Tonight, Thursday March 8, at 7pm and 10pm ET MuchMusic is featuring an hour long special program called Much Talks: Body Image. The documentary style program follows MuchMusic VJs Sarah Taylor and Devon Soltendieck as they talk to youth on body image issues—from plastic surgery to eating disorders, media pressure to self-esteem issues.

Initiate classroom discussion on the topic of body image in the media. Questions to explore with students can include:

• Why do you think there is so much focus on body image in Western societies?
 
• Where do our notions of an "ideal" body come from? (Examples can include media, family, peers, community, sports, etc.)

• How would you describe the “ideal” body as it is appears in various media? (Answers may include thin, young, muscular, digitally altered.) Why do you think these types of images are used? (Answers may include that there is often commercial implications such as being used to sell products.)

• What do you think are the messages associated with these types of images?

• How does the ideal image of men’s and women's bodies differ throughout the ages?

• Do you think teenage girls are especially vulnerable to these ideas? Do teenage boys feel similar pressures?

For background information on this topic, visit the Web page Beauty and Body Image in the Media or visit our Lesson Library for classroom resources. More information on Much Talks: Body Image can be accessed on the MuchMusic Web site.