Find out more about Jameela Jamil
STEP ONE: Who is Jameela Jamil?
Watch the biography of Jameela Jamil and her struggle to ban airbrushing and adverts for dieting on social media targeting teenagers. Find out how she won.
The aim is to learn hard facts about Jameela Jamil
and be able to tell her story out loud freely
A) Listen carefully, take notes, copy the script
Then choose the 10 sentences you would like to remember
> that you think are useful for exams
> that sound nice, with idiomatic expressions
> that you find interesting, that give you facts
> that you want to use again
Focus on GRAMMAR
Focus on verbs in the PAST SIMPLE when telling her story:
> What happened when she was a child?
> What happened to her when she was a teenager?
> What happened to her when she was a radio host show?
> What happened to her when she was an actress?
> What lessons did she learn in life?
Revise irregular verbs
Tips for language cards
> Always start from model sentences in English!
> This is not a translation exercise from French into English
> compare the Brut videos in English and French to get the right vocab that journalists use
> use the right tenses: notice that in English, you must use the PAST SIMPLE when there are dates - but in French, journalists naturally use the PRESENT to make it more interesting for readers
> find the equivalent in French, what would sound natural. Remember you can't translate word for word. Translate the meaning, explain if necessary = étoffer
> be precise and be careful: there’s a mistake in the Brut video in French: the name of the instagram movement Jameela Jamil created is “I Weigh” = je pèse (weigh is the verb which gives the noun weight)
vs. she banned weight loss products from Instagram > les produits pour perdre du poids / les produits minceur
Here's are model language cards.
Which words and idiomatic expressions would you highlight in these sentences?
What differences do you notice between French and English?
Focus on word order and prepositions
B) Create a mind map with illustrations or a language card
> 10 sentences minimum: key facts you should know
> Remember to have 2 sides > English > French
> Highlight new words and idiomatic expressions
> Find the equivalent expression in French, don't translate word for word
Here's a model mind map on Jameela Jamil created by Juliet (2nde8 Std2A)
Here's a mind map in two parts created by Kaoutar (TS2) to inspire you to try your hardest. There's no limit to how much you can write on your mind map and how much you can draw either.
Here's a model mind map by Robin (TL) to inspire you to try your hardest and use genuine English to sound more convincing.
DIG DEEPER
Get extra information and understand who Jameela Jamil is.
Watch her interviews on Channel 4 News Ways to Change the World and on The Daily Show or DiversiTEA > Listen and take notes as before.
Stock your minds
https://youtu.be/BXzO0z6fmhI Channel 4 News Ways to Change the World
https://youtu.be/NIxJxxM6BCM The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
https://youtu.be/Gf7reJYs56E Her speech at the 2019 Makers Conference
https://youtu.be/gGeUfxAC5Y8 Get To Know Jameela Jamil
https://youtu.be/7RotXxHY8EE DiversiTEA with Naomi Wadler
Media representation is not a new issue for women.
Listen to Jean Kilbourne who has been taking a stance against the image of women in adverts for years now
https://youtu.be/jWKXit_3rpQ Killing Us Softly by Jean Kilbourne
C) CHALLENGE
Record your voice, try to talk for 2 minutes minimum
and give your opinion.
> Who is Jameela Jamil?
> What do you know about her?
> What’s i_weigh?
> What do you think about Jameela Jamil and her awareness campaign and the movement that she created?
Let's celebrate Women History Month with an amazing, uplifting and inspiring book by Katherine Halligan and Sarah Walsh
Herstory: Fifty Women Who Shook Up The World
You'll find so many inspiring women, just browsing through the book.
You can have a look inside this book at
Self-study work
> How many videos did you watch?
> Did you use subtitles in English or in French? Why?
> Did you try to watch some videos without subtitles?
> Which video did you enjoy the most? Why
Send me a little feedback on your self-study work by mail
STEP TWO: Let's go into things further
A) How does Jameela Jamil fight for gender equality and body positivity?
Watch her recent speech and interview for The 2019 Makers Conference.
> How does she define herself? Focus on adjectives she uses.
> What image of herself does she get across? > She comes across as being...
> What is body shaming?
> Make a list of 10 key words or expressions you've heard to talk about this issue
B) What role should men play in this struggle for gender equality and body positivity?
C) BONUS
Which other celebrity has taken a stance against body shaming?
> Check English Club VSL's highlights: Women's Rights @englishclubvsl
Please, write down your answers or record your voice.
* WH MAE SY TYH *
STEP THREE: Focus on FREE WRITING
You're a journalist working for The Guardian and your task is to write an article for Women History Month:
write about Jameela Jamil and how she is shaking the world.
N.B. Remember your article should look like a newspaper article
Check the lesson on Greta Thurnberg when she was chosen as Person of the Year 2019 by Time Magazine, that is to say, there should be:
> a headline, the date, a photo, caption,
> a little summary to catch readers' attention
> and a full article with 300 words minimum.
Also remember to use link words to give it a clearer structure.
And jump lines:
ONE IDEA = ONE PARAGRAPH
INTRODUCTION
BODY
several parts
find balance
use quotes
add transitions
CONCLUSION
Here are some questions to help you:
> who is Jameela Jamil? > what's her story? > what kind of woman is she?
> what movement did she start and why? > how popular is it?
> what role does she want to play in society as a celebrity and feminist?
STEP FOUR: Food for Thought
Why are we still talking about Women's Rights in 2020?
One of the slogans used for an i_weigh campaign was: "I'd rather be me than beautiful."
Give your opinion and react to this slogan.
Use the following key questions to guide you and help you think of different arguments
> What kind of gender-based stereotypes are there still today?
> How does popular culture define beauty?
> Are gender-based stereotypes about culture or power?
> How can artists or celebrities empower women?
> How do we build our identity through social media?
Write down an essay (300 words)
OR
Talk about it for 10 minutes, record your voice
SELF-CORRECTION
THE LIFE OF JAMEELA JAMIL
Brut video in English script
30th November 2019
Journalist: Cécile Guthleben
> October 13, 2019 extract from one of her speeches on feminism on Girl Up, Girl Hero Awards
Aren’t you all tired for this fight for our basic rights? Can I get an “amen”?
I’m just done for asking what I rightfully deserve, frankly, and I’m taking it back whether the patriarchy bloody likes it or not!
Audience cheering and clapping
She’s a body-positive activist and a budding actress. This is Jameela Jamil.
> Interview October 13, 2019
I’m spending the rest of my life dedicated to making sure that young women, I mean, don’t go through what I had to go through if I can possibly help them avoid it.
She was born in 1986 in London, to an Indian father and a Pakistani mother.
She was born partially deaf and underwent several surgeries during her childhood.
As a teenager, she had anorexia for several years.
At 17, she was hit by a car. Her spinal column was injured, requiring her to spend a year in hospital.
For several years, she taught English to international students.
At 22, she became a host on Britain’s Channel 4.
Five years later, she won the Glamour Award for Radio Personality of the Year.
> Interview on winning the Glamour Award in 2013:
The fact that girls are supporting other girls, that’s so rare. Er, and so, I feel even more special for the fact that it was a public vote and the fact that it was women who chose me. Radio 1 is the best place I’ve ever worked in my entire life, because everyone there treats you like an equal. They don’t care what you look like, what you dress like. You walk in there with you brain and your talent.
At 27, she attempted suicide - but did not reveal this until 2019.
In 2014, the British tabloids attacked her for her appearance because she had gained weight due to the steroid treatment she was required to take to treat her asthma.
> Real Health, Real Happiness, Real Diversity, Real People, Be Real speech:
I refuse, I cannot and I will not be told or pressured by anyone to believe that I owe it to anybody to be a particular shape or size.
Two years later, she moved to Los Angeles.
> Interview:
Don’t listen to the word ‘no’. I’ve always been told ‘no’. I’ve always been told what my limits are, even before I had the chance to try, and that’s so f***ing ridiculous. And I have never obeyed anyone, I have always been disobedient. And I’ve always made my own way and I’m still here.
Though she considered becoming a screenwriter, she was cast to play Tahani al-Jamil on The Good Place. The success of the show quickly made her a star.
At 32, she launched the “I Weigh” movement on Instagram to encourage women to define themselves by something other than their weight.
In August 2018, she spoke out against magazines that airbrush her skin to make it a lighter colour.
> Quote from The Independent, 30th August 2018:
“Airbrushing and changing my ethnicity is bad for my mental health, it’s not just bad for the mental health of girls who are looking at it.”
At 33, she launched a petition to ban ads for weight loss products on Instagram.
> Mock ad showing her drinking a weight loss mixture and crying?:
I’ve been here for, like, three days, but I’m still feeling amazing, super skinny.
> Speech on 25th September 2019 for WE Day UN, criticizing social media, holding a microphone for WE:
It’s not just a community for friendship anymore. It’s a marketplace, like a giant store. And in that store are people who are desperately trying to sell you stuff. And they will tell you whatever it is that they need to, and they will hurt you in any way that they can, to make you believe that you need to buy their products. They believe that people with low self-esteem buy more, so that they attack the way you feel about yourselves all the time.
A few months later, Jamil won her fight. The social media platform announced that this type of ad would no longer be visible to underage users.
> Interview:
You can rage against the system and still win. And I hope that I can be an example of that.
DIG DEEPER
Here's Jameela Jamil’s I Weigh post about herself
> describe this instagram post > what strikes you? > how does it promote body neutrality?
> what would you write on your selfie if you wanted to take a stand against body shaming?
Here's an article Jameela Jamil wrote for The Huffington Post UK in 2018
Do you go to the gym? How often do you go? Why? / Why not?
How comfortable do you feel about what other people think about the way you look?
Do you agree with what Jameela Jamil denounces in her article?
A Message To Those Who Body-Shame People At The Gym: Shame On You
To anyone out there who feels the need to criticise other people about their body shape, hear me loud and clear…
13/09/2018 12:00pm BST
Three weeks ago, I joined a gym. I’ve been under a lot of stress lately. I was told exercise is an amazing way to shift anxiety and to give one a feeling of autonomy and power. While I maintain that it is excruciatingly dull to be so sweaty and uncomfortable for 40 minutes straight, I must admit, I feel bloody amazing. My arse really hurts, but I feel significantly happier and more in control.
Yesterday, on my way out after a workout, a man approached me. A smily, muscly man, with his arm outstretched to shake my hand. Out of habit I gave him my hand and took out my earphones to say hello. He asked me what workout I had just been doing. I told him I had just done some cycling and sit ups for anxiety and back pain. He sort of winced.
He then said, and I quote: “You’re new here right? I was watching you, and just thinking, Man she could look so amazing. With the right exercises you could really improve your body, you would look great.”
Cool…
I promptly explained to him that I didn’t need his advice because I’m not interested in “improving” my body, I liked my body, and I was just there for anxiety. Upon this response he looked at me with surprise and slight pity even. He was trying to angle his blatant body shaming as trying to “help” me.
Fascinating isn’t it? In 2018, someone felt they not only had the right, but the duty if you will, to tell me I wasn’t good enough as I was. A total stranger, minding her own business, not asking anyone what they thought about her or her body. Wild.
This is why I had never gone to a gym before. I had always associated most exercise with vanity and self-hatred. A lab people scurry off to, to “fix” their “flaws.” Somewhere I thought would be full of shallow people, who would judge me for my memory foam jiggle and strength of a newborn. Why would I go and willingly subject myself to public humiliation and discomfort, in a room that smells of feet, that I have paid too much money for? I don’t need that.
This is how SO many people feel! So many people would, like me, love to exercise, clear their head, strengthen their heart, protect their bones and feel active and alive. But they don’t go because of this culture of shame that has permeated every crevice of our collective hive mind. This aesthetic obsession, that in the age of social media, has reached epidemic proportions.
Why is something that is so good for our mental health only ever marketed as something that can help us meet societally “acceptable” body shapes? This is so short-sighted. Posing it as a “fix” makes people feel broken in some way. Posing it as a fix also makes those of us who don’t feel too fussed about changing our bodies, feel as though we don’t need it.
We all need it. We aren’t supposed to be sedentary creatures. We weren’t built to sit on chairs, take escalators, take transport everywhere, spend all day staring at screens, never raise our heart rates. I didn’t know until now how incredible it makes you feel, how it clears your head and gives you such a sense of peace. It gives you more energy, makes you feel younger, increases your brain health and memory, it helps with sleep, it releases endorphins into your body which drastically reduces stress and feelings of helplessness.
If more people could look at exercise in this way, then I believe so many people would be more inclined to work out. If we stopped obsessing over the external benefits of this vital practice, then perhaps people would feel less pressure to arrive at the gym already looking like a superhero. This could help people balance their mental and physical health. Everybody wins.
I remember being a very heavy 19-year-old who felt too shy to exercise because I didn’t want people to laugh at a “fat girl on a treadmill.” I felt far too afraid of being seen in a swimsuit at the pool. WHAT IS THAT?! Why should it be on ME to feel worried about anything other than loving my body and doing what's best for it? It’s JUST a body. It’s my body. It’s for me to worry about, not someone else. Shame on society for making me feel that way. Shame on people like that goon I met yesterday, who took it upon himself to try to re-instill that fear in me.
It is not our responsibility to meet the absurd cosmetic requirements of other people. Their problem with us is their problem, not ours. We have to fight back. I can’t hear any more of my friends telling me they need to slim down before they can be seen in a gym. It’s ridiculous. We have to start educating people about happiness, strength and longevity rather than barraging them with neuroses about cosmetic gains.
This is likely what makes exercise feel like a punishment to so many. They are doing it for results that take such a long time to see. Growing muscle and losing fat takes a lot of time and patience. When I go into the gym just expecting a rush of endorphins, a high and a release, I feel INSTANT GRATIFICATION and pride for doing something good for myself. Fabulous.
What more do I need? If my bottom perks up a little, then that’s lovely. But if I’m not waiting for that, and just exercising for me, then it can only be a welcomed surprise, without being what is driving me.
Shame is rarely a driving force towards good. For most of my life, I’ve only seen it lead people to eating too much or too little, and moving too much or too little. It rarely invites balance and wellbeing into someone’s life.
To anyone out there who feels the need to criticise other people at the gym about their body shape, hear me loud and clear… YOU ARE NOT A HAPPY PERSON, YOU ARE CLEARLY ONLY EXERCISING OUT OF INSECURITY ABOUT YOUR OWN APPEARANCE. DO NOT PROJECT THIS ONTO OTHER PEOPLE. THEY DON’T NEED YOUR OPINION OR JUDGEMENT. THEY AREN’T THERE FOR YOU. YOU AREN’T EVEN THERE FOR YOU. YOU ARE THERE TO PLEASE OTHER PEOPLE, AND YOU FEEL OFFENDED THAT SOMEONE ELSE ISN’T AS PASSIONATE ABOUT VANITY AS YOU ARE. YOU SOCIALLY INEPT CLOWN.
Some people are really just there to feel good. I know that’s a staggering idea, but not everyone has to be defined by their looks. I truly believe that should be the driving force behind all of us exercising, and firming up should be a bonus. Please don’t allow these fools to win. You deserve to feel happy and strong, you owe nothing to anyone and I swear to you, you will feel amazing.
I think when it comes to someone else’s appearance, the first thing any of us were taught as children, still stands as the best advice for all of us still: “If you don’t have something nice to say, then… fuck off.”
Pretty sure that was it?
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS - self-correction
using model answers written by Youssra (1G3)
How does she define herself?
She defines herself as being disobedient, she is proud of the fact that she’s never obeyed to anyone and that she’s always made her own way. In the several interviews and speeches she gave, she is outspoken, she gets her point across in a very convincing way, she is straightforward and uses swear words like a rebel, especially when she talks about people who’ve harmed her or tried to tame her, telling her what she should do or wear: “I’m just done for asking what I rightfully deserve, frankly, and I’m taking it back whether the patriarchy bloody likes it or not!”
“I’ve always been told what my limits are, even before I had the chance to try, and that’s so f***ing ridiculous”
She is free, resilient, strong and clever (all women are clever anyway!)
How does Jameela Jamil fight for gender equality?
She is a feminist and an activist. She speaks out, she takes a stance to drive positive change in our society and on social media especially, she writes articles, she gives speeches and speaks her mind, she refuses to conform to the tyranny of beauty in the consumer society, she launches petitions and awareness campaigns on body shaming. She fights until she wins.
In 2018, she started the “I Weigh” movement and community to encourage women to define themselves with something other than how much they weigh and the way they look. She actively promotes body neutrality and gender equality. She takes selfies where she doesn’t look perfect.
What’s more, she spoke out against magazines for airbrushing her skin to make it look lighter and now she bans hairbrushing in her contracts when she models for magazines or adverts. She warned people how harmful airbrushing is to young girls’ mental health. She doesn’t want other girls and women to go through what she had to go through.
Another example of how she fights for body neutrality and gender equality is that she launched a petition to ban ads on instagram for weight loss products that target young teenage users with low self-esteem and she won her fight.
More recently, she interviews celebrities on gender equality and body neutrality:
What started with a social media post has become a movement, and now a podcast. On I Weigh, Jameela Jamil challenges society’s definition of worth through weight by asking different thought-leaders, performers, activists, influencers, and friends about how they are working through their past shames to find where their value truly lies. With hilarious and vulnerable conversations, I Weigh will amplify and empower diverse voices in an accessible way to celebrate progress, not perfection.
What image of herself does she get across?
She comes across as an independent, clever woman who doesn’t want to be dominated or forced into doing things that are bad for her. She is rebellious, she fights for her rights and well-being, she is self-confident and she is full of hope. She wants to educate men, too. She is very good at getting her opinion across. When she speaks, you can tell she’s passionate about this issue and she’s very convincing.
What is body shaming?
> do extra research to find a full definition as this is linked to body image, anorexia and other mental health disorders
“We are our own worst critic” is often a phrase we use to describe when we, as individuals, are too hard on ourselves. For most people, it is a natural tendency to always be better, faster and stronger however this craze for becoming better can result in severe mental health consequences, especially when it comes time to our physical appearances.
The media has commonly portrayed overweight characters as the running joke of the show, resulting in “fat jokes” and a severe manifestation of self-doubt known as body shaming.
Body shaming is known as the action or practice of expressing humiliation about another individual’s body shape or size; a form of bullying that can result in severe emotional trauma, especially at a young age.
Body shaming is done by parents, siblings, friends, enemies, and schoolmates and is often portrayed in the media. “Why is she wearing that? It is not flattering at all.” Or “I am so ugly compared to her I will never find a date” are common thoughts and phrases used that are examples of body shaming.
Negatively commenting about the size or shape of anyone’s body can be extremely damaging to them potentially leading to low-self esteem, anger, self-harm and even mental health disorders, specifically body dysmorphic disorder.
No matter how body shaming manifests, it often leads to comparison and shame, and perpetuates the idea that people should be judged mainly for their physical features.
Sadly, body shaming occurs among both men and women of all different shapes and body sizes. Body shaming has included both criticisms of being “too fat”, or “too skinny”, often picking on flaws that completely irrelevant.
Many magazines, social media platforms, and advertisements contribute to body shaming in ways that have started to normalize these damaging behaviors. Many TV shows and movies have fallen into this pattern as well, where the “fat” character is often the subject of criticism and comic relief. With the trending behaviors of celebrity fat shaming on social media, it is important to understand the potential consequences that may arise.
Free yourselves from the stigma you've been given. Surround yourself with people who make you feel good, help you out and love you for who you are.
Be more than your insecurities.
Check this page on twitter
HELP JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
In case you didn't find the answer...
Billie Eilish takes a stance against body shaming
Read the article in The Guardian in the Health & Fitness section
And for fans...
Listen to Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas breaking down one of her most famous songs
WH = Work Hard
MAE = Make An Effort
SY = Surprise Yourself
TYH = Try Your Hardest
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