1: Introduction

Description

Introduction

Included in this lesson:

Examples of presentation slides in Part 1

Whiteboard, Post-it notes, internet connection (access to Twitter), washing line.

Overview: This is the first in a series of activities to help children understand, discuss and navigate complex issues that result from the proliferation of sexual imagery in the media and on the Internet.

This is Part 1, the introductory activity. In it, we explore what online sexual content is and how it may affect children’s views of themselves and the relationships they have.

It introduces the concept of sexualized content (images that are inappropriately and/or overly sexual) versus sexual content (images targeted at adults), and encourages reflection on what that means.

During focus groups with children aged 11-16, they defined sexual content online in a broad way, including: user generated content e.g. sexting; celebrity nudes; documentaries that contain sexually explicit material; plastic surgery pictures; sexually explicit language; commercial pornography; sexualised games characters; and photoshopped pictures.

As a result we have adopted a broad definition of “online sexual content” for this programme and will encourage children to consider the difference between sexual content and sexualised content.

Objectives:

• Consider what sexual content is
• Enable learners to understand how prevalent it is on the internet
• Consider the differences between sexual and sexualised content
• Define sexual content online

Outcomes:

• Evaluate how sexual content is used within different types of media
• Approach a definition for the term ‘online sexual content’