The Dimensions of Power

It's important to consider the stories we've inherited about size and stature

Vadym Petrochenko from Getty Images Pro

Welcome to From the Teacher’s Desk, where we take turns further reflecting on our episodes and applications to the classroom.

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We’re told constantly as teachers that our students need more sleep, more healthy food, more play.

But if time in the classroom since 2020 has taught me anything, it’s that mental health needs to be at the forefront of our education models for students. Because when we teach them how to nurture and care for their own inner voice, we are also giving them the tools to do this for others.

This is especially true as we consider the stories we’ve inherited about size.

Archetype Review

I’ve already written about archetypes for Lit Think before (you can check out that old blog post here). Back then, I was talking about how the story of Hocus Pocus feels very familiar—because at this point we’re used to seeing witches and pairs of three and black cats.

They all mean something because of the archetypal outlines we’ve inherited through the human timeline of storytelling.

And the same is also true for the assumptions we add to the size and shape of characters in the stories we read.

The Size of It All

This is a huge part of why I wanted to discuss size archetypes along with our Matilda episode. Along with race and gender, size is another huge part of the implicit bias we learn as children.

Big equals strong and powerful. Small equals weak and submissive.

But it goes even deeper. We also learn from a young age that bodies with certain weight proportions are also better than others. And the same is also true for the assumptions we add to the size and shape of characters in the stories we read and watch.

Even though science time and again tells us that weight and health are two separate entities, our greater society still holds to this belief that thin is good and fat is bad.

Some Resources

So how do we bring all of this together? Here’s a quick list to get you started:

1. If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend you start your own deconstructing work of size archetypes by listening to the podcast Maintenance Phase. I cannot recommend the work of Michael Hobbes and Aubrey Gordon enough!

2. Aubrey Gordon has also published several books. I’ve recently finished her first, What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat. This is another great start in doing your own work to better empower all students in your classroom.

3. If you want some fun, engaging bell ringer activities, check out the social media content from these two creators

   1. Megan Jayne Crabbe (Instagram)

   2. Annakprzy (Tiktok)

4. Get your students talking about archetypes in the texts you’re reading as a class. I especially found value in breaking down archetypes while reading Shakespeare and other classic literature.

And don’t forget to listen to our latest episode on Matilda. Keep on lit thinking people!

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