On Friday March 4th NAMI@Emma hosted Gemma's Beauty in Body Diversity workshop. She first gave a great presentation about beauty myths portrayed by the media, then each participant worked on filling out a chart that listed different aspects of beauty, which they had to rank in importance based on their opinions. A vast majority of girls put weight as the most important factor in beauty. Lastly, each girl filled out a poster on which they wrote what their body could do for them (such as swim, run, bike, etc.), one perceived flaw they had, and in what ways that flaw might benefit them. These posters are now hanging in the 2e cafe. We did a fair amount of advertising for the event (Morning reports announcement, posters, announcements in health classes and some peer ed teas), and about 20 girls came to the event, but some left before making the posters because they were too daunted by the task. I completely understand their reluctance, and hope they will stay next year. It is only when you get into that zone on the border of your comfort and panic zone that you can grow. I think this event was very successful because it allowed all of the participants to reflect upon their own body image, while also seeing that everyone has issues with their own bodies. Reading some of the posters, it is interesting to see many of the people commenting on their perceived flaws that I had never even thought about. With body image and many other things, you really are your harshest critic. I hope we can run this event next year, and maybe integrate more information about eating disorder symptoms and resources in it. That being said, I think this event exemplified teaching girls good mental health practices. I truly wish everyone came to the event, because I think they all would have gained something from it. In the past I know that Gemma had made the event part of the Peer-Ed tea, which I think is a great idea for the future.
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Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all. -Bill Clinton
Katherine WallaceEmma Willard Class of 2017. Archives
May 2017
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