Infamous Bodies

Samantha Pinto is Associate Professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin, author of Difficult Diasporas: The Transnational Feminist Aesthetic of the Black Atlantic, and coeditor of Writing beyond the State: Post-Sovereign Approaches to Human Rights in Literary Studies.

“Infamous Bodies is required reading for scholars of black feminist theory. This ambitious, provocative book interrogates female celebrity as a crucial genre through which black women come into political view. Samantha Pinto's careful and thoughtful wrestling with black women celebrities who have become-or perhaps always were-‘difficult’ in and for black feminist studies requires that scholars probe the very meaning of the ‘political’ for black feminist thought. Black feminist theory will be both challenged and transformed by Pinto's careful and counterintuitive readings of black women's representation and by Pinto’s call for the necessary centrality of vulnerability to our scholarly and political work.” - Jennifer C. Nash, author of (Black Feminism Reimagined: After Intersectionality) “With theoretical innovation and a commitment to bringing to light forgotten cultural moments, Samantha Pinto considers notorious figures of black female historical celebrity for what they can tell us about the limits of liberal humanist conceptions of freedom, agency, and consent. Fueled by a powerful sense of urgency, Pinto’s rich and valuable contribution pushes black studies and feminist and queer studies of representation and history to new places while prompting readers to think about how celebrity culture continues to treat black women with the broadest strokes.” - Francesca T. Royster, author of (Sounding Like a No-No: Queer Sounds and Eccentric Acts in the Post-Soul Era) "[A] must-have counterintuitive, historical analysis. . . . The book is well written . . . and would be ideal for the following departments: sociology, women's studies, and African American studies. The book would pair well with the following courses: women authority and power, women's right and status; and feminism." - Shauntey James (Ethnic and Racial Studies) This excellent text is a must read for those studying cultural and Black feminist representations to understand how those that proliferated in the past inform contemporary debates related to '[B]lack women’s sexual, embodied visibility as always politically suspect.'" - C. B. Regester (Choice) "Pinto’s work is skilfully crafted. . . . With a theoretical focus of Black feminism, structured through a framework of human rights discourse, and with a call to reframe Black feminist thought and historiography, Pinto’s work offers scholars new possibilities for asking different questions of our material and the way in which we see, read and write about them." - Rebecca J. Fraser (European Journal of American Culture) "Infamous Bodies feels acutely timely. Dense with citation and conceptual triangulation, Pinto’s is an up-to-date intervention rooted in the history of the field. There are many potential audiences for this text-within literary studies, media studies, sexuality studies, and political theory-but any feminist scholar keeping abreast of contemporary debates will find something of interest here." - Deborah Thurman (Year's Work in Critical and Cultural Theory) "Infamous Bodies is a generative contribution to the field of Black feminist theory, particularly for scholars interested in the early intersections of contracts, labor, and international human rights. This is also an insightful text for practitioners of art criticism and performance theory." - Margarita Lila Rosa (The Black Scholar) "Pinto offers new radical political futures for black feminist studies. . . . She adds to existing critical human rights scholarship on vulnerability with a novel reconfiguration of what agency and freedom look like." - Marietta Kosma (US Studies Online) "Pinto’s is an innovative study which expands upon the contemporary discourses central to black feminist scholarship and will likely become an essential read in its field." - Laura Skinner (Journal of Gender Studies)

• Acknowledgments  viiIntroduction. Infamous Bodies, Corrective Histories  11. Fantasies of Freedom: Phillis Wheatley and the "Deathless Fame" of Black Feminist Thought  312. The Romance of Consent: Sally Hemings, Black Women's Sexuality, and the Fundamental Vulnerability of Rights  653. Venus at Work: The Contracted Body and Fictions of Sarah Baartman  1054. Civic Desire: Mary Seacole's Adventures in Black Citizenship  1395. #DevelopmentGoals: Sovereignty, Sarah Forbes Bonetta, and the Production of the Black Feminist Political Subject  173Conclusion. Black Feminist Celebrity and the Political Life of Vulnerability  203Notes  207References  221Index 243