Summary
Provocative essays on body image by black women. Candid, witty, and insightful, Nakedis a compelling collection of essays that captures what today's black women think about their bodies-from head to toe. Tackling such issues as hair texture, skin color, weight, and sexuality, it follows women on their paths to acceptance-and enjoyment -of their unique features...to a place where it doesn't matter how big the breasts or how long the legs, only what is in the heart. Includes contributions from women of all ages and walks of life, including such notables as: - Iyanla Vanzant - Jill Scott - Kelis - Tracee Ellis Ross - Jill Nelson - Hilda Hutcherson - asha bandele - Melyssa Ford Edited by Ayana Byrd and Akiba Solomon Foreword by Sonia Sanchez
Author Biography
Ayana Byrd is an author and journalist who divides her time between Brooklyn and Barcelona, Spain. A Barnard College graduate, she has contributed to numerous anthologies and magazines such as Vibe, Essence, and Rolling Stone. Akiba Solomon is an award-winning advocacy journalist, columnist, and editor. A graduate of Howard University, the Brooklyn resident and former senior editor for The Source is the editor at Essence magazine. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications including Essence, Vibe, XXL, POZ, and ColorLines.
Table of Contents
| Foreword |
|
xi | |
|
|
|
| Introduction |
|
1 | (6) |
| Sowing Beauty |
|
7 | (6) |
|
Bethann Hardison, as told to the editors |
|
|
| Piropos |
|
13 | (20) |
|
|
|
| Black Fuzzy Thing |
|
33 | (10) |
|
|
|
| The Curse of Ida Bell |
|
43 | (12) |
|
|
|
| Ho Gear |
|
55 | (10) |
|
Beverly Smith, as told to the editors |
|
|
| For Colored Girls |
|
65 | (10) |
|
|
|
| Flesh Is Best |
|
75 | (8) |
|
|
|
| The Free Black Woman |
|
83 | (18) |
|
|
|
| Selling Sexuality |
|
101 | (4) |
|
Kelis, as told to Margeaux Watson |
|
|
| La Nera |
|
105 | (14) |
|
|
|
| The Curl |
|
119 | (10) |
|
|
|
| Apples and Pears |
|
129 | (10) |
|
|
|
| Femme Invisibility |
|
139 | (8) |
|
|
|
| Feeling Pretty |
|
147 | (4) |
|
Jill Scott, as told to the editors and Karen R. Good |
|
|
| Playing the Vixen |
|
151 | (12) |
|
|
|
| Cold Turkey |
|
163 | (10) |
|
|
|
| In Search of...(A Real-Life Body Play in Three Acts) |
|
173 | (12) |
|
|
|
| The Dark Den |
|
185 | (6) |
|
|
|
| My Tush |
|
191 | (4) |
|
|
|
| Miss Piggy Gets Depressed, Too |
|
195 | (10) |
|
|
|
| Dr. Feelgood |
|
205 | (6) |
|
Hilda Hutcherson, as told to the editors |
|
|
| No Fairy Tale |
|
211 | (8) |
|
|
|
| Calendar Girl |
|
219 | (10) |
|
Melyssa Ford, as told to the editors |
|
|
| Before and After |
|
229 | (10) |
|
Precious Jackson, as told to the editors |
|
|
| Bump, Grind, Twist, and Celebrate |
|
239 | (5) |
|
Iyanla Vanzant, as told to the editors |
|
|
| Index |
|
244 | (12) |
| About the Editors |
|
256 | |
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