Counter-Narratives:

Dominant Narratives in Our Everyday Lives: Band-Aids

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This lesson in action:

Lesson Objectives

Students will be able to:
  1. Identify the ways in which dominant narratives are present in our everyday lives
  2. Recognize the ways in which the United States often centers whiteness as a default
  3. Consider approaches to challenging these taken-for-granted narratives

Learning Standards

  • LfJ 5. Students will recognize traits of the dominant culture, their home culture and other cultures and understand how they negotiate their own identity in multiple spaces.
  • LfJ 8. Students will respectfully express curiosity about the history and lived experiences of others and will exchange ideas and beliefs in an open-minded way.
  • LfJ 13. Students will analyze the harmful impact of bias and injustice on the world, historically and today.
  • LfJ 14. Students will recognize that power and privilege influence relationships on interpersonal, intergroup and institutional levels and consider how they have been affected by those dynamics.

Learning Activities: If you have 15 minutes

Greeting:

If you were headed to a deserted island, what three things would you bring to occupy your time?

Reading:

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” –Maya Angelou

Ask Students:

  • What does this quotation get you thinking about?

Initiative:

Define dominant narrative for students.
"Well-known, taken-for-granted stories from the perspective of a dominant group that seeks to justify the status quo and that group’s dominance"  --Dr. Lee Anne Bell
Could use ‘Columbus discovered America’ as an example of a dominant narrative.

Ask Students:

  • Have you ever seen a product in a store, on television, or online that seemed like its inventor had one of your identities in mind? 
  • Have you ever seen a product in a store, on television, or online that seemed like its inventor did NOT have one of your identities in mind?

Initiative:

Introduce paper cut scenario to students.

Ask Students:

  • Which Band-Aids did you imagine?
  • Why do you think that is?

Help students connect their own response back to the idea of a dominant narrative. (In this case, the dominant narrative is that White skin is the default skin color.)

Learning Activities: If you have 45 minutes

Ask Students:

  • Have you seen these band-aids before?
  • Why do you think Band-aid decided to create this product?
  • Are they a good idea? Why or why not?

Ask Students:

Band-Aid originally introduced “Perfect Blend” Band-Aids in 2005, but discontinued them due to lack of interest.
  • Why do you think Band-Aid brought this product back in 2020?

Learning Activities: If you have 2 hours

Initiative:

Let’s read BandAid’s Instagram Post introducing the Our Tone Band Aids.

Ask Students (Slide 20):

  • What do you think of BandAid’s message?
  • What do you think of the 234,000 ‘likes’?

Initiative:

BandAid Scholarships for Black Nurses.

Ask Students:

  • Does BandAid’s support for Black nursing students influence your opinion of their Our Tone campaign?

Ask Students:

  • Can you think of other examples of whiteness being used as the default color?
  • Should these types of dominant narratives be challenged? How?

Debrief (Slide 18):

  • What did you like about today’s lesson?
  • Did you learn anything new about yourself or anyone else?
  • What could make it better?
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