Skin deep, spirit strong : the Black female body in American culture

The essays in Skin Deep, Spirit Strong: The Black Female Body in American Culture chart the ways that the simultaneous interrogation of gender, race, and corporeality shape the construction of black female representation. Kimberly Wallace-Sanders has enlisted a wide variety of scholarly perspectives and critical approaches about the place of black women's bodies within the American cultural consciousness. An impressive gathering of essays and visual art by feminist scholars and artists, the book presents a persuasive argument for broadening the ongoing scholarly conversations about the body. It makes clear that the most salient discourses in poststructuralist and feminist theory are made richer and more complex when the black female body is considered. The collection blends original and classic essays to reveal the interconnections among art, literature, public policy, the history of medicine, and theories about sexuality with regard to bodies that are both black and female. Contributors include Rachel Adams, Elizabeth Alexander, Lisa Collins, Bridgette Davis, Lisa E.Farrington, Anne Fausto-Sterling, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Evelynn Hammonds, Terri Kapsalis, Jennifer L. Morgan, Siobhan B. Somerville, Kimberly Wallace-Sanders, Carla Williams, and Doris Witt. Skin Deep, Spirit Strong: The Black Female Body in American Culture will appeal to both the academic reader attempting to integrate race into discussion about the female body and to the general reader curious about the history of black female representation. Kimberly Wallace-Sanders is Assistant Professor, Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts and Institute of Women's Studies, Emory University. The Body Politic: Black Female Sexuality And The Nineteenth-century Euro-american Imagination / Beverly Guy-sheftall -- Some Could Suckle Over Their Shoulder: Male Travelers, Female Bodies, And The Gendering Of Racial Ideology, 1500-1770 / Jennifer L. Morgan -- Gender, Race, And Nation: The Comparative Anatomy Of Hottentot Women In Europe, 1815-17 / Anne Fausto-sterling -- Economies Of The Flesh: Representing The Black Female Body In Art / Lisa Collins -- Faith Ringgold's Slave Rape Series / Lisa E. Farrington -- The Black Look And The Spectacle Of Whitefolks: Wildness In Toni Morrison's Beloved / Rachel Adams -- Naked, Neutered, Or Noble: The Black Female Body In America And The Problem Of Photographic History / Carla Williams -- G The Prettiest Specimen Of Boyhood: Cross-gender And Racial Disguise In Pauline E. Hopkin's Winona / Siobhan B. Somerville -- Coming Out Blackened And Whole: Fragmentation And Regeneration In Audre Lorde's Zami And The Cancer Journals / Elizabeth Alexander -- What (n)ever Happened To Aunt Jemima: Eating Disorders, Fetal Rights, And Black Female Appetite In Contemporary American Culture / Doris Witt -- Mastering The Female Pelvis: Race And The Tools Of Reproduction / Terri Kapsalis -- Black (w)holes And The Geometry Of Black Female Sexuality / Evelynn Hammonds -- Directing The Gaze: An Inside Look At Making Naked Acts / Bridgett Davis. Kimberly Wallace-sanders, Editor. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "The essays in this richly illustrated collection chart the place of the black female body in the American imagination. Blending original and classic essays to reveal connections between art, literature, public policy, the history of medicine, and theories of sexuality, Skin Deep, Spirit Strong presents a persuasive argument for broadening the ongoing conversation about the body. The feminist scholars and artists represented here employ a variety of critical approaches as they lead the reader to a new understanding of categorization and stereotype in visual culture. Considering elements of myth, fear, lust, and sentimentality, Skin Deep, Spirit Strong illustrates the ways in which literary, artistic, and scientific views of gender, race, and corporeality both influence the creation of images of black women and shape their audience's perceptions"--Publisher's description