Twisted

By Emma Dabiri,

Book cover of Twisted: The Tangled History of Black Hair Culture

Book description

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…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Twisted as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Dabiri’s use of history and personal storytelling to deconstruct and illuminate the long story of Black hair is crucial in that it allows readers to understand that our Black hair has history. The movement against natural Black hair is rooted in the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and our own structures of government have always backed the anti-blackness that criminalized, scapegoated, or invisibilized our hair; this book celebrates our natural hair but also serves as historical education, which is so important if we’re to see natural Black hair not as a stylish trend but as a necessary part of our liberation.…

From St.'s list on celebrating Black hair.

Want books like Twisted?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 61 books like Twisted.

Browse books like Twisted

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Black women, hair, and Black hair?

Black Women 28 books
Hair 11 books
Black Hair 3 books