Ain't I a Beauty Queen?

"An important and engaging text. Craig is to be commended for taking on and admirably carrying out an ambitious project of tracing the very nonlinear relationaships between class, race, gender, political activism, and beauty."-- Gender & Society "Maxine Leeds Craig masterfully blends archival research and interviews to explore the changing meanings of black female beauty and to place these changes in the context of race, gender, and class politics The book is impeccably researched and written, pulling together a wide range of materials into a coherent and convincing argument. It should be read by anyone interested in social movements, cultural change, racial politics, gender, or the sociology of the body."-- American Journal of Sociology "Impeccably researched and written, pulling together a wide range of materials into a coherent and convincing argument. It should be read by anyone interested in social movements, cultural change, racial politics, gender, or the sociology of the body."-- American Journal of Sociology "With fists raised to demand black power, black women redefined black beauty. Using ethnographic interviews, autobiography, newspapers and magazines from black communities across the country, Ain't I A Beauty Queen? shows us how beauty pageants, afros and conks became weapons in a war waged against ideas of black inferiority. The stories Craig tells about why hair and beauty matter so much are the reason you should pick this book up. They are also the reason you will have a hard time putting it down. Stunning!"--Noliwe Rooks, Princeton University and author of Hair Raising: Beauty, Culture and African American Women "This is a well-written and well-researched book that argues for a theoretical exchange between sociologists of culture and social movement theorists. It is a much-needed book, one that will ultimately fill a gap in both areas. Moreover, it will contribute to our understanding of African American cultural forms of resistance."--Belinda Robnett, author of How Long? How Long?: African American Women in the Struggle for Civil Rights and the University of California, Irvine