Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Close your eyes and think back to childhood. How did you learn the criteria to classify by “beautiful” or “ugly”? Who or what influenced your thinking—parents, family, friends, community, culture, or media?

Teaching Suggestion: Before the discussion, post images from nature or daily life that are subjective in visual appeal (e.g., a barren wintertime landscape or a city skyline filled with skyscrapers). Ask students to classify each image as “beautiful” or “ugly.” What conclusions regarding beauty might be drawn based on students’ classifications? Depending on your class, you might open the discussion to include the “standards” of beauty for people as well.

• “Is Beauty in the Eyes of the Colonizer?” by Leah Donnella explores beauty in relation to culture.
• This report by Dove and Deloitte Access Economics explores the economic and social costs of beauty standards.

2. Again, close your eyes and think back to childhood. What books and toys do you remember?

Teaching Suggestion: List students’ responses in a two-column chart. Then, lead students to evaluate the entries for culture and gender.