We completed the Media Journey. The girls had a great time doing the journey. I went in with a little less than great expectations from reviewing what others had said about the journey online. By the end of the journey my opinion was reversed.
We used the Dove Free to Be Me coursework for part of the journey experience. We watched videos, had many discussions, and for our final TAP, the girls decided to make a video about the Image Myth. The girls already understood that depictions of the women in magazines, ads, even TV and movies are usually altered, airbrushed, photo-shopped or edited in way to alter the appearance or even the message.
Most of the time spent was in reviewing the media online and offline and how it portrays women and girls. To my surprise it was not the media that had the most impact on the girls in their viewpoint of themselves. Family ranked #1 and Friends #2.
No, they don't like that media editing is done as common practice and they REALLY want to see people as they really are without the editing. As they put it to me - "We are Real, so what you see should be REAL people not edited." They realized how the media plays a role in the mindset and opinions of others, and THAT reality of the media does impact them by what they hear from their family and friends.
So although the journey itself is challenging to go through without making it seem like 'classwork', the learning experience is of great value for the girls. In the end it did, however, leave the girls with some unanswered questions about ways to counteract what they hear from friends and family. I am certain we will continue to learn and interact with this subject as the years move forward.
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