Naked: Black Women Bare All about Their Skin, Hair, Hips, Lips, and Other Parts

""These bodies are for ourselves,"" says Sonia Sanchez in the introduction to this candid and provocative set of essays, all centered squarely on black women's bodies-and the myths and misogynies located therein. Byrd has written for Vibe and Rolling Stone; Solomon is a former senior editor at the Source and current health editor for Essence. Together, they have gathered black women from a variety of walks of life, from hip hop icon Melyssa Ford and superstar singer Kelis to an AIDS-afflicted feminist activist, and a former prostitute serving twenty-five years for murdering ""a john... who became the unintended victim of my rage and depression and self-hatred."" In between are notes on ""My Tush"" (""Butt, ass, bum, booty, rump, onion, junk in the trunk, ba-dunck-ka-dunk, rear, backside""), ""Ho Gear,"" ""The Curl,"" ""Femme Invisibility"" and a host of other hot button body issues. As empowering as it is demystifying, this book does not avert its gaze for a moment.