Gutsy girl-talk

Bulletproof Diva: Tales of Race, Sex and Hair
By Lisa Jones
Penguin Books, 1994. 306 pp., $14.95 (pb)
Reviewed by Carla Gorton Bulletproof Diva is a collection of street-wise, straight talking and opinionated articles by Lisa Jones. Jones is a staff writer for The Village Voice in the US. She has also authored three books with film maker Spike Lee, and has been touted as the hip young voice of 'multiculturalism'. There is no doubt that Jones is a marketable commodity, but her "attitudinous" style ensures that her articles have a sharp political edge. Preferring to be called a 'womanist' (a term coined by African-American writer Alice Walker), Jones' book is an argument for feminism, and it's fast, sexy and fun. Jones builds on many of the themes and issues explored by Michele Wallace in her ground-breaking book Invisibility Blues: From Pop to Theory. Where Wallace is more academic, Jones applies the theory to the stark reality of the street, and to our innermost desires, dreams and emotions. She writes in a style that can be serious and playful, hard-hitting and teasing. The indignation expressed in her piece about Judge Thomas (from the Anita Hill case) and his mistreatment of his sister is matched by her sensual description of bass guitarist Felice from Faith, a band you are left in no doubt is really hot. Bulletproof Diva is also enjoyable to read because it is unafraid to talk about women's body image and representation. In the hands of Jones, this issue, explored by others such as Naomi Wolf in The Beauty Myth, is imbued with elements of race and class. But Bulletproof Diva doesn't pretend to be anything it's not — comment pieces not theorising. This book may seem a bit pretentious to some, but I would love to see more of this style of gutsy girl-talk.