Black is Beautiful! The words were the exuberant rallying cry of a generation of black women who threw away their straightening combs and adopted a proud new style they called the Afro. The Afro; as worn most famously by Angela Davis; became a veritable icon of the Sixties.Although the new beauty standards seemed to arise overnight; they actually had deep roots within black communities. Tracing her story to 1891; when a black newspaper launched a contest to find the most beautiful woman of the race; Maxine Leeds Craig documents how black women have negotiated the intersection of race; class; politics; and personal appearance in their lives. Craig takes the reader from beauty parlors in the 1940s to late night political meetings in the 1960s to demonstrate the powerful influence of social movements on the experience of daily life. With sources ranging from oral histories of Civil Rights and Black Power Movement activists and men and women who stood on the sidelines to black popular magazines and the black movement press; Ain't I a Beauty Queen? will fascinate those interested in beauty culture; gender; class; and the dynamics of race and social movements.
#850376 in Books Maxine Leeds Craig 2002-06-20Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.10 x .90 x 9.20l; .73 #File Name: 019515262X208 pagesAin t I a Beauty Queen Black Women Beauty and the Politics of Race
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Dayvery good book about women and beauty!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Race and Beauty In the Eyes of the Beholders:By Sense and SensibilityThis is a very interesting dissection of the politicization of black female beauty in America. It is a take-no-prisoners look that shows the pressure on women to represent values and worth in a world besieged. The author is unorthodox and her style is very readable.5 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Racing BeautyBy J. AragonThis is a well written; well research book that combines a political and historical analysis of race. While examining black women the reader gets the bitter taste of racism in American politics. This book crosses multple genres and will be useful in virtually any social science and humanities courses.I also think that the lay reader will find this book interesting.
