‘I laughed, shed tears and felt those goosebumps when you know your soul is being spoken to and nourished.’ Chelsea Watego
‘Searingly funny and fiercely feminist.’ Jane Caro
‘A book that breathes wisdom.’ Paul Callaghan
‘An important and beautiful story told with tremendous heart.’ Mia Freedman
‘If you’ve ever dimmed your light, hated how you look or searched for your beauty in all the wrong places, this book is for you.’
Gigorou (jig-goo-roo) means ‘beauty’ or ‘beautiful’ in Jirrbal, the language of Sasha Kutabah Sarago’s grandmother. Growing up, Sasha didn’t feel gigorou. At a young age, she was told, ‘You’re too pretty to be Aboriginal’. Since then, she’s been on a journey to reconcile her conflict with beauty.
In this intimately fierce, funny and reflective book, Sasha retraces her footsteps as a beauty assistant, model and magazine editor to find the answers she’s searching for. Through conversations with her matriarchs, and the creation stories gifted to her, Sasha unlocks an ancestral wisdom – the key to healing and reclaiming her femininity.
In a time where the patriarchy obstructs women from the divine feminine, and sexism, racism and ageism violate our sovereignty, Gigorou invites us to explore the interconnectedness of Aboriginal culture to resolve our relationship with beauty and ourselves.
‘Sasha writes with purpose and power. You’ll wish your younger self read this book, and you’ll thank Sasha for writing it. Gigorou is a gift.’ Alley Pascoe
‘Packed with grace, nostalgia and so much style … a blueprint for how to step gloriously into your rightful space.’ Justine Cullen
A brilliant representation of the way we walk in two worlds from a young age, asking ourselves how we fit into western society when they don’t accept us and we don’t see ourselves reflected.’ Elaine George
About the Author
Sasha Kutabah Sarago is a Wadjanbarra Yidinji, Jirrbal and African-American woman.
A former model, Sasha grew frustrated by the invisibility of multicultural women in fashion and media. In 2011, she founded Ascension, Australia’s first digital lifestyle platform for women of colour. As a speaker, Sasha raises awareness around culture, diversity and equity in the business, media and lifestyle sectors.
Sasha’s TEDx talk, ‘The (de)colonising of beauty’, was selected as TED.com 2021 Editor’s Choice and has fuelled her passion for redefining beauty and sparking conversations around femininity and womanhood from a First Nations woman’s perspective.
As well as appearances on NITV Awaken ‘Black Is Beautiful’, SBS Insight ‘Growing Up Mixed Race’, and ABC TV’s The School That Tried to End Racism, Sasha has featured in BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, 10 Daily, Sydney Morning Herald, Frankie and Fashion Journal magazines and her writing has been published in the Guardian and SBS Voices. Sasha has also written and directed the documentaries Too Pretty to Be Aboriginal and InsideOUT, which premiered at the Melbourne Women’s Film Festival 2020.
