Discussing Appearance: What does it mean to ‘be handsome’ or ‘pretty’?
The children were deep in conversation about appearance while making a house for the panda.
- Jacob “你觉得小panda是男生还是女生?” (Do you think the little panda is a boy or a girl?)
- Adalyn “女生。” (a girl)
- Jacob “是的，她是女生。”（yes, she is a girl.) “因为它看着像女生。” (because she looks like a girl)
Ms. Sophia “What should a girl look like? and what should a boy look like?”
- Isabella “Boys look handsome.”
- Jacob “Yes, boys look handsome and girls look pretty.”
Ms. Sophia “What is handsome and what is pretty?”
- Jacob “I can’t quite tell you what is handsome and what is pretty.”
We decided to share the conversation with the class to see what they thought about appearance.
- Jacob “She is pretty, she will use everything she makes to be pretty. Something beautiful on her face and her hands.”
- Suzy “My mum, she puts drawing on her face.”
- Isabella “I saw my mum, she draws on the nails. It is shining, it makes it pretty. People do it to make it prettier. I have it on two nails.”
- Jacob “Handsome is cool. Use something on your face. Maybe something that is new. New shoes is cool.”
- Evan “Like a new jacket. That is cool.”
- Jacob “You will use fast things then you will be cool. You will run fast then you will be cool. And everybody looks at your shoes then she will be cool. He will have a long, long green things you will see on the shoes.”
- Adalyn “When girls put makeup then they are pretty.”
- Jacob “Put some decorations.”
- Evan “Girls is pretty because her hair is long.”
- Riccardo “People short hair is also cool.”
- Sea “I think mummy and cat is pretty because I love mummy and so cute cat.”
- Dahyun “Princess is beautiful because the dress is beautiful.”
- Euno “I think cat is cute. Cat is small (kitten). I like baby cats.
- Sea “Daddy is handsome because his eyes and ears. He has pretty eyes.”
- Euno “My daddy is little bit big.”
- Dahyun “My daddy is cute.”
- George “Beautiful hair. My mummy has beautiful hair because it is long. My mummy is pretty.”
- Ethan “Friends Dahyun and Euno is pretty because they play together.”
- Suzy “I think Jacob, Riccardo, Finn, Evan are cool. I am pretty.”
- Finn “My airplane is cool” (in Mandarin)
We know the ‘power of words’ and that the children’s words matter. The children’s conversations revealed many interesting ideas and theories about gender and appearance. They talked about products, styles and clothing that are used to enhance or change appearances. The words ‘cute’, ‘beautiful’, ‘handsome’ and ‘pretty’ were used to share these observations.
We wonder how we might challenge some of these theories about appearance and image to help us be more aware, open-minded, inclusive, accepting and appreciative of the people around us.
We used different strategies to document and share our thinking. We used whiteboard drawings, partner talks and post-it note groupings to share our ideas. We reflected on our own behaviours, feelings and emotions.
They discussed the projects and decided to share their thinking and questions with the creators.
