbiel state that “bullying is a specific type of aggression in which (1) the behavior is intended to harm or disturb, (2) the behavior occurs repeatedly over time, and (3) there is an imbalance of power, with the more powerful person or group attacking a less powerful one” (Weinstock & Krehbie pg, 120-21). This disturbance over time causes psychological problems that can occur in children such as a lack in confidence, depression, feelings of being unsafe at school and lack of friendship (Weinstock & Krehbiepg, 121). Teaching students that bullying causes grief that can follow a classmate out of the school to home could create an atmosphere where there is a greater understanding that words can hurt. Having students reenact difficult scenes of bullying can be a great tool in the classroom. Switching the role of the bully and the victim to rotate throughout the year so that every student gets a chance to engage in how that student might feel through a script could be a great oral language tool in the classroom. As well as creating a positive environment where self-esteem can be boosted in the classroom could help combat bullying towards body image. The paper states, “When being fat is treated as a cause for poor self-esteem, subsequently leading to poor peer relations and ultimately to being victimized by peers, the negative effects of fat oppression are only strengthened” (Weinstock & Krehbie pg. 123). This is a powerful statement as the article states that seeing people as ‘fat’ is a common judgment tool where society blames the person for their appearance. Where there may be other psychological issues that are presiding the cause of poor self-esteem and peer relations. Overall, creating a sense of community and realization on how bullying can affect a persons self-esteem and relations in the classroom through reenactment could help combat bullying.

Reference: 

Weinstock, J., & Krehbiel, M. (n.d.). Fat Youth as Common Targets for Bullying. 120-124.

Why Willpower Isn’t Enough to Keep the Pounds Off.

Course Text Response #2:  

          The false creation of the perfect body in today’s society through many forms of media creates a distorted hope in students of all ages. On one hand, Tyra Banks on Americas Next Top Model tries to show the world that beauty can come in many forms but still there is a stereotypical weight and size that is seen prancing down the runway. Regardless of their attempts to integrate other sizes of beauty, people want to see skinny, tall, beautiful, flawless people. On the other hand there are shows like my 600lb life where there are people that are so large they cannot get out of bed, have a shower, or make meals for themselves. I feel that your self-esteem gets tossed down to the ground and the latter we feel better about our bodies for example, we say in our heads: ‘well I’m not THAT big; I will never be like THAT’. The article that willpower isn’t enough brings to light something that many people struggle with which is dieting. “Depending on which study you look at, between 80 and 95 percent of people who lose weight put it back on with two years”(Kappele, 2016). That is an astonishing rate considering that it seems like people are always dieting. The Biggest Loser effect is a new study that scientists are working on where the drop in metabolism becomes permanent after dieting, causing a difficult time keep weight loss off. Due to two forms of chemical (Ghrelin and Leptin) that are released during dieting, this willpower to stay away from the ‘bad’ foods becomes increasingly difficult the longer you diet. I think that teaching students confidence in their own bodies through a look at media and students thought on different television shows and media outlets could create an impact where students think I am good enough. An activity to do in the classroom could be to create posters to inform other students in the school that their image is good enough, to please only you in a world full of critisim.

 Reference:

Kappele, D. (2016, December 23). Why willpower isn’t enough to keep the pounds off. CBC News. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/why-willpower-isn-t-enough-to-keep-the-pounds-off-1.3907411

Because of the size of this body, I must concentrate much harder than I usually do. Even the small things – my foot on the gas pedal, the amount of space I have to leave around me in the halls – require major adjustment.

And there are the looks I get – such undisguised disgust. Not just from other students. From teachers. From strangers. The judgment flows freely. It’s possible that they’re reacting to the thing that Finn has allowed himself to become. But there’s also something more primal, something more defensive in their disgust. I am what they fear becoming.

I’ve worn black today, because I’ve heard so often that it’s supposed to be slimming. But instead I am this sphere of darkness submarining through the halls.

Original writing: This is probably all too true for some students. Facing the fact whether you are skinny, tall, short, obese, etc, everyday in the hallways of school and society is terrifying. Everyone has some form of body image or fat phobia that they experience in their lifetime. The thought of having everyone staring at you for something that you think is effecting your life can have a great impact on your education and esteem. Instilling ways to show self-love in students and yourself is a hard topic to understand fully as many people are trying to find self-love in themselves everyday. Being honest with students and finding different ways as a whole group to empower each others self-esteem/body image/ fat phobia through perhaps a form of anonymous written understanding. Working as a group to create a class poster and understanding could help create a community in students to combat these common thoughts. 

Reference: 

Levithan, D. (n.d.). Quotes About Fatphobia (2 quotes). Retrieved January 29, 2017, from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/fatphobia

Original Writing: Creating a beautiful mind in the classroom through self-love activities in my opinion helps promote a greater sense of body image in students. For example, creating a journal where students once a week can write 3 or more things...

Original Writing: Creating a beautiful mind in the classroom through self-love activities in my opinion helps promote a greater sense of body image in students. For example, creating a journal where students once a week can write 3 or more things that had happened that they are proud about, whether that be through body image or school work, could help build self-love/esteem in students. Showing students a way to appreciate everything that they do during the week to better themselves. 

Little Miss Jessica

Little Miss Jessica is a story about a little girl who is missing a hand. It focuses around  “accepting differences, disability awareness and positive body image.” This book is a great way to introduce talking about body image in class. Showing that body image can have impact in many different ways other than fat phobia. 

Reference:

Little Miss Jessica. (May 26). Retrieved January 29, 2017, from http://little-miss-jessica.myshopify.com/blogs/news/30219331-little-miss-jessica

image

I think this is a very powerful video which incorporates both male and female points of view on body image. One quote that impacted me was “your never good enough for yourself”. showing that media has a great impact on how children, regardless of the age feel that they must change in order to be the best, to fit in, to be pretty or handsome, to get the guy/girl, and so on. 

Reference:

I. (2010, December 02). Body Image: Media vs Mind. Retrieved January 29, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Xa1Nw8eJY

It is a sad day when children face the fact that body image prevents future potential. Instead of learning that they are more than what other people think of their bodies, children learn that body image is what gets them ahead in society. Social media which is now a great outlet for different types of influence in society, is also a great influence on children self-esteem. Creating a safe environment in a classroom is key, in which all body types are accepted and there is no shame brought on to anyone regardless of their appearance.

Reference: 

Poster Campaign. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2017, from http://fitvsfiction.com/Fit_vs_Fiction/Poster_Campaign.html#grid

Course Text Response #1:
I found the resource that was presented as a tool for the course fascinating. Creating an info-graph on the information that moved me the most during the video. The bar graph at the bottom explains the percentages of people...

Course Text Response #1:

I found the resource that was presented as a tool for the course fascinating. Creating an info-graph on the information that moved me the most during the video. The bar graph at the bottom explains the percentages of people that lose weight during dieting and how much they gain back of their original weight after 3-5 years which is 95%. Second, 83% of people gained more than they started 3-5 years after the diet. Lastly, is the small 5% of people that are able to keep off 4-5 pounds of weight 3-5 years after the diet. Learning about the Health at Every Size model helped connect the statistics from the video to the main goal in life which should be to create a healthy lifestyle and accept your body. Golda stated the Health at Every Size model, which got me thinking that as a teacher candidate, having students create their own posters on why they love their bodies would be a great way to incorporate self love into the classroom.  

Reference:

T. (2013, May 19). Why It’s Okay To Be Fat: Golda Poretsky at TEDxMillRiver. Retrieved January 29, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73SXX0w4eY8 

Introduction

Hi my name is Nicole, I am in the Diversity in Education class at Lakehead University. I am focusing my first assignment on bodies and fat phobia, as I feel that this is a prevalent topic in schools regardless of the grade and gender. One of my goals as a future educator is to help instil confidence in students.