The Black Female Body: A Photographic History

by Deborah Willis, Carla Williams

Searching for photographic images of black women, Deborah Willis and Carla Williams were startled to find them by the hundreds. In long-forgotten books, in art museums, in European and US archives and private collections, a hidden history of representation awaited discovery. The Black Female Body offers a stunning array of familiar and many virtually unknown photographs. Willis and Williams show how photographs reflected Western culture's fascination with black women's bodies, reinforcing beliefs about racial differences and hierarchies. The authors also show how the powerful images created by twentieth-century photographers increasingly challenged these false beliefs.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, History, Gender, Art

228 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Dr. Willis is chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.

Reviews

[Aaron the Pink Donut · Rating 5 out of 5]

An expansive and incredibly thoughtful dissertation on the subject. Loaded with lots of images.