study guide

study guide

This study guide is a supplement to the video Body Image: The Quest for Perfection and is designed to encourage deeper discussion about body image in the classroom. It includes a program synopsis, screening activities and discussion questions.

The video opens with the retreat participants making brief statements about their images of the ideal body. This is followed by an introduction to the video and the issue of women's body image in American society.

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Section 1: Cultural Ideals (Time: 5 min.)
The group discussion begins with the women answering the question "What is the ideal image of a woman's body in our culture?"

Section 2: Body Representation (Time: 3 min.)
Dr. Wolf asks the women whether they could find images of their own bodies in mass media, a request many of them found challenging, leading them to discuss the issue of exclusion.

Section 3: Feelings and Sources (Time: 9 min.)
During this segment, the participants discuss the importance of parents, teachers, doctors, and others who have influenced their feelings about their bodies. They also discuss how these feelings have affected their relationships and other important life choices.

Section 4: Food (Time: 5 min.)
All the women express strong feelings about food.

Section 5: Media (Time: 3 min.)
The discussion is brought back to the issue of media and its effect on body image. Shavon and Marivi, both women of color, discuss the difficulty of finding meaningful representations in mass media.

Section 6: Solutions (Time: 2 min.)
The participants talk about media literacy and how parents and authority figures can help young girls to develop a positive body image. The participants express relief and amazement about their common experiences as women.

The following steps will help prepare you for a public screening:

1. Watch the video yourself before showing it to your viewers. You may have strong feelings about the subject and it is helpful to deal with these issues before you encourage others to discuss their own reactions

2. Think about your objectives for showing the tape. What do you want your viewers to know or do as a result of watching the program? How does the video fit into your curriculum? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you achieve your classroom or personal goals.

3. Prepare the location in which your audience will view the tape. If you plan on initiating a discussion, create an open space by placing chairs in a circle. Also, make sure the video is visible and audible to all audience members.

4. Prepare your students by providing them with background information on body image and explaining your objectives for showing it in class.

5. Be prepared for emotional reactions from audience members. These reactions can range from anger and frustration to relief. Be ready to provide viewers with resources to help them deal with their feelings or explore the topic further.

6. Lead a pre-screening discussion. While boys and men in our culture are body conscious, they do not always understand or empathize with the struggles that women face by simply living in a culture that projects a very narrow image of beauty. Depending on the audience, special consideration should be given to preparing boys and younger men for the video.

7. The video is designed for interactive viewing. Pause the tape to ask questions. Use the "Video Synopsis" to help you plan when to pause the tape for discussion.

After the tape is finished, keep the lights dimmed to give viewers time to gather their thoughts and prepare themselves for discussion. Make note of any students who are visibly affected by the film. If appropriate, offer them the chance to leave the room so they can deal with their feelings.

Set a time limit for discussion with the class. This will help keep the discussion on topic and allow you to tactfully bring the discussion back if it veers away from the intended topic. You may find it helpful to first share your own personal feelings about the video so as to encourage students to share their feelings.

The following questions were used with the participants in Body Image: The Quest for Perfection. If time is short, you might wish to condense the questions. You might want to first ask students to cut out magazine examples of the cultural ideal, their own ideal and representations of their own bodies. The following questions were used in Dr. Wolf's research on body image. For more information, please see:

Wolf, M. A., Nichols, S., & Decelle, D. (1997, February). Television, body, self: How women (18 to 33 years) of different sexual orientations relate to television's construction of body. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Western States Communication Association, Monterey, CA.

Cultural Ideals
-- What is the ideal image of a woman's body in our culture? In your mind?

-- What are the common images of women's bodies in TV, film, magazines, billboards, etc?

-- What women have what you consider the 'ideal body'? Why?

-- In the video, what were some of the words used to describe the ideal body? What words do you or others use to describe the ideal body?

-- Did all the women in the video express a desire or these culturally ideal bodies? Were they ever critical of these bodies?

Body Representation
-- Have you seen your body represented in mass media? If so, where and in what ways?

-- How is your body excluded from the media?

Feelings about your body
-- When do you recall becoming sensitive to your feelings about your body?

-- How have your feelings about your body evolved over time?

-- How have your feelings affected the way you interact with men? Women?

-- How have your feelings affected your career choices? Clothing choices? Eating behavior?

-- How do you feel about your body today?

Sources of these feelings
-- What are the sources of your feelings about your body (media, parents, authority, relationships)?

-- What have you said or done that might have affected a girl/woman's feelings about her body?

Moving towards self-acceptance
-- How can we learn to begin to accept our bodies?

-- What can we help others accept their bodies?

-- What can we do as a society?

-- What would have to change in our society to make it easier for us to accept our bodies? General questions about the video

-- Which woman did you most identify with? Why?

-- What did you relate to in the video?

-- Are there any parts of the video with which you didn't relate?

-- How might being on camera have changed the reactions/responses of the participants?

-- What part of the video most affected you?

-- Did you learn anything new about body image?

-- What was left out of the video? What made you uncomfortable in the video?

Group Work
Break students into groups. Have them come up with two to three possible solutions to the body image crisis.

Expert Discussion
Invite body image "experts" like therapists, doctors and media literacy experts to talk to your class.

Think Paper
Ask students to write a "think-feel paper" in which they list their thoughts about the video and then describe their feelings about it.

Observation
Ask students to observe/document comments they hear from both people they know and don't know concerning body size or appearance.

Media Diary
Ask students to keep a media diary in which they document the media they watch, read, view or listen to. Ask them to describe the feelings associated with each media "incident." Photo Essay Ask students to create a photo essay portraying a wide variety of bodies. Have them write a brief bio to accompany each photo that uses non-appearance related descriptions.

Role-Play
Ask students to role-play various situations in which the issue of body image might come up such as a teen visiting a doctor or a mother confronting her bulimic daughter.

Journaling
Ask students to keep a journal in which they answer the following questions:

-- Imagine that, from this day on, your body and appearance will always be as it is today and you will never achieve the ideal for which you strive. How does this make you feel?

-- Imagine that you never go on another diet from this day forward. How does this make you feel? How would your life be different?

-- Do you put food into good/bad categories? What kind of food is good? What kind of food is bad? How do you feel when you've eaten "bad" food?

-- What three messages about your appearance do you most often give yourself? What three messages do you most often get from the people around you? Who sends these messages? How do these messages make you feel? Think about each message and write an argument as to why the message is true or untrue.