“I bunked class
with my friends, and we went to India Gate where we roamed around, we also
smoked cigarettes”
The session with the
first group of adolescent boys of government school on “Body Image and Peer
Pressure” began with a participant calling out other as black and ugly, and it
stunned me! Then I heard someone calling the other person as “Takla singham”
and many more of such comments, hence it seemed appropriate to engage with
these comments as part of our session.
After a quick recap of
previous workshop and agreements, mind mapping around the word “Body” was done
where the participants came out with the words like – fair, six pack abs,
black, gym, beautiful, thin, cute, dimples, chikna and etc.
In the next part, the
participants were given a questionnaire to be filled individually which
explored how they feel about their body, do they want change their body, what
is effect of media on the way they look at their body, how comfortable are they
in their own skin! The answers were quite baffling since they are 12-13 years
old. Out of 33 students, only 2 students are not happy with how they look –
however 31 students want to either change their face or body be it eyes, ears,
or have six pack abs or the entire body itself.
It was even appalling to see that others opinion about their body
matters to them a lot and many of them have tried dieting and have gone to gym.
“I went to gym
so that I can have better body but I fell ill after few days and also I stopped
growing in height”
About 6 students shared
that they have been discriminated because of their body. Most of the students
shared that ‘whenever they see beautiful well-toned actor and actresses’ they
want to be like them. Another interesting conclusion from the questionnaire was
that everyone compared their body with another person and find that they can
have a better body.
This was followed by
screening of ‘Lesser Men’ which had boys talking about what people say about
their body, judging their soft skin, suggesting them to eat certain food to
build their height and pump up their muscles and the constant nagging to be
“Mard”. Taking cue from the questionnaire and sharing of the participants, the
concept of body image and how important it is to accept one’s body as it for better
mental health and well-being. It was
interesting to see our team member take up the conversations ahead to share his
personal experience of being Kathak dancer; being boy and all the judgment he
faced because he loved cooking, and doing household chores.
In the next part of the
session, a video on “smoking” was screened followed by the discussion as to
what they have understood from the video? It was grueling to see that they were
really comfortable talking about smoking because many of them smoke and
consider that it’s part of being in friend’s group.
This was followed by
the activity where we shared some questions about peers and the actions
associated with it - most of the participants said “yes” to the plans which
their friends make so that they don’t get upset. Almost everyone said “yes” to
lie to their parents because of their friends. It was chaotic to see participants run and
stand in the yes block for “I have been involved in fights because of my
friends”- they seem to take pride in fighting for their friends.
After explaining what
peer pressure is and how it is important to challenge oneself when encountered
with peer pressure! The participants were then invited to share their
experiences of being under peer pressure-
“I was forced to smoke
because all my friends indulge into smoking”
“My friend brought an
electric pen so I pressurized my parents to buy one”
“My friend forced me to
chew supari”
“Many a times we have
bunked classes to have fun”
“We can drink alcohol
once we grow up, it’s good for stomach, helps in digestion. Also its required
when we are with friends”
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