The body is the canvas upon which women paint their secrets, their hopes and dreams, pain and disappointments. Hair has long played a role in the struggles for power, self-determination and autonomy—serving as a nonverbal language that represents women’s lives. However, pain, anxiety, racism, sexism and rigid beauty standards can too often underlie these stories. Modern events like the Black Lives Matter movement and the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed societal barriers that prevent the free and equitable expression of hair.
Although countless books and articles address body image, the personal psychology and the meaning of hair have been missing. This work empowers women to understand complex hair-head-heart connections, and pressures. Above all, the text emphasizes that hair is never just hair.

Margo Maine, PhD, FAED, CEDS, is a clinical psychologist who has specialized in eating disorders and related issues for over 35 years. She lectures nationally and internationally on topics related to women’s health and maintains a private practice in West Hartford, Connecticut.

Margo Maine
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages:
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2022
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8861-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4797-5
Imprint: Toplight

“Once again Margo Maine knocks it out of the park …this time on a new topic, seldom written about but of great importance. Using wide-ranging personal stories, she vividly illustrates how women’s hair has been sexualized and how attempts to control and cover it have restricted female autonomy around the world for thousands of years. This insightful and witty book is a pleasure to read and a significant addition to feminist literature.”—Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D., creator of the Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women