Anybody. Exploring body culture

  • Focus area: Health Studies
  • Audience: 11-18 years
  • Software application: HTML, Flash and XML

Body Image is a set of interactives which encourage students to accept diversity, and understand how the media and society shape and form our ideas and values about our body image. An invaluable tool for the younger generation, these interactives help them expose some of the tricks of the trade which may contribute to false expectations of themselves and peers.

In dealing with potentially sensitive material it is intended to seek peer understanding and shared interests and experience. Vygotsky suggests that real learning takes place when social interaction exists. The issues related to body image lend themselves to peer input relating to real experiences of body image. The model provides opportunities for such issues to be discussed outside of the immediate self in a shared space. Students do not have to self-disclose, because the characters in Body Image provide a variety of viewpoints that can be discussed. The views are presented as lived experiences, not as the ultimate truth.

Body Image interactives are unique in encouraging students to take ownership of issues that are relevant to them, and which they would consider an older teacher not to understand. Students can discuss issues raised by other students in Body Image interactives. They do not need the teacher to be present. For students who find it difficult to talk aloud about how they feel there are prompt monologues that would connect with a number of individual students. Other learning objects such as Exposed work more intensely to bust myths about the highly stylised images of first world countries.

Objects in this family


Bodywarp

Bodywarp explores the customs and traditions that people from around the world have used over time to modify and decorate their bodies. The interactive describes the traditions, where they come from and when they were popular, reflecting the changing nature of fashion with culture and time.


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Exposed

This interactive allows students to explore how the media ‘touch up’ and manipulate images, especially on magazine covers. The student is able to go through the various stages of a photo shoot and clearly see the difference between an original photo of the models on the cover and the ways in which they are made to look more appealing further information and imagery about the process is provided on rollover. On the final front cover there are the headlines for four articles, which act as links to open the article content, which includes both text and images.


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Fairytale or fairtale?

This interactive provides an interface for the student to deconstruct a traditional fairytale that has been modernised (in this case Cinderella) full of clichés and stereotypes and thereby alter the overall meaning of the story to help dispel myths created by fairytales.


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Bodytalk

This interactive encourages the student to think about the beliefs of the younger generation in respect to body shape and appearance. Students are provided with opinions to facilitate discussion and further individual thought on the subject of body shape and appearances.


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