THEME: Real World

THEME: Relationship and Community Building

Lesson: Acting Your Age: Act your age please! A Minus 20 Article from the Regina Leader Post written by Ashton Wilner (Monday, January 5, 2009)

Learning Outcomes

• Students will be encouraged to discuss and formulate opinion regarding appropriate dress for women of all ages

Essential Questions:

• Are young girls dressing too provocatively in today’s’ society? Why or why not?
• What are the dangers of dressing too provocatively?
• Do most women want to appear younger than they are?
• Who or what influences someone to dress a certain way?
• Can girls/women send the wrong message by how they dress?
• What role do you feel parents play?The media? Retailers?
• Are men influenced as easily as women? Why or why not?

Level:

• Grade 9 through 12

Time:

• 1 x 15

Materials:

• Minus 20 article Act your age please! (follows this lesson)

Procedures

1. Write the essential questions on the board

1. Read or have someone in the class read the Minus 20 Article to the class. Draw attention to the fact that Minus 20 are Leader Post articles written by Saskatchewan young people under 20 and appear in the paper on Monday.
2. Allow students to respond/discuss their viewpoints. You may want to divide the class into groups to think about the essential questions on the board

Act your age please!!!

A Minus 20 article by Ashton Wilner, Monday, January 5, 2009

The term “13 going on 30” has become a popular saying, one used to define a generation of girls on their journey to womanhood.

Movies have been made and novels written to show the maturity of girls, as well as their desire to be treated as adults.

Sadly that now infamous term defining young girls has taken on a new meaning for many older women.

Young girls in our society are feeling the pressure to be treated as adults and proving to the world that they are able to take on new responsibilities. But they are achieving this in an immature way.

Girls as young as 10 dressing provocatively. They’re wearing mini skirts, low cut tops and see through outfits to show off their bodies.

Young girls should not e dressing in such a way: the image of innocence has become the image of sex.

It is true that, in this day and age, sex sells, and has defined our generation. But when did the image of a young girl turned into looking like a Playmate? Where are these young girls’ mothers in these situations?

Who is telling them not to dress in this way? Who are we, as a society to think that this image is acceptable?

Truth is, we are all to blame. Women from the age of 30 and up are the ones who have their lives figured out. Many already have a career and are on the path to creating a family. Although these women are seen as elders who have experience life and have learned from their mistakes, some are also feeling the pressure to reverse the time.

Appearing older than you are actually is a woman’s worst nightmare, so they have found ways to appear more youthful to both men and women.

Women of 40 are seen walking through city streets in skimpy outfits that the youngest girls are wearing. Mothers are wearing their teenage daughter’soutfits; women are now categorized by the way they dress. Is being known as a ‘cougar’ a good thing or a bad thing? Seen women wear low rise pants with a lace thong hanging over their belt, with a low cut tank top showing off their cleavage is something I do not want to see.

My male friends say that seeing young girls and older women dressing in a provocative way is not appealing to them. And if men are not finding these fashion choices attractive, then why are the women still dressing like that?

Maybe it’s true that age can only be defined by the way someone feels on the inside. Or maybe this is simply a trend that will fade away as fast as it came.

Whatever the reason, this is a fashion decision that we all should stay away from.