Hair Matters: Beauty, Power, and Black Women's Consciousness

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.

Author: Ingrid Banks
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: 10/01/2000
Pages: 197
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.69lbs
Size: 8.93h x 5.94w x 0.57d
ISBN: 9780814713372

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 11/01/1999 pg. 106
Booklist 12/15/1999 pg. 763
Reference and Research Bk News 08/01/2000 pg. 49

About the Author
Banks, Ingrid: - Ingrid Banks is Assistant Professor of Black Studies in the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Virginia Tech.