This article is a little bit long, but you can do it! Make sure to just try and understand the main idea. You do not have to understand every word. Also, read it more than one time. Three times would be perfect.
Minister tells parents not to tell their daughters
they’re beautiful
Parents should stop telling their children they are beautiful as this places too much emphasis on appearance, women’s minister Jo Swinson has said. The minister said parents could be storing up problems for later in their children’s lives by sending a message that looks are the most important thing needed to succeed.
Ms Swinson, 33, who is childless, said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph praising children for skills such ‘doing a jigsaw’ or ‘curiosity in asking questions’ was more appropriate. The Liberal Democrat minister was speaking ahead of the government’s ‘body confidence’ campaign. This aims to raise awareness of the positive and negative portrayals of bodies in the media and find ways of building self-esteem among young people.
According to statistics quoted by the minister, one in four children aged 10 to 15 is unhappy about their appearance. And 72 per cent of girls feel that too much attention is paid to the way female celebrities look.
Earlier this year Ms Swinson urged editors of women’s magazines ‘to shed the fad diets and fitness myths’. She said: ‘I know as an aunt, you fall into the trap of turning to your niece and saying, “you look beautiful” — because of course all children do look beautiful — but if the message they get is that is what’s important and that is what gets praise, then that’s not necessarily the most positive message you want them to hear.’ Praising someone for their appearance wasn’t ‘bad in itself – we don’t say you can’t like someone else’s dress’. But she urged parents to put comments about looks in their ‘appropriate place’.
‘Research shows that when children have no body confidence at school they’re less likely to put their hand up in class and ask a question.
‘In extreme cases you’ll have people suffering from body dysmorphia, a psychiatric disorder, where people might not feel happy to go to school and you get truancy as a result of this.’
The minister said appearance was important in certain circumstances, such as a job interview, but ‘it’s just the level to which this becomes the ultimate focus of everything’. It can become an obsession ‘where you have people who won’t go to school unless they’ve put their make-up on, or won’t leave the house unless they’ve spent two hours getting ready’.
She also said fathers have a role in ensuring their daughters don’t develop a problem with body image.
‘Perhaps they can consider what they say about women in front of their daughters, how they’re being judged and whether they’re saying any inappropriate comments suggesting that women’s value is in how they look.’
Ms Swinson said the new campaign was about raising awareness but argued it would be difficult given the some industries ‘make money out of people feeling bad about themselves’. She claimed young boys were also under pressure to look buff and muscular or to be skinny like the singer Pete Doherty.
Article from Metro.uk - Tuesday 28 May 2013
Discussion Questions
With your partner, discuss the following questions. Feel free to ask any follow-on questions you like.
1. What do you think about Ms Swinton’s comments? Does she have a point?
2. Do you compliment your kids/nephews/nieces etc on their appearance?
Will this article make you think twice about doing so in future?
3. Do you worry about your appearance? Do you feel pressure to look good?
4. How long do you spend getting ready before you leave the house? Why? Is it really necessary?
5. Do you think other people really care what you look like? Do you judge other people on their appearances? Do you often comment on other people’s appearance? Why?
6. In what situations is your appearance important and when is it not important?
7. How do you feel about the way that magazines and other media talk about beauty and body image? Is it irresponsible? Is it harmful? Should it be regulated?
8. We could all use a little positive reinforcement. Pay everyone in your group a compliment that is not related to their physical appearance so they can leave the class feeling good about themselves.
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