Hair Matters by Ingrid Banks

Hair Matters by Ingrid Banks

Substantive, ethnographically informed research on the politics of Black hair Drawing on interviews with over 50 women, from teens to seniors, Hair Matters is the first book on the politics of Black hair to be based on substantive, ethnographically informed research. Focusing on the everyday discussions that Black women have among themselves and about themselves, Ingrid Banks analyzes how talking about hair reveals Black women's ideas about race, gender, sexuality, beauty, and power. Ultimately, what emerges is a survey of Black women's consciousness within both their own communities and mainstream culture at large.

"Long hair in the 60s, Afros in the early 70s, bobs in the 80s, fuschia in the 90sHair is one of the first attributes to catch our eye, not only because it reflects perceptions of attractivenes or unattractiveness, but also because it conveys important political, cultural, and social meanings, particularly in relation to group identity. Given that mainstream images of beauty do not privilege dark skin and tightly coiled hair, African American women's experience provides a starkly different perspective on the meaning of hair in social identity." * National Women's Studies Association Journal *
"Grab your copy at your local bookseller and get hip to what your hair is saying to others with regards to beauty, culture and politics. Learn about how culture has a love for coifs, because after all, so do you!" * Sophisticate's Black Hair Styles Guide *

Ingrid Banks is Assistant Professor of Black Studies in the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Virginia Tech.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780814713372
ISBN 10	0814713378
Title	Hair Matters
Author	Ingrid Banks
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	New York University Press
Year published	2000-10-01
Number of pages	197
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.