Naked : Black Women Bare All about Their Skin, Hair, Hips, Lips, and Other Parts

by Byrd, Ayana; Solomon, Akiba

• ISBN13: 9780399531637
• ISBN10: 0399531637
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-08-02
• Publisher: Perigee Trade

Summary

Provocative essays on body image by black women. Candid, witty, and insightful, Nakedis a compelling collection of essays that captures what today's black women think about their bodies-from head to toe. Tackling such issues as hair texture, skin color, weight, and sexuality, it follows women on their paths to acceptance-and enjoyment -of their unique features...to a place where it doesn't matter how big the breasts or how long the legs, only what is in the heart. Includes contributions from women of all ages and walks of life, including such notables as: - Iyanla Vanzant - Jill Scott - Kelis - Tracee Ellis Ross - Jill Nelson - Hilda Hutcherson - asha bandele - Melyssa Ford Edited by Ayana Byrd and Akiba Solomon Foreword by Sonia Sanchez

Author Biography

Ayana Byrd is an author and journalist who divides her time between Brooklyn and Barcelona, Spain. A Barnard College graduate, she has contributed to numerous anthologies and magazines such as Vibe, Essence, and Rolling Stone. Akiba Solomon is an award-winning advocacy journalist, columnist, and editor. A graduate of Howard University, the Brooklyn resident and former senior editor for The Source is the editor at Essence magazine. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications including Essence, Vibe, XXL, POZ, and ColorLines.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Sonia Sanchez
Introduction	1	(6)
Sowing Beauty	7	(6)
Bethann Hardison, as told to the editors
Piropos	13	(20)
Ayana Byrd
Black Fuzzy Thing	33	(10)
Asali Solomon
The Curse of Ida Bell	43	(12)
Lori L. Tharps
Ho Gear	55	(10)
Beverly Smith, as told to the editors
For Colored Girls	65	(10)
Aminata Cisse
Flesh Is Best	75	(8)
Jill Nelson
The Free Black Woman	83	(18)
Akiba Solomon
Selling Sexuality	101	(4)
Kelis, as told to Margeaux Watson
La Nera	105	(14)
Ayana Mathis
The Curl	119	(10)
April Yvonne Garrett
Apples and Pears	129	(10)
Tomika Anderson
Femme Invisibility	139	(8)
Laini Madhubuti
Feeling Pretty	147	(4)
Jill Scott, as told to the editors and Karen R. Good
Playing the Vixen	151	(12)
Margeaux Watson
Cold Turkey	163	(10)
asha bandele
In Search of...(A Real-Life Body Play in Three Acts)	173	(12)
Rosemary Matthews
The Dark Den	185	(6)
Cynthia Berry
My Tush	191	(4)
Tracee Ellis Ross
Miss Piggy Gets Depressed, Too	195	(10)
Elon D. Johnson
Dr. Feelgood	205	(6)
Hilda Hutcherson, as told to the editors
No Fairy Tale	211	(8)
Norell Giancana
Calendar Girl	219	(10)
Melyssa Ford, as told to the editors
Before and After	229	(10)
Precious Jackson, as told to the editors
Bump, Grind, Twist, and Celebrate	239	(5)
Iyanla Vanzant, as told to the editors
Index	244	(12)
About the Editors	256