Body Language

Sisters in Shape, Black Women's Fitness, and Feminist Identity Politics

Häftad, Engelska, 2011

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Beskrivning

In her evocative ethnographic study, Body Language, Kimberly Lau traces the multiple ways in which the success of an innovative fitness program illuminates what identity means to its Black female clientele and how their group interaction provides a new perspective on feminist theories of identity politics--especially regarding the significance of identity to political activism and social change. Sisters in Shape, Inc., Fitness Consultants (SIS), a Philadelphia company, promotes balance in physical, mental, and spiritual health. Its program goes beyond workouts, as it educates and motivates women to make health and fitness a priority. Discussing the obstacles at home and the importance of the group's solidarity to their ability to stay focused on their goals, the women speak to the ways in which their commitment to reshaping their bodies is a commitment to an alternative future. Body Language shows how the group's explorations of black women's identity open new possibilities for identity-based claims to recognition, justice, and social change.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2011-08-05
Mått:140 x 210 x 15 mm
Vikt:245 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:208
Förlag:Temple University Press,U.S.
ISBN:9781439903094

Utforska kategorier

Genusvetenskap inom Samhälle och politik
Folkhälsa och hälsopedagogik inom Medicin
Etnicitet inom Samhälle och politik

Mer om författaren

Kimberly J. Lau is Professor of Literature and American Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is the author of New Age Capitalism: Making Money East of Eden.

Recensioner i media

"In Body Language, Kimberly Lau adeptly draws the reader into the Sisters in Shape culture, whose central players emerge as multidimensional beings. The author's personal and extended connection with the group provides rich detail as to its origins, day-to-day activities, and impact on Black women looking not to embody familiar health statistics. The 'discursive' focus of the text is novel, and explores the reworkings of identity and body that Sisters in Shape enable through talk and action." -Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant, Associate Professor of Sociology and Education Studies at DePauw University, and author of Behind the Mask of the Strong Black Woman (Temple)

Innehållsförteckning

Acknowledgments 1. The Anatomy of a Movement 2. Experience: Spirituality, Sisterhood, and the Unspeakable 3. Performance: Negotiating Multiple Black Womanhoods 4. New Bodies of Knowledge 5. Rearticulating Feminist Identity Politics Notes References Index