all Products
Beauty & Grooming
Hardcover Books
Health & Fitness
Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing
Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing
Block, Elizabeth L.
Select Format
Regular price
$39.95 USD
Regular price
$66.58 USD
Sale price
$39.95 USD
Unit price
per
Shipping calculated at checkout.
From the award-winning author of Dressing Up, a riveting and diverse history of women's hair that reestablishes the cultural power of hairdressing in nineteenth-century America.
In the nineteenth century, the complex cultural meaning of hair was not only significant, but it could also impact one's place in society. After the Civil War, hairdressing was also a growing profession and the hair industry a mainstay of local, national, and international commerce. In Beyond Vanity, Elizabeth Block expands the nascent field of hair studies by restoring women's hair as a cultural site of meaning in the early United States. With a special focus on the places and spaces in which the hair industry operated, Block argues that the importance of hair has been overlooked due to its ephemerality as well as its misguided association with frivolity and triviality. As Block clarifies, hairdressing was anything but frivolous. Using methods of visual and material culture studies informed by concepts of cultural geography, Block identifies multiple substantive categories of place and space within which hair acted. These include the preparatory places of the bedroom, hair salon, and enslaved peoples' quarters, as well as the presentation places of parties, fairs, stages, and workplaces. Here are also the untold stories of business owners, many of whom were women of color, and the creators of trendsetting styles like the pompadour and Gibson Girl bouffant. Block's ground-breaking study examines how race and racism affected who participated in the presentation and business of hair, and according to which standards. The result of looking closely at the places and spaces of hair is a reconfiguration that allows a new understanding of the cultural power of hair in the period.
In the nineteenth century, the complex cultural meaning of hair was not only significant, but it could also impact one's place in society. After the Civil War, hairdressing was also a growing profession and the hair industry a mainstay of local, national, and international commerce. In Beyond Vanity, Elizabeth Block expands the nascent field of hair studies by restoring women's hair as a cultural site of meaning in the early United States. With a special focus on the places and spaces in which the hair industry operated, Block argues that the importance of hair has been overlooked due to its ephemerality as well as its misguided association with frivolity and triviality. As Block clarifies, hairdressing was anything but frivolous. Using methods of visual and material culture studies informed by concepts of cultural geography, Block identifies multiple substantive categories of place and space within which hair acted. These include the preparatory places of the bedroom, hair salon, and enslaved peoples' quarters, as well as the presentation places of parties, fairs, stages, and workplaces. Here are also the untold stories of business owners, many of whom were women of color, and the creators of trendsetting styles like the pompadour and Gibson Girl bouffant. Block's ground-breaking study examines how race and racism affected who participated in the presentation and business of hair, and according to which standards. The result of looking closely at the places and spaces of hair is a reconfiguration that allows a new understanding of the cultural power of hair in the period.
Accessories:
No Accessory
Publisher
MIT PR
Bisac Major Subject
Health & Fitness
Bisac Minor Subject
Beauty & Grooming - General
Binding Type
Hardcover
Country Of Origin
US
Number Of Units
1
Length
9.1 Inches
Barcode Indicator
EAN
Width
7.0 Inches
Publication Date
2024-09-10
Height
0.8 Inches
ISBN 10
0262049058
Weight
1.45 Pounds
Book EAN
9780262049054
Target Audiance
Adults
User reviews will be displayed here...
Related products or products you might find interesting
20% OFF
The Bible Recap: Deepen Your Understanding of God's Attributes from Every Book in the Old Testament
Cobble, Tara
$17.21 USD Shop Now
Art & Art Instruction
Art & Art Instruction
20% OFF
Architecture
Window Shopping with Helen Keller: Architecture and Disability in Modern Culture
Serlin, David
$121.96 USD Shop Now
Art & Art Instruction
Biography / Autobiography
Biography / Autobiography
Biography / Autobiography
Tales from the Dancefloor: Manchester / The Warehouse Project / Parklife / Sankeys / The Ha
Lord, Sacha
$30.00 USD Shop Now
Biography / Autobiography