Fist by Nelle Mills

Fist by Nelle Mills

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

Our ability to make a fist is what distinguishes humans from every other species, including primates. The fist has played a crucial role in the birth of language and appears in nearly every form of nonverbal communication. We use our fist to protest oppression, give pleasure, knock on doors, give daps, and (inaccurately) measure our heart. Yet the fist is also a sign of someone on the edge.

This book asks what happens when we lean over the edge of what a fist can do and symbolize. Fist uses historical moments and artifacts, interviews, and personal narratives to explore the fist's ambiguous and divisive nature. From boxing matches, the Black Power salute, Obama’s fist bumps, and fisting, the last sexual taboo, nelle mills uncovers what flexing our knuckles says, not just about us, but the world in which we live.

nelle mills is a freelance writer and playwright based in Philadelphia, USA. Their writing has appeared in Swing, Pelican Bomb, and the anthology Uncommon Bonds. They are the author of the play Alleged Lesbian Activities and an editor of Lies: A Journal of Materialist Feminism.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781501376634
ISBN 10	1501376632
Title	Fist
Author	Nelle Mills
Series	Object Lessons
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Bloomsbury Academic (UK)
Year published	2026-01-08
Number of pages	160
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.