'Groundbreaking . . . a scintillating, intellectual investigation into black women and the very serious business of our hair, as it pertains to race, gender, social codes, tradition, culture, cosmology, maths, politics, philosophy and history' Bernardine Evaristo

Straightened. Stigmatized. 'Tamed'. Celebrated. Erased. Managed. Appropriated. Forever misunderstood. Black hair is never 'just hair'.

This book is about why black hair matters and how it can be viewed as a blueprint for decolonisation. Over a series of wry, informed essays, Emma Dabiri takes us from pre-colonial Africa, through the Harlem Renaissance, Black Power and on to today's Natural Hair Movement, the Cultural Appropriation Wars and beyond. We look everything from hair capitalists like Madam C.J. Walker in the early 1900s to the rise of Shea Moisture today, from women's solidarity and friendship to 'black people time', forgotten African scholars and the dubious provenance of Kim Kardashian's braids.

The scope of black hairstyling ranges from pop culture to cosmology, from prehistoric times to the (afro)futuristic. Uncovering sophisticated indigenous mathematical systems in black hairstyles, alongside styles that served as secret intelligence networks leading enslaved Africans to freedom, Don't Touch My Hair proves that far from being only hair, black hairstyling culture can be understood as an allegory for black oppression and, ultimately, liberation.

THE SUNDAY TIMES AND IRISH TIMES BESTSELLER

'An absolute blockbuster of clear thinking and new angles...the most clear, alliance building, shame removing look at race. Emma is once-in-a generation clever' Caitlin Moran

We need to talk about racial injustice in a different way: one that builds on the revolutionary ideas of the past and forges new connections.

In this incisive, radical and practical essay, Emma Dabiri - acclaimed author of Don't Touch My Hair - draws on years of research and personal experience to challenge us to create meaningful, lasting change.

'Impactful . . . Emma expertly outlines how the idea of race was constructed to bolster capitalism and explains how, in a divided world, unity and coalition are needed to create a future that works for everyone' Cosmopolitan

An unmissable pocket-sized manifesto from Emma Dabiri, bestselling author of Don't Touch My Hair and What White People Can Do Next

Body hair. 'Fat' thighs. Something's always 'too big' or 'too small'. What part of your beautiful self were you taught to hate?

We spend a lot of time hiding our 'defects', according to society's ideals of beauty. Ideals that are often tyrannical, commercially entangled, homogenizing and imposed upon us by oppressive systems that are further strengthened by our conditioned self loathing.

This book will explore how to unpack, process, rebel and subvert - offering alternative ways of seeing beauty, drawing on other cultures, worldviews, times, places, and looking beyond the capitalist model - to find the inherent joy in our disobedient bodies.

Accompanies a major exhibition at Wellcome Collection in autumn 2023.

»So klug, so lesenswert, so hilfreich.« Nick Hornby

In ihrem so radikalen wie praktischen Essay fordert Emma Dabiri die nächsten notwenigen Schritte, die wir alle gemeinsam gehen müssen, um dauerhafte Veränderungen für eine gerechte Gesellschaft zu schaffen:

• Wir müssen anders über rassistische Ungerechtigkeit sprechen.
• Wir müssen die rassistischen Kategorien »Weiß« und »Schwarz« als ausbeuterisches Konstrukt des Kapitalismus erkennen und bezwingen.
• Wir müssen uns gänzlich von repressiven rassistischen und klassistischen Denksystemen lösen.
• Wir müssen für gemeinsame Ziele, für alle Menschen einstehen.

Das Buch der Stunde, um uns, abseits von Cancel Culture und folgenlos bleibenden Social-Media-Diskursen, für grundlegende gesellschaftliche Veränderungen bereit zu machen.

»Das Wichtigste: Dieses Buch ist für alle.« Irish Times

»Wenn wir jemals eine ruhige Hand am Ruder dieser Unterhaltung gebraucht haben, dann ist es jetzt. Emma Dabiri … ist die richtige Person dafür ... prägnant, trittsicher und absolut.« Irish Independent

»Eine bahnbrechende Abrechnung mit dem Social-Media-Diskurs und eine historisch fundierte Analyse von Antirassismus, Kollektivismus, Neoliberalismus und Postkolonialismus.« Vogue (UK)

A Kirkus Best Book of the Year

Stamped from the Beginning meets You Can't Touch My Hair in this timely and resonant essay collection from Guardian contributor and prominent BBC race correspondent Emma Dabiri, exploring the ways in which black hair has been appropriated and stigmatized throughout history, with ruminations on body politics, race, pop culture, and Dabiri’s own journey to loving her hair.

Emma Dabiri can tell you the first time she chemically straightened her hair. She can describe the smell, the atmosphere of the salon, and her mix of emotions when she saw her normally kinky tresses fall down her shoulders. For as long as Emma can remember, her hair has been a source of insecurity, shame, and—from strangers and family alike—discrimination. And she is not alone.

Despite increasingly liberal world views, black hair continues to be erased, appropriated, and stigmatized to the point of taboo. Through her personal and historical journey, Dabiri gleans insights into the way racism is coded in society’s perception of black hair—and how it is often used as an avenue for discrimination. Dabiri takes us from pre-colonial Africa, through the Harlem Renaissance, and into today's Natural Hair Movement, exploring everything from women's solidarity and friendship, to the criminalization of dreadlocks, to the dubious provenance of Kim Kardashian's braids.

Through the lens of hair texture, Dabiri leads us on a historical and cultural investigation of the global history of racism—and her own personal journey of self-love and finally, acceptance.

Deeply researched and powerfully resonant, Twisted proves that far from being only hair, black hairstyling culture can be understood as an allegory for black oppression and, ultimately, liberation.