8th Period Wednesday, January 29th the middle schoolers gathered for an assembly run by the Pop Health and Culture elective (first semester). The Assembly was titled Perfectly Imperfect.
Betsy started by asking the crowd what they thought that meant. They summed up to– nobody’s perfect so it’s fine to be imperfect.
The group discussed how middle schoolers feel dissatisfied with their appearances. Next, Julia presented the Evolution of Ideals of Beauty, it showed that the “popular” body shape and beauty ideals are constantly cycling. So why should we care about having the “perfect body” if that idea is constantly changing?
Next they talked about being skinny and photoshop. Being “model skinny” is not healthy or realistic. Most models, after their picture is taken, are photoshopped until they are almost unrecognizable. While image manipulation can be used for art (ex. the Audrey Hepburn picture.), in this age it is usually used for erasing blemishes and changing pictures for pop magazines.
Curtis and Jackson then talked about guys in pop culture. In the past men were idolized for valued for their personalities. Now most male pop stars are famous for muscles and being manly. (Whatever that means). Next there was a short video with the message: Guys don’t think about all the faults that girls see in theirselves.
They ended the assembly by announcing that tomorrow (January 30th) is No Mirror Day. Most of the mirrors in the Middle School section of the school will be covered with posters reminding students to compliment each other on things OTHER THAN appearance. Who we are runs deeper than vanity. They will also be handing out flyers to cover locker mirrors (voluntarily).
The members of this elective were seventh graders: Julia, Piper, Chloe, Curtis, Jackson, Ginger, Lily, and Karina.
The artfully manipulated image of Audrey Hepburn.
A picture of a current model.
A manipulated image of a male model.. Meant to make the unsmiling model (original on right) look more “manly” and like a bad boy.