Synopses & Reviews
In The Black Body in Ecstasy, Jennifer C. Nash rewrites black feminismand#39;s theory of representation. Her analysis moves beyond black feminismand#39;s preoccupation with injury and recovery to consider how racial fictions can create a space of agency and even pleasure for black female subjects. Nashand#39;s innovative readings of hardcore pornographic films from the 1970s and 1980s develop a new method of analyzing racialized pornography that focuses on black womenand#39;s pleasures in blackness: delights in toying with and subverting blackness, moments of racialized excitement, deliberate enactments of hyperbolic blackness, and humorous performances of blackness that poke fun at the fantastical project of race. Drawing on feminist and queer theory, critical race theory, and media studies, Nash creates a new black feminist interpretative practice, one attentive to the messy contradictionsandmdash;between delight and discomfort, between desire and degradationandmdash;at the heart of black pleasures.
Review
andquot;In The Black Body in Ecstasy, Jennifer C. Nash abandons a long-standing framework in black feminist criticism: that pornography is bad to and for black women. She boldly reads pornography for black womenand#39;s ecstasy. Through careful analysis of key films from pornand#39;s golden era, Nash develops an argument that is innovative, fearless, and, ultimately, affirming of possibilities for black womenand#39;s bodies, fantasies, and sexual lives.andquot;
Review
andquot;This is an important book and its readers will know it. The first chapter on black feminist theories of representation brilliantly contextualizes the political stakes of the bookand#39;s commitment to black womenand#39;s pleasure. I predict that The Black Body in Ecstasy will be considered the most definitive statement to date on black feminist theoryand#39;s engagement with visual representation.andquot;
Review
andldquo;The Black Body in Ecstasy is an excellent example of a andlsquo;loving critiqueandrsquo; of a tense field...Nashandrsquo;s intentional, clear structuring and synthesis, and her fascinating interventions provide a solid basis for future scholars in this field.andrdquo;
About the Author
Jennifer C. Nash is Assistant Professor of American Studies and Women's Studies at George Washington University.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction. Reading Race, Reading Pornography 1
1. Archives of Pain: Reading the Black Feminist Theoretical Archive 27
2. Speaking Sex / Speaking Race: Lialeh and the Blax-porn-tation Aesthetic 59
3. Race-Pleasures: Sexworld and the Ecstatic Black Female Body 83
4. Laughing Matters: Race-Humor on the Pornographic Screen 107
5. On Refusal: Racial Promises and the Silver Age Screen 128
Conclusion. Reading Ecstasy 146
Notes 153
Bibliography 181
Index 213