Online ‘Shaming’ A New Level of Cyberbullying for Girls
Reporter: Temitayo Fagbenle
Original air date: January 7, 2013
Student reporter, Temitayo Fegbenle investigates the new phenomenon of online shaming, often referred to as “slut shaming,” where students will bully young girls via social media about their sexual exploits. Often, the cyberbullying stems from pictures or videos the young women naively send to boys they like and then those images are shared with wider audience. Many students don’t recognize the repercussions of their actions, especially from a legal standpoint. This story spotlights not only cyberbullying, but the lack of control parents and administrators have over the salacious material.
Quantitative: Flesch Reading Ease--60.5; Flesch Reading Level--8.3
Qualitative: A story for middle and high school grades (7-12), but could be used in grades 5 or 6 depending on the maturity of the students. This text isn’t overly complex, but it does discuss activity that will most likely impact an older age group. Issues like appropriate media use, student rights, and legal implications make this a text that address school board policies and even child pornography.
Content Area: English; Health--Bullying; Health--Relationships; Health--Tolerance; Government/Ethics; Information Literacy; Peer Resource.
Curriculum Suggestions: This piece could be applied to any unit on bullying. High school students could draw on the modern-day connections to The Scarlet Letter. In a government or ethics class, students might want to examine the laws the “slut shaming” violates (or not). Is this a First Amendment issue? What laws are in place that protect minors from these viral attacks? What responsibility does the school have to protecting children? The article indicates that students are not any more vicious than they were 20 years ago; the venue for the attacks have changed. A school that has a peer resource class could also devise ways to intervene when such acts occur.
Another approach might be to have students investigate other issues--related to bullying or not--on campus to produce an investigative piece just like Temitayo Fagbenle.
Common Core Standards: RI.11/12.7-8; SL.11/12.2-5; RH.11/12.1-2
Additional/Digital Content:
- NPR’s “Online ‘Shaming’ A New Level of Cyberbullying for Girls”--
- Literature Connection→ Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson--
Personal Thoughts--The avenues for this hot topic are endless. Students could conduct research and even assess how their campus copes with the issue. It can be touchy, so spending time creating an open and caring environment for sharing is critical when discussing emotionally charged topics such as this one. Expect some shocking and uncomfortable conversations.
*Meets the "Media Item" requirement
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