{"product_id":"maverick-feminist-kemeshia-randle-swanson-9781496850645","title":"Maverick Feminist: To Be Female and Black in a Country Founded Upon Violence and Respectability","description":"\u003cb\u003eWinner of the 2024 Eudora Welty Prize\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBeginning with their forced introduction to American soil, Black women have relied on maverick-like characteristics to survive. And yet, these liberating qualities have been repeatedly disparaged by the masses in favor of an elitist politics of respectability. In \u003ci\u003eMaverick Feminist: To Be Female and Black in a Country Founded upon Violence and Respectability\u003c\/i\u003e, scholar Kemeshia Randle Swanson examines the extent to which the politics of respectability diminish joy and increase sorrow throughout the lifespan of Black women. By rejecting this damaging standard in society, Black women can wholly and attentively assist in the obliteration of racist, sexist, classist, and ableist oppression. But first, they must work towards becoming self-identified, self-actualized, and self-sexualized. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBridging the gap between women in both the streets and the academy, \u003ci\u003eMaverick Feminist\u003c\/i\u003e expands the traditional understandings of activism and enlarges discussions about Black female sexuality. Swanson emphasizes sexuality's significance to the literary and sociopolitical success of Black women of the past and in this contemporary climate. Through close readings and critical analyses of fiction, nonfiction, and popular culture, Swanson argues that #BlackGirlMagic and racial progression require rejecting respectability politics and developing an intimate appreciation of self. \u003ci\u003eMaverick Feminist\u003c\/i\u003e examines texts by and about bold Black women, including Zora Neale Hurston's \u003ci\u003eTheir Eyes Were Watching God\u003c\/i\u003e, Sister Souljah's \u003ci\u003eThe Coldest Winter Ever\u003c\/i\u003e, Brittney Cooper's \u003ci\u003eEloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower\u003c\/i\u003e, Alice Walker's \u003ci\u003eThe Color Purple\u003c\/i\u003e, Sapphire's \u003ci\u003ePUSH\u003c\/i\u003e, Roxane Gay's \u003ci\u003eHunger: A Memoir of (My) Body\u003c\/i\u003e, Terry McMillan's \u003ci\u003eGetting to Happy\u003c\/i\u003e, and Michelle Obama's \u003ci\u003eBecoming\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eMaverick Feminist\u003c\/i\u003e offers hope concerning the growing divide between scholars and the communities about which they theorize. The book celebrates centuries of agency and control that Black women have mustered and maintained in a world that seems to want nothing more than to see them prone and powerless. Ultimately, maverick feminism provides a freer means of living out, evaluating, understanding, and improving the lives of Black women.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Kemeshia Randle Swanson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1496850645\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781496850645\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Mississippi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/26\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 172\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.81lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.56d","brand":"Kemeshia Randle Swanson","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46489384222975,"sku":"9781496850645","price":99.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_f5f4cfa8-cddc-4a39-a15d-a38ad864835e.jpg?v=1736953398","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/maverick-feminist-kemeshia-randle-swanson-9781496850645","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}