What's this blog about?

I teach several courses under the broad topic of "Multicultural Education," prioritizing social justice issues of access, power/privilege, & narrowing the academic achievement gap. I am a person of color and I almost always have a white co-teacher. We include topics, such as: racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, ethnocentrism, deculturalization, transforming curriculum, etc. This is a place where I post information that we teach; lesson plans for activities; and resources we use and/or which are shared with me by my adult students.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

How You See Yourself is Based on Cultural Assumptions About Beauty

Dove posted on Monday a three-minute ad on YouTube that teaches a vital lesson about how we view ourselves compared to how others see us. Trust us, it's worth your time.
A former forensic artist for the San Jose police department met a series of women and asked each to describe the way they look. He had no way of seeing them behind a curtain. He prompted them to detail everything: hair length, facial structure, their most prominent features. He then sketched each participant from their self-description.
Each woman was asked before the study to get to know one of the other participants. The forensic artist then prompted each woman to describe the other's face.

http://mashable.com/2013/04/15/dove-ad-beauty-sketches/

Female Version

Male Version


Related Articles below:
Don’t Listen To The Pretty Girl (poem):  thoughtcatalog.com/abby-rosmarin/2014/01/dont-listen-to-the-pretty-girl/
Excerpt:
Don’t listen to the outspoken girl. She’s just trying to compensate for something. Besides, who has time for all that blather and babble?
Don’t listen to the soft-spoken girl. If she really had something important to say, she’d be more outspoken about it.
Don’t listen to the career-minded girl, the career-ambivalent girl, the girl with a five-year plan, the girl who doesn’t have it all figured out, the girl who follows the rules, the girl who rebels, the girl who refuses to be labeled or the girl who understands society’s impulse to label everything. I’m sure you can find a reason to invalidate and ignore them perfectly well on your own.
Besides, why should you listen to me? TC mark


The Ugly Side of Pretty (video):  www.huffingtonpost.com/jenny-g-perry/the-ugly-side-of-pretty_b_4577625.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009
Excerpt:
There's no such thing as an ugly woman, in my opinion. Ugly behavior yes, but there is something beautiful about every woman. Own that, ladies. No apologies for your beauty, sass or smarts -- EVER. Never let anyone define you by your appearance, be it your face, hair or weight. You define yourself. Let's teach the young girls how to become great women.

I don't want to wear make-up:  Taking SELFIES (Dove commercial)