"Illuminating and liberating as it blends scholarship, reportage and personal experience, this trailblazing work charts the author’s year-long analysis of body politics, with no colonial or patriarchal stone left unturned."
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.
| Primary Genre | History |
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'Celebrates women how they are, as they are' GILLIAN ANDERSON
'There's something on every page of this book that you didn't know before' SATHNAM SANGHERA
'Brave and honest' ELIF SHAFAK
A global exploration of ancestral beauty practices by the Sunday Times-bestselling author of Brit(ish)
OUR BODIES TELL OUR STORY.
This powerful global history of beauty by the Sunday Times-bestselling author of Brit(ish) Afua Hirsch dismantles the colonial falsehoods that shape our sense of belonging and celebrates the pioneering stories and ideas of women from marginalised groups.
'Remarkable' OBSERVER
'Intimate' GUARDIAN
'Vital' i PAPER
Decolonising My Body features in the following genres: History, Star Books, Cultural studies: dress and society, Cross-cultural / Intercultural studies and topics, Social and cultural anthropology, Fashion and beauty industries, Social and cultural history, Worship, rites, ceremonies and rituals, Globalization, Colonialism and imperialism, History and Archaeology, Recommendations, Cultural studies, Cultural and media studies, Society and culture: general, Society and Social Sciences, Anthropology, Sociology and anthropology, Hospitality and service industries, Industry and industrial studies, Economics, Finance, Business and Management, History: specific events and topics, Prayers and liturgical material, Aspects of religion, Religion and beliefs, Philosophy and Religion, Interdisciplinary studies, Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects
Decolonising My Body is available in Paperback, Hardback
Decolonising My Body was written by Afua Hirsch and published by Vintage an imprint of Random House
Decolonising My Body has 229 pages
£11.69
