Turn Beauty Inside Out Activity Guide

(2 to 2 hour recruitment event pick and choose activities you like from the list
belo!
Magazine Literacy Activity taken from Grow Strong Teen Advertisement Attack
theme (page ! in the activity "ook#et$ (30-45 minutes)
One of the biggest issues around advertising and adolescent girls is body image. Our
society has created an impossible standard of female beauty, and the media or!s to
perpetuate that standard. "o it is time to peel bac! the mas! on beauty and the media.
o #ave a stac! of popular teen and omen$s maga%ines on hand (or have the girls
bring some from home). &here are also some provided in the 'ro (trong &een
!its. )ount ho many ads sho a very thin model versus ho many ads sho an
average si%ed or *plus si%ed+ model. )ompare the to numbers.
o ,iscuss ith your troop or a group of friends about your findings.
Why do you think the media portrays women with a certain body type?
How do you think it would make someone feel if they were not that body type?
Did you know that only 5% of the female population has the genetic capability for the
ultra thin body type?
Does this affect the way you view these photos and apply them to your self image and
esteem?
How can you help change this culture of extreme skinniness?
o -oo! at the first set of photos in the .mage /older in the !it. "o compare them
to the second set of photos that sho hat the people loo!ed li!e before they
ere touched up. -oo! at the photos in the )elebrity /older. &hese sho before
and after shots of celebrities - no ma!eup around ton versus maga%ine cover
shots (this is not a comparison of ugly vs. pretty. .nstead, it is meant to sho that
the celebrity *ideal+ is even more unrealistic than you might originally thin!).
o .f you don$t have the !it, you can print out this article in (ept $05 'lamour about
retouching photos0 http011.aishatyler.com1pdf1glamour2retouch.pdf
o ,iscuss the folloing0
Do these photos make you think differently about image and beauty?
Can you guess how long it takes and how much it costs to achieve this beauty ideal?
When you look at a beauty magaine! do you think you can find photos that are not
touched up?
Why do you think this false reality is dangerous for regular girls?
Take Action" )hoose a specific ad from a maga%ine you loo!ed through, and rite a
letter to their company, e3plaining ho this ad impacts you and other young omen
negatively. 4ou can find most companies$ addresses online on their ebsites.
O# if you ant$ you can print out the Girl%au&ht stic!ers provided by &5.O.
http011.mindonthemedia.org1inde3.php6type7static8page7forteens 4ou then stic!
the labels on the bad ads that the girls collect. &ear out the ads. 4ou can send them either
to the companies directly, or to0
9ind on the 9edia - :;0 (t. Olaf
<ve., (uite =00 "orthfield, 9" 5505:
<lso encourage the girls to boycott the company1products that the ad is advertising.
Teen%zine &nventory 'goes we## with the Magazine Literacy activity( (;5 minutes)
#ave girls no analy%e the real content of the teen maga%ines.
)ount ho many articles you find on these sub>ects0 5eauty, /ashion, ?elationships
(romance, peers, family), (uccess (stardom, personal success),
(elf (body, health, or!, career, education, discovery), @ntertainment (boo!s, movies,
music), (hopping (hat to buy, hat$s hot1in style), #obbies (sports, crafts, coo!ing,
collecting).
)ount ho many total pages of advertisements compared to the total pages of articles.
,iscuss the impact and importance of these sub>ects in the girls$ life.
)ea*ty )y +ords (=5-30 minutes)
Aords have a lot of poer. ?ead the sample poems in the 'ro (trong &een !it, ritten
by other adolescent girls about beauty "if you don#t have the kit! you can find some poems
online or have the girls write their own without examples$% "o have the girls rite
their on.
Take Action$ part one" #ave the girls share their poem and thoughts on beauty ith the
other girls there.
Take Action$ part to" #ave the girls rite a letter to an adolescent girl ho is
struggling ith body image concerns (hether it is themselves or someone they !no).
#ave the girls include in the letter an e3planation about the costs1dangers associated ith
pursuing the thin ideal. #ave the girls tell them all the things they love about them.
O? have them rite a letter to another girl in the room, e3plaining hy she is beautiful
(this or!s if the girls !no each other ell).
O? have them decorate and send a postcard to a friend telling them hy they have .nner
5eauty.
Make A ,o#e Mode# List (;5-=5 minutes)
)reate a troop list of influential omen. #ave girls come up ith at least = omen that
are important in their lives. #ave each girl share hy this oman is important. Aith the
girls$ help, compile a list of common characteristics of all the omen. Once everyone has
shared, loo! at the list. .t should bring to attention that there are many female role
models that are influential because of hat they$ve accomplished, not hat they loo!
li!e.
.f there is time, have the girls rite a letter of appreciation1than!s to at least one of the
omen they named as important in their life, role model, e3plaining hy they have been
such a good influence. @ncourage the girls to give1send the letter to this oman. .t is
incredibly important to build up those ho are good e3amples of inner beauty and
healthy livingB
-,
)ea*ty .hoto A#"*m "do this in tandem or instead of &ake ' (ole &odel )ist$ (=0-=5
mins)
-oo! at the =5 5eautiful 'irls article in "e 9oon 9aga%ine.
http011.nemoon.com1maga%ine1samples19ay0C.pdf
,iscuss ho the things that ma!e each of these girls beautiful are much different than
hat the other teen1omen$s maga%ines say. #ave the girls define hat they thin!
constitutes inner beauty.
#ave the girls create their on article1paragraph about each other. #ave each girl rite
hat$s beautiful about another girl in the room. .f you have a Dolaroid camera, it ould
be fun to put a photo of the girl by each essay. Dhoto copy the boo! and give it to each
girl. (.f you also do the 5eauty 5y Aords activity, you could include the girls$ poems in
the boo!)
)ody Activism *=0-=5 minutes)
#ave the girls role play hat they can say to a friend ho is e3hibiting unhealthy body
image1self-esteem behavior. Aith someone else, practice hat to say hen they ma!e
negative comments (-oo! at the list of e3ample comments in the 'ro (trong &een !it E
if you don#t have the kit! + can send you the document).
#ave the girls brainstorm a &op ;0 list of things that they and other omen can do to
resist the beauty ideals put forth by the media. &his is considered body activism E hat
you can avoid, say, do and learn to fight social pressures. #ave them share this list ith
the troop.
Take Action" #ave the girls choose at least one action from their &op ;0 list and do it the
folloing ee!. )hec! in ith them at the ne3t troop meeting.