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hannahmayreads's review
informative
slow-paced
4.0
This is a fascinating book because it is really about much more than hair, rather it uses hair as a lens to consider the intersection of race with many things - art, economics, history, culture, education, and society. The final chapter for example establishes the connection between braiding and an African, rather than Eurocentric, approach to mathematics, which was so eye-opening. Dabiri has done us a great favour by distilling such an enormous topic into under 300 pages with such rigour.
ellathelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Stop what you’re doing and go find a copy of this RIGHT NOW.
notsobinaryart's review against another edition
informative
reflective
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Cultural appropriation, Racial slurs, Slavery, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Police brutality and Sexual violence
j___sayer's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
4.0
Page 140-1, 209-234
The final chapter on the African beginnings of coding, infinity (with hairstyles in fractals, ever repeating natural shapes) and encoding messages in hairstyles at San Basilio de Palenque the first independent black settlement in South America in 1600, directly opposing Spanish ownership. Lots of well argued fury on the imposition of European modes of being that being African doesn’t fit into.
sakisreads's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
‘Don’t Touch My Hair’ is a brilliant book, discussing how political every part of blackness, especially black hair, is. I only had a shallow understanding of black hair and its politics, so this book was an insightful way to learn.
Unsurprising how much white people benefitted (and continue to benefit) from blackness 😢
Emma Dabiri did a brilliant job with this one. 3.5 stars out of 5 for me and definitely one to come back to 🥹 Thank you ✨
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Racial slurs