What is Body Talk? Developing Language That Values Our Students

 Written by Dawn Graff-Haight, Kylie Pybus, and Angie Rodgers, Dove Self-Esteem Project Cadre Trainers

One of the goals set forth by the Dove Self Esteem Project is to foster self-esteem and body confidence by helping students eliminate body talk. There is growing acknowledgment that emphasis on physical appearance and brand name apparel can negatively impact student self-esteem.

Body Talk that is seen as positive such as, “You look like you’ve lost weight!” and negative body talk such as, “I wish I didn’t have freckles,” can both be harmful to students. These messages reinforce a student’s appearance and take away opportunities of valuing their actions and interests. If we expect students to stop emphasizing body talk, then we as educators need to be healthy role models and avoid the use of appearance-related compliments and comments to connect with our students. 

 The next time you want to tell a student how nice they look or compliment them on a different haircut, we encourage you to consider other ways of making your students feel unique and special. 

Here are some suggestions you might use with your students:

• Good morning, it’s great to see you!

• That’s a great idea!

• I enjoyed your performance in the music program last night.

• Tell me about your new puppy.

• I saw you helping Jim (a classmate) with their math problem. I’m proud of you.

• I love your enthusiasm.

A helpful tool to develop this language in your community, or in future school or classroom programming, is leading Workshop 4: Banish Body Talk in “Confident Me! School Workshops for Body Confidence.” After this 45-minute workshop, students will:

•  Understand what is meant by body talk and why people engage in conversations about appearance

• Recognize the problems body talk can cause

• Develop strategies for addressing negative body talk

• Identify what is unique about yourself and how you feel about it

• Set a goal to increase positive body talk and decrease the negative talk with yourself and friends.

 To learn more about the Dove Self-Esteem Project or to download the free resources, visit:   Dove.com/selfesteem or email us at info@cairnguidance.com.