Resources for Teachers - Gender Representation

Sex in Advertising - Lesson

To introduce students to the use and prevalence of sexuality in advertising.

The Price of Happiness - Lesson

In this lesson students answer a brief questionnaire related to self-image, self-esteem, and advertising, and then work as groups to create and act in mock television commercials that parody advertising techniques.

The Girl in the Mirror - Lesson

In this lesson, students look at how gender stereotyping may discourage young women from becoming involved in politics.

Relationships and Sexuality in the Media

In this lesson, students learn to question media representations of gender, relationships and sexuality. After a brief “myth busting” quiz about relationships in the media and a reminder of the constructed nature of media products, the teacher leads the class in an analysis of the messages about gender, sex and relationships communicated by beer and alcohol ads. Students analyze the messages communicated by their favourite media types and then contrast it with their own experience.

The Constructed World of Media Families

In this lesson, students identify the differences between TV families and real families by analyzing the conventions used by TV shows; and by comparing the problems and actions of television families to real world families.