TALKING POINTS
There’s nothing like controversy and current events to kickstart conversation. Seize the day and get talking with your kids about these recent news stories…
1
Number of Gen Z who say they are not straight doubles to 22% – and 1 in 5 women under 27 are bisexual (New York Post, 13/3/24)
“The number of Americans aged 18 to 27 identifying as non-straight has more than doubled in 7 years, going from 10% in 2017 to 22.3%. One expert says this could be down to social media, influencers and Covid lockdowns; others say that Gen Z-ers feel more free to be public about their sexuality, particularly young women who are happy to identify as bisexual (8.5% of women say they are LGBT+ vs 4.7% of men). ‘Each younger generation is about twice as likely as the preceding generation to identify as LGBT+,’ say the Gallup pollsters”
TALKING POINT Why do you think more people now identify as LGBT+? Read the article >
2
“Boys are disappearing” from mental health care as signs of depression go undetected (NBC News, 17/3/24)
“Teenage boys feel depression and anxiety but rather than show signs that girls do, such as being sad or tearful or not eating, they can react by being irritated, aggressive or impulsive, or by taking risks and arguing. Parents often worry that asking about their mental health might ‘set them off’, says psychiatrist Dr Mai Uchida. Antidepressant prescriptions for boys have gone down since Covid, implying that their mental health problems are not being noticed. Dr Uchida says: ‘Appreciate it when boys express emotion.’ Noah Power, 18, who was depressed from age 12, says: ‘Let us vent and get it all out.’ He advises gaming to cope”
TALKING POINT What explains the way girls and boys react so differently? Read the article >
3
Anti-ageing skincare content is causing appearance anxiety in children – psychologist shares tips (Hello, 29/2/24)
“Because they’re exposed to adult skincare products, often via social media, nearly 1 in 2 girls aged 10 to 17 worry about ageing, says the beauty-product company Dove. Also, disturbingly, 1 in 3 young girls are expected to have ’cosmetic work or plastic surgery‘. Psychologist Dr Phillippa Diedrichs suggests that girls: build self-trust, develop critical thinking (question ads and products), appreciate what their skin and body do – not how they look, experiment creatively instead of following trends, unfollow social media with unrealistic beauty standards, don’t compare themselves to idealised images, realise that skin changes are part of growing up, learn about their skin, emphasise kindness etc over appearance and do things that make them feel good (eg exercise, mindfulness, hobbies)
TALKING POINT Do you know people feeling under these pressures? Read the article >
4
This Is Your Captain Speaking – children’s gender stereotyping survey (easyJet, 21/2/24)
“Primary schoolchildren act out gender stereotypes when imitating job roles, an easyJet study found. When kids aged 7 were asked to act out mechanic, builder and pilot roles, they put on moustaches and a deep voice and chose male names. Acting out nurses, boys adopted high-pitched voices. 52% of UK kids aged 6 to 11 and their parents had opinions about their child’s future career. They thought pilots are men because they’d never seen
a female pilot. A woman saying ‘This is Your Captain Speaking’ happens in 1 in 17 flights a year. This research shows that children still think women are typically nurses, hairdressers, beauticians etc and builders, firefighters and lorry drivers are more likely to be men”
TALKING POINT Do you know women or men in gender-unusual jobs? Read the article >
5
How teens benefit from being able to read “disturbing” books that some want to ban (The Conversation, 29/2/24)
“Here are 6 ways American kids aged 13 reacted to reading YA (young adult) books banned because of sex or violence themes – such as Identical, Sold and Thirteen Reasons Why – and which they called ‘disturbing’: they had more empathy reading about different cultures, genders, ethnicities etc; they talked with friends or family about the books and thought more about their relationships; they reflected more on their future choices; they were happier (reading, even about serious or unsettling things, made them feel better); reading helped them heal from depression or grief; they became better readers”
TALKING POINT Can you see the benefits of reading something edgy? Read the article >
And finally: to discuss…
Kate Winslet calls Ozempic “terrible” as she opens up about past eating disorder (Independent, 9/3/24)
“Actor Kate Winslet, age 48, starred in Titanic at age 22 and was often body-shamed in the media and told to ‘settle for “fat girl” roles’…
[About having an eating disorder] ‘I never told anyone about it. Because people around you go: “You look great! You lost weight!” So even the compliment about looking good is connected to weight.
That is one thing I will not let people talk about. I pull them up straightaway.
When I was younger, my agent would get calls saying: “How’s her weight?” I kid you not.
So it’s heartwarming that this has started to change.’
MORE FROM KATE “In my 20s, people talked about my weight a lot. I was called to comment on my physical self. Then I got this label of being ballsy and outspoken.
No: I was just defending myself, still figuring out who the hell I bloody well was!
It tampers with your evolving impression of what’s beautiful”
• “My daughter Mia, age 23, is her own person. Young women now know how to use their voice”
TALKING POINTS What makes it OK to comment publicly on people’s weight? And what is the point of it? What is different about the way women are talked about by the media vs how men are treated? Is that the same in real life too? Why is there a difference? How are women’s and men’s bodies shown differently in the media? What do you think of Kate Winslet speaking out about her experiences? What do you think of her attitudes?