Liberated threads : Black women, style, and the global politics of soul / Tanisha C. Ford.

Title :

Liberated threads : Black women, style, and the global politics of soul

Author:

Ford, Tanisha C.

Format:

Books

Summary:

The author explores how and why black women, from the civil rights and Black Power era of the 1960s through anti-apartheid activism in the 1980s and beyond, and in places as far-flung as New York City, Atlanta, London, and Johannesburg, used their clothing, jewelry, hair, and general "soul style" not simply as a fashion statement but as an integral part of their activism and as a powerful tool of resistance.--Adapted from publisher description.

Language:

English

ISBN - ISSN:

9781469625157

1469625156

Physical Description:

xv, 256 pages ; 25 cm.

Contents:

Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Black women and the making of a modern soul style -- Reimagining Africa : how Black women invented the language of soul in the 1950s -- Harlem's "natural soul" : selling black beauty to the diaspora in the early 1960s -- SNCC's soul sisters : respectability and the style politics of the civil rights movement -- Soul style on campus : American college women and Black power fashion -- We were people of soul : gender, violence, and Black Panther style in 1970s London -- The soul wide world : the "Afro look" in South Africa from the 1970s to the new millennium -- Epilogue: For Chelsea : soul style in the new millennium -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.

Subject:

Minority women -- United States.

Women, Black -- United States.

Feminine beauty (Aesthetics) -- United States.

Beauty, Personal -- United States.

Stereotypes (Social psychology) in fashion -- United States.

Globalization -- United States.

Beauty, Personal.

Feminine beauty (Aesthetics)

Globalization.

Minority women.

Stereotypes (Social psychology) in fashion.

Women, Black.

United States.

Series:

Gender & American culture.

First Title value, for Searching:

Liberated threads : Black women, style, and the global politics of soul / Tanisha C. Ford.

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Available:*

Library	Audience	Home Location	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... African American History Research Center, Gregory School	Adult	Reference Material	Reference material	391.2089607 F711	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

From the civil rights and Black Power era of the 1960s through antiapartheid activism in the 1980s and beyond, black women have used their clothing, hair, and style not simply as a fashion statement but as a powerful tool of resistance. Whether using stiletto heels as weapons to protect against police attacks or incorporating African-themed designs into everyday wear, these fashion-forward women celebrated their identities and pushed for equality.

In this thought-provoking book, Tanisha C. Ford explores how and why black women in places as far-flung as New York City, Atlanta, London, and Johannesburg incorporated style and beauty culture into their activism. Focusing on the emergence of the "soul style" movement--represented in clothing, jewelry, hairstyles, and more--Liberated Threads shows that black women's fashion choices became galvanizing symbols of gender and political liberation. Drawing from an eclectic archive, Ford offers a new way of studying how black style and Soul Power moved beyond national boundaries, sparking a global fashion phenomenon. Following celebrities, models, college students, and everyday women as they moved through fashion boutiques, beauty salons, and record stores, Ford narrates the fascinating intertwining histories of Black Freedom and fashion.

Author Notes

Tanisha C. Ford is assistant professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.

Reviews (2)

Choice Review

In six chapters, Ford (women, gender, and sexuality studies, Massachusetts) adds important elements to the conversation on resistance by first showing that not only was black beautiful, it was also marketable from fashion's runway to the covers of magazines and record albums. Secondly, she explores this lucrative soul style as also practical, from sit-in counters to marches and jails. According to Ford, black women could not continue to have their blouses torn and dresses and stockings shredded as they were dragged along the ground in front of countless television cameras. No more pill-button hats, white gloves, and hair--fried, dried and blown to the side--that would revert back to biblical days when doused with foodstuff, drinks, water hoses, or even spit. Black women were at war and needed to dress the part. Thus, Ford purports that these cross-racial and cross-ethnic political alliances, as well as cultural chaffing, gave birth to soul style. Most importantly, while most blacks were not involved in formal political organizing, many were invested in beauty culture and fashion. Consequently, Ford shows how these sites of resistance were just as critical in the fight for black liberation as buses and lunch counters. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. --Patricia D. Hopkins, Christopher Newport University

Library Journal Review

In this compelling examination of "soul style," Ford (Do You Remember Olive Morris?) probes the cultural history of the black Diaspora through body politics and style choices. By tracing what started as one woman's exploration into her sense of self, Ford describes soul style as having transitioned from being an individual choice to becoming a collective political statement and eventually to misdiagnosed perceptions among the media. The style politics adopted by black women in both the United States and abroad created an identity for the Diaspora that moves between being a connection through the combined vision of kinship to a symbol of pride and resistance. Black style moved from grassroots to the mainstream, giving marketing campaigns a new demographic and the media a template from which to depict young black activists. VERDICT Ford creates a fierce and vibrant dialog on the rarely recounted women's perspective on black style, beauty, and soul. Our style tells the story of us. This account is beneficial for scholars and history buffs alike.-Cicely Douglas, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., FL © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.