Bulletproof Diva Tales of Race, Sex, and Hair

by Jones, Lisa

• ISBN13: 9780385471237
• ISBN10: 0385471238
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-02-19
• Publisher: Anchor

Summary

InBulletproof Diva, Lisa Jones brings the wit and candor of her infamous Village Voicecolumn, "Skin Trade," to a much larger audience. Chock full of the "fierce black girl humor" that has made her column so popular, this provocative collection of essays and observations on race, sex, identity, and the politics of style speaks to a young generation of blacks who were raised in an integrated society and are now waiting for America to deliver on its promises of equality. The thirty-seven short pieces and six long essays inBulletproof Divacover a wide range of topics, many of them extremely controversial. Jones moves smoothly from issues of ethnicity in a changing America, challenging viewpoints on African-American and mixed race identity, to "butt theory" and the roller-coaster politics of black hair. Written in a style that is as appealing as it is unapologetic,Bulletproof Diva marks the debut of a genuinely gifted young writer with a distinctive voice and a fresh perspective on the black cultural scene.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction	p. 1
How I Invented Multiculturalism	p. 7
Hair Always and Forever	p. 11
My Slave Name	p. 16
Never "Auntie"	p. 21
Mama's White	p. 28
Video Soul (and Salsa)	p. 36
East River's Edge	p. 40
The Outback	p. 43
Tragedy Becomes Her	p. 48
Is Biracial Enough? (Or, What's This About a Multiracial Category on the Census?: A Conversation)	p. 53
Bring the Heroines	p. 69
Venus Envy	p. 73
Gold Digging the Skeezers	p. 78
Supermamas Revisited	p. 83
Girls on the Strip	p. 87
Soldier in the Style Wars	p. 91
This Is Faith	p. 96
The Invisible Ones	p. 117
She Came with the Rodeo	p. 125
1-800-WASP	p. 145
A Doll Is Born	p. 149
Faded Attraction	p. 153
Make Self-Love	p. 157
Profiling	p. 162
Color Therapy by Deandra	p. 166
Dirt and Overness	p. 171
School Clothes	p. 175
Mandela Diary	p. 180
Forty Acres and a Holiday	p. 190
Looking for Mariah	p. 195
Corporate Boys	p. 209
Open Letter to a Brother	p. 214
Drop-Dead Fine	p. 218
Brother Jon	p. 223
The Signifying Monkees	p. 229
Pussy Ain't Free	p. 246
Reckless Igging	p. 252
It's Racier in the Bahamas	p. 256
Genitalia and the Paycheck	p. 266
Planet Hair	p. 273
The Hair Trade	p. 278
Africa	p. 298
Hair Again	p. 303
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.