The concept of "black beauty" - or "black is beautiful" to use a more familiar term - is concerned with the "aesthetics of blackness". It encompasses notions of black sexuality and of black people as sex symbols. It is distinct from references to "black style", an area concerned primarily with clothes and social codes.
The consideration of black beauty is examined here with reference to the most significant black icons of film, television, music, sport, politics and fashion through words and pictures.
Why did Josephine Baker use lemon juice to lighten her skin? What was the significance of Muhammad Ali's boast, "I'm so pretty"? How did Sidney Poitier become an accidental sex symbol? Who was the first black model on the cover of 'Vogue'? How did Dr Martin Luther King change the face of fashion? What did Malcolm X have to say about Afro-American hairstyles?
Just how light-skinned is black beauty? Is African supermodel Alek Wek beautiful? How did Naomi Campbell become the global face of negritude? What lies behind the blonde ambition of ghetto-fabulous black-blondes such as Mary J Blige and Beyoncé from Destiny's Child? And what does Michael Jackson's face say about the value of black beauty within society today?
These are just some of the many complex and controversial questions examined in this edition of 'Black Beauty'. This extraordinary book features some of the most superb photography ever taken of black people.
