"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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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.
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 Square Peg an imprint of Vintage Publishing
Decolonising My Body has 216 pages
£18.00
