No Body's Perfect by Lewis Vivienne;

Author:Lewis, Vivienne;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Australian Academic Press

CHAPTER 7

Teasing and body bashing — it’s not okay!

I remember very clearly being teased at school. It started at around year 4 when I was 9 years old. I was a little chubbier than the others kids and they used to call me names, usually when no adult was there to witness it. At first I thought they were just joking around but then it became a regular name calling — ‘hey fatso, pass me the ball’ and the like. I became really self-conscious and at one point actually stopped eating because I thought if I lost weight the teasing would stop. I did lose weight but then was teased for being ‘scrawny’. I just couldn’t get it right. Those harsh words stuck with me for a long time and affected my body image as an adult. I’m now in my 30s and teach sport studies in high school. I don’t tolerate body bashing or body teasing of any kind. My students know exactly where I stand on this issue. Everyone is to be respected in my class. — Edward, teacher

This chapter covers the important issue of bullying and how it affects children, young people and adults. It highlights the difference between ‘teasing’ and ‘bullying’ with suggestions as to how to prevent and stop bullying. Cyberbullying in particular is discussed here with strategies to protect children and young people.

We know that teasing occurs and that bullying is a problem in the school and work environment whether this be about appearance or not. It happens to people of all ages, races, genders and religious backgrounds. We know that bullying can result in mental health problems, including depression (even suicide ideation), anxiety, and stress, and where there is appearance teasing, body dissatisfaction and body image issues, even disordered eating. Typical appearance teasing centres on a person’s weight, shape, height, hair, clothing and facial characteristics. Also, peers who engage in ‘fat talk’ can make body dissatisfaction worse and eating issues may develop too. Let’s talk here about what teasing and bullying are and how to work with children and young people around these issues.

Most children will experience teasing at some point in their life and you will likely recall teasing when you were young too. Children often tease each other because they’re trying to be funny and get a reaction from another child. Teasing can be positive when it demonstrates closeness and affection for another person. For example, as an adult, you may have friends that playfully tease you in ways they think are funny and you may go along with it and tease them back. Sometimes teasing can be used to reduce conflict and tension too. Teasing is okay when the receiver knows the person is joking and they don’t take offence or are hurt by the teasing. For example, playful teasing about always being late with your friends, or your sport team losing, or trying to make light of a situation by making a joke might be okay in your friendship circle.

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