Anti-bias body image curriculum for high schools

Appearance Ideals and Appearance Bias - Students analyze their own body experiences and determine what has influenced their beliefs about what they are “supposed to” look like. They think about messages they have received from their family, friends, and the media/culture. This includes bias they may have experienced in society because of their appearance. Students listen to other people's body stories, gaining an awareness of how people of different sizes and abilities, with different skin tones, facial features, and gender representations experience the world. We discuss the impact of how appearance ideals and appearance bias have pressured people to look a very specific way. We analyze the costs of responding to appearance pressure in their environment.

Social Media, Comparisons, and Self-Compassion - Once students become aware of appearance pressures, we analyze how these pressures show up in our lives and in the media we consume. We discuss how self-compassion is an effective tool to cope with the negative comparisons we all make to the pictures we see on social media. Experiential exercises reframe the negative comparisons we make in our minds to kinder, more self-compassionate thoughts that will ultimately serve us better.

Compassion for Others - Lesson 3 teaches students how to apply compassion to other people. Students discuss how to create a kinder environment by quitting "body talk" and recognizing that bodies function fine in all shades, shapes, and sizes. We analyze how students' thoughts, feelings, and actions are more positive in a kinder environment.

Social Justice - In Lesson 4 students are given the tools to become change agents. They focus on steps they can take to create a better world. We help students create their own roadmap for taking an idea from an issue to action. They will learn tested, tangible steps to create an action plan on an issue they feel strongly about, empowering them to make positive changes in their communities.