Tool "Dressing up is Cool"

Language: English

Project Featuring This Tool: Rainbow Resources

Themes:Gender and Sexuality Inclusion and Equality

The group experiments with different clothing and puts on a fashion show to discover how clothing can help create a person’s identity.

Time 30-45 minutes
Approximate number of participants 4+
Age under 10, 10-15
Date published 9 Dec 2011, 10:58

Objectives

To reflect on the role that clothing has in creating your identity

To break down barriers of wearing different gendered clothing 

To heighten awareness of and empathy with other genders

Materials

Assortment of clothes Music and music player Make-up (optional) Masking tape (optional, to mark out a catwalk in advance)

Step-by-step instructions

1.Put all the clothes in a pile in the middle of the floor and ask the children to choose a selection of clothing that they would not usually wear. Tell the group to dress in these clothes (over the top of the clothes they are wearing, they do not have to undress). Make it clear that if they do not feel comfortable wearing any of the clothes then they should not wear them. You can also provide make-up if you wish.

2. When all children are dressed in different clothes, explain to the group that they will now perform a fashion show. Tell the group that each of them can model their outfit once to show what they are wearing. No one has to participate if they do not want to. Instruct the rest of the group to cheer for the other models when they walk down the catwalk to the music.

Debriefing

How did it feel to be a model?

What is different about what you are wearing now to what you usually wear?

How do you feel in your clothes? Do you feel different when you are wearing different clothes?

Do you act differently when you are wearing different clothes?

Why don’t you usually wear these types of clothes?

Did anyone dress up as the opposite gender? If so, how did you do that?

What did you like/ dislike about dressing up as the opposite gender?

Is this really how girls/ boys dress? Why do they dress differently?

Should boys/ girls dress differently?

What does clothing say about people? Should it say something?

Attached files