The Dove Self -Esteem Project is an excellent resources for both parents and educators when broaching the topic of body positivity with young women. This extensive website links articles related to the benefits of exercise, bullying, depictions of women in the media and so much more. Not only is this resource important for young women, but also for young men as we teach them to empower women and reject the objectification narratives of the past. Articles also have estimated reading times, which is very helpful for lesson planning and discussion preparation.
Author: babyteacherblair
Hi Internet! My name is Alison Blair and I am a Year 1 Teacher Candidate at York University, advocate for body-positivity in Education, Toronto-based fitness professional, mother of cats and late night snack enthusiast.
I really like Gossip Girl.
Resources for Queer Youth and their Parents
Kristen Russo has been helping children in the LGBTQ+ community and their families navigate through coming out and what happens after ever since 2010. Her two websites mykidisgay.com and everyoneisgay.com are a wealth of knowledge about what it means to be Queer in today’s society and what it means to be the parent of a Queer child. The best place to start on these websites is the FAQ sections which will guide the reader to the articles and resources they want to find. Kristen has also written a book about coming out for parents titled This is a Book for Parents of Gay Kids , which is a fantastic resource not only for parents, but also educators.
Delayed Agency and the Consequences of Emerging Adulthood: Response to Côté and Bynner
In Côté and Bynner’s analysis of Jeffery Arnett’s theory that a new stage of development, termed Emerging Adulthood, has emerged in the past decades, there is a suggestion that perhaps this new stage is not in fact related to development, but more related to social barriers and more of a transition experienced by a specific group of people. In “Changes in the transition…” Côté and Bynner argue “a developmental stage must add something to development beyond simple change; if a set of experiences does not have predictable value-added consequences other than amorphous change over time, it cannot be considered development.” (253) While this may be true, it seems odd that these scholars suggest that new hardships presented to young people in their twenties do not have consequences later in life, and that the delayed transition from childhood to adulthood also has no “value-added consequences” other than surface value change in their lives. This suggests that the agency granted to young people through gaining employment and economic independence is merely a change in life and not an active part of adolescent development.
Agency and independence are important aspects of development that are seemingly overlooked in this analysis of Arnett’s Emerging Adulthood proposal in favour an assumption of “reactions to structural change” (263), such as the decision to stay in school longer due to a strained job market. While choice may be involved in this decision to stay in school that choice does not reflect the experience of all Emerging Adults, as is discussed in the article through the experience of youth who enter the unskilled job market out of high school whether they have graduated or not. Perhaps, this delay in development is represented more by a more limited agency given to Emerging Adults due to a lower earning potential whether through a delayed entrance into the job market or an entrance into a job market with substantially lower earning potential at an early age. As youth in their twenties continue to statistically earn less than they did in earlier years, their freedoms granted to them through earning potential begin to disappear and with it the lessons learned through handling money. The consequence of this Emerging Adulthood phase may not be as positive as Arnett may suggest, however there is a delay in economic agency put on contemporary youth which contributes to a delay in development into adulthood.
Works Cited
Côté, James and John M. Bynner. “Changes in the transition to adulthood in the UK and Canada: the role of structure and agency in emerging adulthood.” Journal of Youth Studies. 11(3). Taylor & Francis, 2008. (pp 251-268)
NeoPets and Internet Culture in the Early 2000s
I have linked an article from Rolling Stone which suggests an early 2000s link between the cultural phenomena of NeoPets, internet culture and the early millennial girls who grew up in this culture. It is an interesting read which really touches on how Youth Culture changed with the emergence of the internet, but also how internet culture managed to interact with the existing interests of adolescent girls to create a blend of digital and real world experiences.
Fast Fashion: Forever 21 and Renderings of Adolescent Self-Definition
Image Source: Forever 21 Image Source: Forever 21
In my Adolescent Development class, the clothing chain Forever 21 was recently discussed. The discussion revolved around how Forever 21 tries to consistently keep up with what is the current perceived youth trend, and how quickly the store can put out an article of clothing or accessory that centres on a popular musical act or cultural hot topic, as exemplified by the pre cut Jimi Hendrix t-shirt and Unicorn makeup brushes above. In Chasing Youth Culture and Getting It Right, Tina Wells touches on this phenomena, labeling it as fast fashion which Wells defines as the “get it before it’s gone” (10) mentality. Wells exemplifies how Forever 21 executes their fast fashion structure: “you admire your friends dress, she tells you it’s from Forever 21, you go the following week, and it’s nowhere to be found.” (10) This suggestion that adolescents crave exclusivity in their fashion choices and are constantly seeking the newest and ahead of the curve trends is certainly not unique, however it does touch on the idea of adolescents beginning the self-discovery that will continue throughout their adult lives. Perhaps this desire to have the article of clothing or accessory that nobody else has stems from a deeper need to be unique and a self-defined individual which can begin in the early stages of adolescence. The journey of self-discovery is certainly not one that ends in adolescence, or at all; however, as more agency is given to adolescents, they express their self-discovery more freely which allows stores like Forever 21 to thrive on this fast fashion phenomena.
Works Cited
Wells, Tina. Chasing Youth Culture and Getting It Right: How Your Business Can Profit by Tapping Today’s Most Powerful Trendsetters and Taskmakers. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 2011.
Comparison of Magazine Covers: Gender Performance
As we have been discussing the performance of gender in class, I thought it may be interesting to include this popular image of comparing two teen magazine covers. It is troubling to me the narrative that we are still telling adolescent females that their experience should be focused on appearance. The article is linked as well.
“Everybody is just like one big family”: Response to Thomas and Harper on Denying Segregation in Education
In Mary E Thomas’s article “I Think It’s Just Natural”, which deals with identity performance and racial segregation in a Southern Carolina high school lunch room, she speaks of ‘Joy’ a white female student in South Carolina who experiences great discomfort when discussing this segregation. Thomas argues that Joy “insists that whiteness is devoid of a racialized objective, because, according to her, whites were not responsible for the lunchroom segregation” (1238) and, that she places “responsibility for the seating on the racialized activities of black youth. Racial separation and racialized youth identities to [Joy], originate through black agency.” (1238) Because ‘Joy’ wants so badly to be seen as accepting she attempts to empower her black peers, however in doing so she contributes to an unconscious bias that stems from a misunderstanding of what racism is at it’s core. I would argue, that Joy so badly wants to deny that any differences or racialized “cliques” exist at her school that she has become blind to them, and inaction (or blindness to racism in this case) can be just as harmful to the community as active racism.
In Helen Harper’s article on “Difference and Diversity in Ontario Schooling” she suggests the notion of a period of “denying difference” which is to “ignore or minimize differences among students… which is…tanamount to side-stepping the problem” (197-198). This idea of “denying difference” is directly linked to Joy’s denial that the white students in her school have any agency or choice in cafeteria segregation. It is clear that Joy is performing her ideal of acceptance as she constantly states through the article that the school acts as one big family, however there are social factors at play that make her want to be seen with and be around other white students in the cafeteria. The more Joy denies her capacity for racism, the more it shows through and the need for initiatives which allow students to maintain their own racial and gendered identities while integrating despite them becomes apparent.
Works Cited
Harper, Helen. “Difference and Diversity in Ontario Schooling.” Canadian Journal of Education, 22 (2). 1997. (pp192-206).
Thomas, Mary E. “‘I think its just natural’: the spatiality of racial segregation at a US high school.” Environment and Planning, A (37). 2005. (pp 1233-1248).
Current “Teen Party” Playlist on Spotify
Here is what adolescents are currently listening to, according to Spotify. It is definitely a list inclusive of multiple genres, which further’s my belief that teen’s definitely can’t be categorized into the one “adolescent” group.
Rosedale Jams: A bias towards the treatment and rendering of youth gangs in Toronto
In late September of this year, the Toronto Police Service issued a warning that there had been multiple gatherings of youth in Rosedale specifically for the purpose of mass swarmings, robberies and stabbings. Victims of such activities have been between the ages of 14 and 16. Despite the serious nature of these crimes, and the large amounts of youths involved in them, the “Rosedale Jams” as they are referred to, are not being taken very seriously on social media.
This tweet is an example of how these types of gatherings are being treated in the media. BlogTO has also issued an article with the title “Toronto’s poshest neighbourhood now has a teen gang problem”. The problem here is twofold, the first being that because of where these events are taking place, there is not much media attention as it seems to be interpreted as kids “just acting out”. The less seriously the media takes these issues, the less likely they will be solved. The second issue is much more troubling, if this issue was taking place somewhere that is perceived to be “at risk”, for example the Jane and Finch community, the media would have likely created a storm around the community contributing more to the systemic prejudice against the area. If Toronto ever hopes to solve the problem of certain communities being given preferential treatment, Toronto media outlets and Police must treat all youth violence with the same degree of severity.
Works Cited
O’Neill, Lauren. “Toronto’s poshest neighbourhood now has a teen gang problem”. BlogTO. Toronto. Sep, 2017. blogto.com. Nov 19, 2017. Web. http://www.blogto.com /city/2017/09/rosedale-teen-gang-problem-toronto/
Ricci, Talia. “Teens robbed, stabbed and assaulted at massive Rosedale park party”. CBC News. Toronto. Sep 20, 2017. cbc.ca. Nov 19, 2017. Web. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada /toronto/toronto-police-park-assaults-stabbings-1.4298458
The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword: Response to Meyer and Verbal Harassment in Ontario schools
It was not shocking to read that many teachers in Ontario have a difficult time intervening in gender based harassment in secondary schools. Because of boundary issues, as an educator it can be difficult to address gender issues due to the topic’s closeness with sexuality and it’s personal nature. Due to this difficult area in which gender issues live, it is important that institutions make clear that gender based harassment is not acceptable and that teachers and administrators work together so that boundary limits are still respected while dealing with this type of bullying. Therefore, it is shocking to read in Elizabeth J. Mayer’s article “Gendered harassment in secondary schools: understanding teacher’s (non) interventions” was the dichotomy presented in Ontario secondary schools when addressing bullying. Some of the teachers interviewed for this study expressed “not trusting administrators to support their actions and the feeling that they have to handle most non-violent discipline issues alone” (Mayer 559) and, that schools had “strong and clear response to any kind of physical violence, but in terms of verbal harassment or other forms of psychological torment, they felt that administration did not want to be bothered”. (Mayer 560) It is quite troubling to observe this clear bias towards one kind of bullying over another, and that teachers still do not feel supported enough to deal with verbal harassment in the same way that they would deal with physical violence.
At a foundational level, teachers can still address the issue of verbal bullying within the classroom, but if there are no consequences from administration it is likely the behaviour will continue and victims will encounter further social and developmental issues. Words have a power to contribute to a mindset that then allows for the victim to feel as “other” and allows the aggressor to carry it a step further if nothing is done about it. In a world where homosexuality is not supported globally, it is important of educators and administrators to work together to support LGTBQ2S youth in any way possible, and that includes making sure that verbal harassment is dealt with in a way that is comparable to physical violence.
Works Cited
Meyer, Elizabeth J. “Gendered harassment in secondary schools: understanding teachers’ (non) interventions”. Gender and Education. 20 (6). Rutledge. 2008. (pp 555-570).
Ramblings of a Baby Teacher 