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Bulletproof Diva: Tales of Race, Sex, and Hair

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In Bulletproof Diva , Lisa  Jones brings the wit and candor of her infamous   Village Voice column, "Skin Trade,"  to a much larger audience. Chock full of the  "fierce black girl humor" that has made her  column so popular, this provocative collection of  essays and observations on race, sex, identity, and  the politics of style speaks to a young generation  of blacks who were raised in an integrated society  and are now waiting for America to deliver on its  promises of equality. The thirty-seven short  pieces and six long essays in Bulletproof  Diva cover a wide range of topics, many of them  extremely controversial. Jones moves smoothly from  issues of ethnicity in a changing America,  challenging viewpoints on African-American  and mixed race identity, to "butt theory"  and the roller-coaster politics of black hair.  Written in a style that is as appealing as it is  unapologetic, Bulletproof Diva   marks the debut of a genuinely gifted young writer  with a distinctive voice and a fresh perspective on  the black cultural scene.

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

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About the author

Lisa Jones

12 books7 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

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5 stars
70 (33%)
4 stars
67 (32%)
3 stars
58 (28%)
2 stars
10 (4%)
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1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for Rekha.
858 reviews
February 10, 2008
Style is political. This is a statement made by author Lisa Jones, and epitomizes her stance in the book. A collection of essays published originally in the Village Voice, this book was a big deal for me when I first read it in my early twenties, as it articulated a language that echoed the one in my head- where pop culture, style, and politics are all interrelated and that learning to read media and the ideas signified there are sussed out and interrogated. What does the way that Mariah Carey is marketed mean to the larger mass consciousness that we all participate in, especially in terms of our ideas about race, gender, and sexuality? If questions like that turn you on, this is a good, easy book to begin exploring those ideas further.
Profile Image for Meghan.
79 reviews2 followers
July 16, 2007
lisa jones never fails to amaze. i read this originally as a college student, and reread it again many years later. if i cannot be like lisa jones, i at least want friends like her. what a phenomenal writer, activist, and woman...!
Profile Image for Becky.
308 reviews3 followers
August 28, 2015
I've had this book since it came out in 1994, but it just sat on the shelf all those years. A friend who worked at a radio station gave it to me, along with some other books that had been sent to the station in hopes they would interview the authors on the air. I'm glad it took me more than 20 years to pick it up because it was even more fascinating now than it would have been then. The subtitle of the book is "Tales of Race, Sex and Hair," and it was compiled from columns Jones wrote for The Village Voice. She worked with Spike Lee on several of his movies and has also written plays. Reading her thoughts on ethnicity (she's bi-racial but detests the description), early rap, and dating in the days before the Internet, cell phones, and Barack Obama is like stepping into a time machine, yet her columns about dealing with ethnic hair could have been written today for a blog about the natural hair movement. She is a talented writer with a unique voice and incredible insight and humor into issues serious and not-so-serious. I researched her to see what she's doing now, and I couldn't find much, which is disappointing. I'd love to hear what she has to say on race, sex, and hair in 2015.
Profile Image for Régine Michelle.
45 reviews15 followers
June 20, 2007
This is the type of "trade book" I would like to write...I first read Bulletproof Diva in highschool and was subsequently converted to Black feminist thinking and cultural criticism as a way of life. Her thoughts on everything from race, popular culture, hair, ethnicity, and identity are fascinating as well as provocative. I also really liked the journalistic Village Voicey writing style. Although like many books I read while I was "younger" I wonder if I would have the same thoughts today so I plan to re-read to find out. Stay tuned...
Profile Image for Angel.
137 reviews
April 24, 2011
Lisa Jones’ Bulletproof Diva: Tales of Race, Sex, and Hair is a collection of essays that confronts the intersections of race and culture from the perspective of a biracial woman who identifies as Black. Jones, the daughter of writers Amiri Baraka and Hettie Jones, describes her struggle with her racial identity and intersperses her experiences with witty observations about race and the representation of race in popular culture. Set in New York City in the 1990’s, the cultural references have a strong sense of place and time, but Jones’ insight into race and culture still resonates today.
March 21, 2017
Bulletproof Diva resonated with me in 1994, when I begged my mother to give this book as my high school graduation gift. Yes, I wanted only this book, and nothing more. These essays are timeless as Ms. Jones could have written them today.

I recommend this book as an addition to womanist/black feminist literature because it captures many issues faced, but often ignored.
Profile Image for Elisa Gusdal.
27 reviews1 follower
April 20, 2008
Ms. Jones will give you something to talk about in her collection of essays on skin color and gender politics. Her hip writing in this book makes it one of my favorites!
Profile Image for RK Byers.
Author 9 books41 followers
September 7, 2012
rarely actually "funny", but always wry, well written, clear sighted and clever.
Profile Image for Gia Fondren.
40 reviews1 follower
August 28, 2018
i only ead some of this one. this is where i learned of her moher book how i became hettie jones. this book writes about things that occurred many years ago and im not in touch as much a befor. i found it to be a difficult read.try it. told me because of my hair type, im not one to marry etc.. Eye opener.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews

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