Before: A photo of Madonna, unretouched.
After: The same photo of Madonna, retouched for use in a magazine.
How many differences can you spot?
That was one of the challenges given to Grade 10 and 11 girls during a U of G presentation Oct. 11 celebrating the International Day of the Girl. The session focused on the concerns teen girls often have about their bodies and their appearance – part of a full day of workshops aimed at encouraging girls in their teens to recognize their value and opportunities.
The United Nations General Assembly has designated the date as an annual event to discuss gender stereotypes, discrimination and opportunities for girls and women.
The session on body image was led by students Katherine Jefferson and Cassidy Atkinson, who work in U of G’s Wellness Centre, along with Lindzie O’Reilly, a dietitian in Student Health Services. Their presentation mixed sharing information with hands-on activities.
The high school girls were divided into small groups; each group was given an original and a retouched photo of a different person. After they discussed what changes could be seen, their observations were shared with the wider group. O’Reilly pointed out that often the changes take away from the individuality of the person in the photo: “They are Photoshopping unique individuals and making them all the same: thin, young, wrinkle-free. When you look at the photos and compare them, you realize how unrealistic the ones used in the magazines are.”
Jefferson and Atkinson began the workshop by giving a presentation on the concept of “health at every size,” suggesting that when people are making decisions about diet and exercise, their focus should be on health rather than weight. Atkinson told the group: “A particular body weight does not indicate health status or anything else. BMI [body mass index] is not an accurate measure of health; you can be any size and still achieve health.”
Jefferson encouraged the girls to “exercise for pleasure and for the health benefits of being active, not to lose weight. And exercise doesn’t have to be at the gym; you can get the exercise you need walking your dog or hiking with friends.”
What about diet? Atkinson advised the girls not to follow a specific diet plan, but to listen to their bodies: eat when hungry, stop when full.
“Another part of heath,” added Atkinson, “is having healthy self-esteem. No matter what size you are, you need to feel good about yourself. Of course that will vary from time to time – we can’t feel at our best every day – but overall it’s important to view yourself in a positive way.”
The girls also discussed these issues of self-esteem and self-image and created a list of external sources that dictate how girls should look. Their list included friends, family, TV, magazines, movies, billboards, internet, clothing stores and music videos.
The final exercise at the workshop invited the girls to make buttons that identified something they valued in themselves or one of their friends, using either words or images. The one restriction: it couldn’t be something related to appearance. The participants enthusiastically set to work, using glitter, stickers and markers to create buttons that recognized intelligence, loyalty, strength, caring and other qualities.
This workshop was just one event in a full day of speakers and workshops, including keynote speaker Kim Crosby and two theatre vignettes performed by teen actors.