KNOW YOUR BODY POLITIC
A book "Know your Body Politic" invites to reflection and debate. Should we have laws about photoshopping, junk food and showering after sports?
The Science Museums have published a debate book in continuation of the exhibition "Dear, difficult body". It is intended for education and is only available in Danish. Schools can get a free class set on request.
Who or what influences young people to make decisions on behalf of their bodies when they reach for a certain type of chocolate in the supermarket or buy certain pants?
And is it really 100% themselves who decide whether they have an okay body or not?
"Kend din kropspolitik" is about the body, and the book presents three fictitious bills intended to make young people reflect on their relationship with the body. On the one hand, the bills decide over the body. On the other hand, the bills are an attempt to protect young people from the outside world affecting their bodies and consciousness.
Three themes
The book is divided into three main sections, structured around the individual legislative proposals.
The first section is about "The body in pictures" and is based on a proposal that image processing of photos in magazines and advertisements should be prohibited.
The second section deals with "Prohibition of advertising with unhealthy food" and is based on a bill stating that it should be prohibited to advertise sweets, chips and soft drinks.
The third and last section is about "Showering after sports" and is based on a bill suggesting that all students must shower after sports.
Each section also contains "a young narrator", who represents the young people's own experiences with the subject. The book is richly illustrated, i.e. with drawings by Kamilla Wichmann, and it can be read by anyone with an interest in the subject.
The book is a different communication project whose target group is the young people themselves. By means of information, humour and debate, the book tries to make young people more aware of how their environment affects their perception of their own body.
Facts about the book
The book "Kend din kropspolitik" is a heavily revised edition of the book of the same title from 2011. It was published on 27 January 2020.
Editor: Morten Arnika Skydsgaard, Trine Bjerre Mikkelsen, Kamma Lauridsen & Line Stald, Science Museums, Aarhus University
The book contains contributions from researchers at Aarhus University, young people, media people, Danish School Sports and Danish School Students.
ISBN: 978-87-88708-80-6
2nd edition 2020. Heavily revised edition. The section "Showering after sports" is new.
The book is supported by
TrygFonden
The Nordea Foundation
Region Central
Ministry of Education
Aarhus University
Schools can request a class set on a first-come, first-served basis at:
webshop.sciencemuseerne.dk/klassesaet-kend-din-kropspolitik or download the book "Kend din kropspolitik" in web edition or read it online. However, only in Danish.