On Beauty Lesson Plan

Why did Kiki dread having girls? Do you think her concerns are well-founded?

Kiki worried about protecting a daughter from the self-disgust that society instills in them over their bodies. Kiki thinks that it’s not just television and magazines that foster a hatred of women and their bodies, but that it’s “in the air.” Zora is concerned with what she wears, what she eats, and what she looks like. Prompt your students to talk about pressures and expectations for women and their bodies that they see in their own surroundings.

What do Zora and Claire’s opinions about writing poetry about a pretty landscape reveal about the two characters and the relationship of the...