BEAUTY
Warming-up
Beauty is Skin Deep
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Don’t judge a book by its cover
- What messages does the media usually send out about people and their physical appearances?
- The media generally presents images of men and women who are a certain size and have a certain appearance—reflecting society’s pressure on people to conform to those sizes and appearances.
- People often have unreal expectations of appearance, size and other physical attributes for themselves and others, which results in their judging others unfairly based on those expectations.
- Have you ever been on the receiving end of a cruel comment about your physical size or appearance?
- Have others ever let you know, in some way, that you’re not attractive enough?
- Do you find clothes shopping unpleasant because of fears about how others will judge you?
- Have you ever skipped an activity to avoid comments about your appearance?
- Do you think often about dieting because of comments about your weight?
- Have you considered changing aspects of your appearance to look better to others?
- Have you ever made cruel comments to others about their appearance?
PREZI about analysing beauty ads.
(From Business Insider)
8 Scientifically Proven Reasons Life Is Better If You're Beautiful
Jun. 12, 2013,
10:46 AM
Beauty is
not subjective. Contrary to popular belief, men and women generally agree on
who is and who is not physically attractive, even across different cultures.
What makes
someone enjoyable to look at?
High
cheekbones, fuller lips, big eyes, and a thin chin are associated with sexiness in women, whereas a
big jaw and broad chin are preferred in men. Smooth skin, shiny hair, and
facial symmetry are also key aspects of beauty.
According to
various studies, these provide measures of health, good genes, intelligence,
and success. More often than not, the world rewards beauty.
Here's why it's
better to be hot:
#1 Beautiful
people are viewed as healthier.
Facial
symmetry, considered the beacon of beauty, can be perceived as a sign of
health, even if it is not related to actual health. In an Australian
study, researchers morphed photographs of young adults so that their faces were
perfectly symmetrical. In general, the symmetric version of each face — both
male and female — received higher health ratings than the normal image.
Individuals with asymmetric faces were perceived as unhealthy.
#2 Beautiful
people are actually healthier.
Although the
link between facial symmetry and real health is weak, there is some evidence
that individuals with more distinct facial features, considered less
attractive, are more susceptible to disease, parasites, and other illnesses.
Specifically, in a study of 17-year-olds, researchers found that facial
distinctiveness was linked to poor health in both men and
women, either during childhood or adolescence. Facial averageness, on the other
hand, was linked to good health. One theory is that distinctive facial traits
are tied to chromosomal disorders. The preference for average faces may have
evolved as a way of identifying a mate with good genes.
#3 It's easier
for beautiful people to find mates.
Men seek
attractive women as mates because good looks signal youth, health, and reproductive fitness.
#4 Beautiful
people are more intelligent.
University of
New Mexico researchers found that general intelligence is positively
linked to body symmetry, a characteristic that is indicative of
attractive qualities like health, social dominance, and fitness-related
biological traits.
#5 Beautiful
people are more persuasive.
Good-looking
people can use their sex appeal to command
attention and to get ahead, say in a job interview or when asking
for a promotion. Attractive people are more persuasive, in part, because they
also possess or develop key personality traits — like intelligence and strong
social skills — that make them more effective
communicators. Researchers also found that compared to unattractive
speakers, attractive speakers were much more fluent talkers.
#6 Companies
with good-looking executives have higher sales.
In a study of
nearly 300 Dutch advertising agencies, economists found that firms with
better-looking executives had higher revenues. Overall productivity,
and resulting sales, were greater in companies with more attractive managers,
partly because firms with more attractive workers have the competitive
advantage when client interactions are involved.
#7 Beautiful
people have an advantage in politics.
Beautiful
people have the upper-hand in politics, according to a study in Finland which
found that both male and female political candidates who look better than
their competitors are more successful. A better individual beauty
score was associated with an increase of 20% in the number of votes for the
average non-incumbent parliamentary candidate. Perceived competence and
trustworthiness had less of an effect. The study authors suggests that voters
favor good-looking candidates because they enjoy watching them and they fare
better in social situations.
#8 Beautiful
people are perceived as more likeable and trustworthy.
Beautiful
people are typically treated better by others. In a study from Harvard
University, researchers found that wearing makeup, shown to enhance a woman's
attractiveness, boosted people's perceptions of that subject's
competence, likability, attractiveness, and trustworthiness.
DIET AND EATING DISORDERS
- Have you ever been on a diet?
- Are there any dangers of dieting?
- What´s your advice for anyone who wants to diet?
- Do you know anyone who is obsessed with their weight?
- Why are people so worried about the way their body looks?
- How often do you weigh yourself?
- Do you think the fashion industry and advertising is responsibe for encouraging women to be super skinny?
- What are, in your opinion, the causes of eating disorders?
- What do you know about anorexia?
- Which do yoy consider worse: obesity or anorexia?
- Do eating disorders affect women and men in the same way?
Watch this video: Anorexia´s living face (CBS News)
HEALTH
Health refers to the physical, mental and social well-being, as well as matters related to illnesses.
Some aspects related to this are:
- diet and nutrition
- drug abuse
- epidemics
- health services
- hygiene
- illnesses, symptoms of good/ill health
- mental health
- physical exercise
- surgery
- traditional and alternative medicine
DRUGS AND DRUG ABUSE
Key Questions for this unit of study
· What is your definition of a "drug"?
· Is drug abuse limited to being addicted to narcotics?
· How is our attitude towards drugs shaped by our cultural heritage and traditions, laws, personal experience or beliefs?
· Why are some drugs illegal, others legal? Why does this differ between countries?
· Why do people take drugs? What emotional, physiological, social or cultural reasons are there?
· Are all drugs detrimental to your physical and mental health?
· Should governments play a more assertive role in reducing drug abuse? How?
· How can schools help raise awareness of the dangers of drug abuse?
Reading
You will read a selection of texts over the course of this unit; this will include doing comprehension exercises to check and improve your understanding. You will also focus on the vocabulary in each text.
Title
|
Read & exercise finished ü
| |
1.
|
Teen Binge Drinking (an online advice page)
http://www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au/health-relationships/binge-drinking
| |
2.
|
Preventing Substance Abuse (a proposal)
http://www.gibbsonline.com/prevent.html
| |
3.
|
Drug Addiction Intervention (webpage)
https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/drugs/Pages/Drugtreatment.aspx
| |
4.
|
Who takes drugs? Poll finds a generation happy to chance it
(newspaper article)
| |
5.
|
Pharmageddon: how the US got hooked on prescription drugs (newspaper article)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/09/us-drugs-oxycodone-painkillers-florida
|
Writing
Here are the different types of texts you will focus on in this unit:
Type of text / assignment
|
completed ü
| |
1.
|
Write a blog or diary entry (400 words); chose either option a) or b)
a) You are the parent of a college freshman who has got involved in binge drinking; write about your personal thoughts and feelings in a diary or online blog OR
b) You are a college freshman who has got involved in binge drinking; write about your personal thoughts and feelings in a diary or online blog.
| |
2.
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Official Report (400 words)
You will write an official report (following the guidelines provided on the next page) about one specific type of drug/drug abuse.
| |
3.
|
Introduction to a school debate (400 words)
Imagine you have been asked to give an introduction to a school debate on “Drug abuse and how to prevent it in high school”. Your introduction should explain why this is an important issue and which drugs can impact the lives of high school students; you can outline some typical, contrasting views on the topic of drug abuse, but without stating your own opinion.
| |
4.
|
Personal response
A) "The central problem underlying substance abuse is the intolerance that the abuse has for emotional pain or disappointment."
B) "Ignorance is still a major factor in drug abuse and so the government must continue to enlighten the youth on the evils of drug addiction and trafficking."
150-250 words
|
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