LoveReading Says
Punch-packingly personal and enlightening, Afua Hirsch’s Decolonising My Body: A radical exploration of rituals and beauty unpacks Eurocentric notions of beauty and the body from every angle, through every stage of life. Opening with an anecdote about an impactful exchange the author — an esteemed journalist, broadcaster and professor — had with Oprah Winfrey, the stage is set for an explosive exposé of how personal relationships with the body are seen through the lens of the colonial and patriarchal gaze.
Puberty and menstruation. Ageing and death. Body modification in the form of hair removal, piercings and tattoos. Such topics are explored with reference to present-day cultures, and across history and the globe. With a powerful emphasis on reconnecting with one’s ancestry, Decolonising My Body also shows the possibility of finding ways to “inhabit the body I was always meant to have”, free from oppressive cultural systems.
Joanne Owen
Find This Book In
| Primary Genre |
History
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Decolonising My Body Synopsis
What can ancestral practices teach us about how to live fuller lives today?
Upon turning forty, Afua Hirsch had an encounter that forever altered her preconceived notions of ancestry and body image, making her question everything from body-modification rituals such as tattoos and piercings to the foundations of sexuality, as well as attitudes towards puberty, ageing and death. This book charts her year-long journey of radical unlearning. Bringing together global scholarship, on-the-ground reportage, personal anecdotes and interviews with beauty experts, practitioners and service users, she reassesses notions of body image beyond those of the colonial, patriarchal gaze.
Decolonising My Body is a powerful excavation of the Eurocentric beauty standards that have long shaped how, in particular, those from the Global Majority are perceived and view themselves. Taking us from puberty to end-of-life, Hirsch shows us that the ways in which we adorn and present ourselves have spiritual implications and shape the possibilities we see for ourselves in the world.
These insights and discoveries will empower you to reconnect with your own ancestry, better understand the link between beauty, history and (respectability) politics, and liberate yourself from mainstream standards and systems that aren’t serving you.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781529908664 |
| Publication date: |
19th October 2023 |
| Author: |
Afua Hirsch |
| Publisher: |
Square Peg an imprint of Vintage Publishing |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
216 pages |
| Primary Genre |
History
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Afua Hirsch Press Reviews
Exceptionally rich, inspiring, challenging, wise and moving. I didn't realise I needed this book until I read it and felt stirrings towards my own ancestral awakening of African female cultural beliefs and practices that were sadly long ago lost to the colonial project. This is a ground-breaking book that speaks to all women. - Bernardine Evaristo, author of 'Girl, Woman, Other'
