“STOP PHOTO SHOPPING!”: A VISUAL PARTICIPATORY INQUIRY INTO STUDENTS’ RESPONSES TO A BODY CURRICULUM

Laura Azzarito PhD, Risto Marttinen MS, & Mara Simon MS

Teachers College-Columbia University

Introduction

Several researchers in Physical Education (PE) pedagogy have contested current health and fitness curricula

(Evans et al., 2008; Cliff & Wright, 2010; McDonald, 2011)

Lack of critical education about the body in PE (Azzarito, 2010; Burrows et al., 2002; Evans et al., 2008; Fisette, 2011; Oliver & Lalik, 2004)

Research dealing with body issues from a sociocultural perspective in PE is underdeveloped

(Cliff & Wright 2010)

From Constructivist PE to a Body Curriculum

Research has made significant efforts to develop theory-based curricula

(Azzarito & Ennis, 2003; Dyson et al., 2004; Ennis, 2000; Singleton, 2009)

Contemporary curriculum models (Siedentop, 1994; Ennis 2000)

Student centered curricula Current curricula do not enable young people

to reflect critically around body issues What is needed…

Purpose

Participatory visual research Incorporate a Body Curriculum into a fitness unit

Conduct research on the extent to which this curriculum enhanced students’ embodied learning

Research Questions 1) To what extent did the Body Curriculum

enhance participants’ self and social critical awareness of dominant media representations of the body?

2) How did participants respond to the integration of a Body Curriculum into a fitness class?

Visual Participatory Methodology

Settings and Participants Private high school in a large urban metropolitan area in the

Northeast region of the United States 60-minute class period 10th grade class (n = 11) (i.e., 4 white females, 6 white males,

1 black male) The Body Curriculum had three specific aims

Promote “Body Talk” Theory-based and organized around three thematic concepts:

the cultural body the role of gender, sexuality, disability & race on embodied learning the role of media as powerful pedagogical sites of young people’s

identities Create active pedagogical spaces in PE

Methods

Methods Participatory Visual Ethnography

“Real World” setting to enhance teaching-learning process Empowerment Transformative (Johnson, 2005; Veal, 2005; McNicoll, 1999)

Data Collection & Analysis Participant Visual Diaries & Reflections Multiple Formal Interviews using photo elicitation Extensive field notes Member Check

Data Analysis Discourse Analysis

(Rose, 2007; Van Leeuween &Jewitt, 2001)

Results

(1) “Stop Photo-shopping!": Body Work, Gender, and Media Stereotypes

(2) “Fitting” Social Norms: “I Mean I Am Pretty Fit, Pretty Muscular, Thin…”

(3) Critical Media Pedagogy: Moving Beyond Normative Ideals of the Body?

“Stop Photo-shopping!": Body Work, Gender, and Media Stereotypes

Samantha- “I thought that they both depicted strong bodies.

They were posing for a photo shoot, so it was like the stereotypical media image of a fit body… that have blond hair and blue eyes. . . . Like the whole point is to try to advertise something that’s not really practically attainable…I’m not sure it’s even possible…I think it does affect us. I mean, some people want to look a certain way… it just depends on the individual person, how much it means to them if they get caught up in it and try to strive towards it.”

Samantha

Samantha

“Stop Photo-shopping!": Body Work, Gender, and Media Stereotypes

Leo- “I think something that can be done to, lessen

the effect is to stop photo-shopping the pictures because it’s very deteriorating, and nothing good can come from that besides, money for the company. Photo-shopping the pictures, is like making a picture of a body that nobody can have and then putting it up and saying, try to be like this…but I imagine in some countries with like dictators they’re like, this is the perfect man, try and be like him.”

Leo: “Red-Hulk”

Leo “Red She-Hulk”

“Stop Photo-shopping!": Body Work, Gender, and Media Stereotypes

Most images were the same (Wykes & Gunter

2010)

“Stop Photo-shopping”

Students viewed stereotypical media images as “unhealthy”

Race remained absent from their body talk

(Frankenberg 1993)

“Fitting” Social Norms: “I Mean I Am Pretty Fit, Pretty Muscular, Thin…”

Participants resisted media stereotypes as a strategy to “normalize” their embodiment

Participants felt it was important to adhere to discourses of normal body size and shape to appear healthy and fit

Physical Activity was Intrinsically related to body appearance to “fit” societal norms

“Fitting” Social Norms: “I Mean I Am Pretty Fit, Pretty Muscular, Thin…”

Matthew- “I mean, every day pretty much I have to

have physical activity when I go home and try to do homework. I usually can't concentrate unless I’ve gotten a couple of hours in. . . I mean I am pretty fit, pretty muscular, thin, …The lesson said if you think of yourself as strong now, you can just take a picture so that's what I did, even though I’m not in shape, but you know I still think that my body is pretty strong.”

Matthew

Matthew

Matthew

Matthew

Matthew

Matthew

Matthew

“Fitting” Social Norms: “I Mean I Am Pretty Fit, Pretty Muscular, Thin…”

None of the participants viewed themselves negatively

“normal” “thin” “healthy” “pretty strong”

Challenged media

Their own ideals were embodied in media stereotypes and not malleable

Critical Media Pedagogy: Moving Beyond Normative Ideals of the Body?

Body issues matter to young people

Students responded positively to the Body Curriculum

Critical media pedagogy provided “body talk”

Students embodiment of “normalcy” remained unchanged

Critical Media Pedagogy: Moving Beyond Normative Ideals of the Body?

Victoria- “I liked the discussions. I thought they were insightful… we

had this one conversation that about watching Oprah and that other lady cross the line, then compared them to Megan Fox and Blake Lively. And realizing that they’re not fit and that they’ve come out openly and said it [they never exercise], whereas Oprah and the other lady [Valerie Bertinelli], they represent the fit bodies. I think a lot of people, you know, I would’ve been one of those people who thought, oh, Blake Lively? She must exercise all the time or she must be in the gym every day but, I think it was really important for me to understand that that’s not the case at all. And I think it would be nice for other people to learn that too.”

“Fit and Fat Phobia” Lesson Plan

“Fit and Fat Phobia” Lesson Plan

“Fit and Fat Phobia” Lesson Plan

“Fit and Fat Phobia” Lesson Plan

Alex

Alex- “Well, there wasn’t really, there wouldn’t

be enough time for both the study [class discussions] and the activities. . . .It’s just hard to do both in the hour-period because we have to dress and everything. It’s just way too hard to do that.”

Conclusion

Limitations Length of unit “working out” OR “Discussion”? Lack of Journal Feedback Failed to destabilize students’ embodiment of

the normal/abnormal body dichotomy

Recommendations A longer unit Constructivist curriculum model

(Ennis 2000)

Thank you

QUESTIONS?