Lesson video

Hello and welcome to this lesson in the unit of work, internet safety and harms body image.

I am Mrs. Smith.

In this lesson, we will consider beliefs about beauty and how they are subjective.

We will also learn about cultural variance in beliefs about beauty.

This lesson might contain some content that may be a sensitive topic for you.

We recommend checking the lesson with a trusted adult beforehand, or completing the lesson with a trusted adult nearby.

If you're ready to begin, then let's go.

In this lesson, you will need an exercise book or paper, and a pen to write with.

If you need to go and collect that equipment now, do so, and press Play when you're ready to carry on.

Our agenda for today's lesson looks like this.

We will discuss, first of all, individual beliefs about beauty, and then the cultural variance that exists in beliefs about beauty.

We will consider how beauty is in the eye of the beholder and finish with a reflection and exit quiz.

Our keywords for today's lesson include beliefs, the trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something.

Subjective, based on personal feelings, tastes, or opinions, and cultural, referring to the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a society.

Let's us start by discussing the theory behind individual beliefs.

I would like you to copy and complete this sentence on your piece of paper.

Pause the video now and do so, and press Play when you're ready to compare our answers.

So, let's see if our sentences look the same.

Beliefs about beauty, for example, are subjective and differ over time and within cultures.

What we believe about beauty is individual to us.

The definition of beauty has continued to expand, making room for women of colour, obese women, bald women, women with grey hair and wrinkles.

We are moving towards a culture of big tent beauty, one in which everyone is welcome and everyone is beautiful.

Everyone's idealised version can be seen in the pages of magazines or in the runways around the world.

We have become more accepting, because people have demanded it, protested for it, and used social media to embrace different types of beauty.

Technology has also put the power to define beauty in the hands of the people.

Mobile phones, for example, allow people greater control of their image and how they want to define beauty.

Let's have a look at a bit of a scenario.

So Mohammed is trying to take a good selfie.

He's keen to impress others in his year group and he spends a long time trying to get the light, the angle, and the background just so.

He even downloads a new filtering app so that he can look even better to try and fit in.

On your piece of paper, just write down, what is Mohammed feeling here? The next part of the scenario is Joseph, and Joseph sees Mohammed's photo and sees how many likes and nice comments that he is getting.

Now, Joseph looks at a recent posts that he has made, he'd uploaded a quick photo as he was leaving school the other day, and he doesn't really understand these filtering apps or how to edit a photograph, but he notices that he only has half as many likes as Mohammad.

So he decides to delete the post.

Again, pause the video and write down on your piece of paper, what is Joseph feeling here? The final part of this story is that Mohammed then notices that a girl that he likes has viewed the image, but not liked the photo, so then he deletes his post.

Again, what is Mohammed feeling here? Pause the video and write your answer on your piece of paper.

What this scenario has shown us is the problem that technology can pose with our perception of beauty.

It is very important to recognise that, usually, people will share their best selves on social media, as we discussed last lesson.

And we each have our own perception of beauty and should remember that when we are comparing ourselves online.

This next part of the lesson will be looking at cultural variance in beliefs about beauty and it can be seen across history that our perception of beauty has completely changed.

So if we go, for example, back to the Elizabethan era, English women would use saffron and sulphur to dye their hair red in order to emulate the same hair colour as their queen.

And in addition, besides being a symbol of beauty, some men, especially members of the Royal Court at the time, they would even dye their facial hair auburn in order too match the Queen's red hair.

If we look to more modern societies, plumpness is a symbol of beauty and fertility in many African and Eastern cultures.

A plus sized, usually curvaceous, woman symbolises a happy and successful husband, whereas plumpness is considered an ideal and symbolises the lack of willpower in Western culture, which prides on smaller figures.

Slenderness, as a Western norm, represents social success, happiness, and social acceptability.

Beauty is of course cultural.

What one community admires may leave another group of people cold or repulsed.

What one individual finds irresistible elicits a shrug from another.

Beauty is personal, but it can also be universal.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

That which one person finds beautiful or admirable may not appeal to another, meaning that beauty is truly subjective.

Let's remind ourselves of today's keywords and see how many of these you can match up to the correct definition.

Pause the video now and complete this task.

Press Play when you're ready to compare our answers.

So let's see what you got.

Which one did you match cultural with? Relating to the ideas, customs, and social behaviours of a society.

Beliefs you should have matched with trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something.

And finally, subjective, based on personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.

This image another example of how cultural beliefs surrounding beauty can vary quite far.

And it is even more important to remember that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

Stop comparing yourself to other people.

We shall now end the lesson with a reflection.

Beliefs about beauty are subjective and differ over time and within cultures.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and you are beautiful.

Thank you for joining me again for another lesson in this unit of work.

If you have anything that you would like to share with us online, please check with a parent or carer and use the #LearnwithOak.

I will see you again.

Goodbye.