In this lesson, students compare and contrast two photographs of women. In doing so, they evaluate how a photo creates a mood and how photos can encourage or challenge stereotypes. This activity is part of the Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice [1] series.
Objectives
Activities will help students:
Essential Questions
Introduction
Before the women’s movement started in the 1970s, common
stereotypes about women suggested that they were more emotional than
intelligent, that they were better suited to mothering than to other types of
work and that beauty was perhaps their most important virtue. Thanks to the
women’s movement, many of those stereotypes no longer have much weight.
Increasingly, women join men in high-powered professional jobs, hold important
political positions and fulfill many roles besides or in addition to
motherhood.
Nonetheless, some stereotypes of women persist. Some photos express those stereotypes; others challenge them.
Activities
1. Working with a partner, look at Photo A. Describe the woman in the photograph. Focus on how old she looks, what she’s wearing, what she’s holding, what she’s doing and what her expression is like. With your partner, answer these questions to help you focus on the tone, or feeling, of the photo.
Photo A: Toronto Minilypse/June 2007. Click here [2] for caption.
2. Look at Photo B. Describe the woman in the photograph.
Focus on how old she looks, what she’s wearing, what she’s holding, what she’s
doing and what her expression is like. With your partner, answer these
questions to help you focus on the tone, or feeling, of the photo.
Photo B: ©Ron Levine. Click here [3] for caption.
3. Now that you and your partner have studied Photo B, go back to your answers about Photo A. Make any additions or changes that you want to make, since now you have a photo to compare and contrast with Photo A. Discuss with your partner which photo you like better and why you prefer it.
4. Now you have seen how photographs can express stereotypes or dispel them. Recognizing how stereotypes are perpetuated is a useful skill, since stereotypical images continue to appear in the popular media. At the same time, finding images that counter those stereotypes is also important, so that you (and others) can be clear that stereotypes are not accurate reflections of individuals or groups of people. Practice these skills by finding or making your own pair of photos of women, similar to this pair. Have one photo show a woman in a stereotypical fashion, while the other counters that stereotype. Display your photos side by side. Write a caption for each photo. In the caption analyze the photo in the same way you analyzed the two photos in this activity. For the stereotypical image, explain what the stereotype is and how the photograph works to maintain that stereotype. For the second photo, explain how it counters the stereotype, including the techniques that the photo uses.
5. Relate this analysis of gender stereotyping to your own experience. In your school, household or community do you see examples of stereotypes of women and girls? For example, do most people assume that teachers are women or that a particular sports program is for boys? Had you thought about these assumptions as stereotypes before you did these activities? Do you see examples where it’s clear that people are not accepting the stereotypes—or maybe they’re not even aware of them? For example, when your grandparents were your age, it was unusual to go to a woman doctor. Now so many doctors are women that many people no longer assume that doctors are men. Write a journal entry that addresses some of these questions, relating what you have learned about gender stereotypes to your own experience. If you see areas where gender stereotypes are accepted
Links:
[1] http://www.tolerance.org/activity/using-photographs-teach-social-justice
[2] http://www.tolerance.org/supplement/woman-hard-hat
[3] http://www.tolerance.org/supplement/woman-orange-vest