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A review by trapwomanistcyborgwitch
Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who've Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store When Sunday Morning Isn't Enough by Candice Marie Benbow
5.0
4.5 stars
Review coming closer to publication date.
Review
Representation in media is of paramount importance to me as a Black church girl. When my mother passed away, my reason for living vanished. She was my blueprint/map of black womanhood. My whole entire life. So, I was lost for some time but then I started reading a lot of Womanist/Black Feminist texts and I found myself again! Books like Dr. Britney Cooper’s Eloquent Rage and Dr. Tamura A. Lomax's, Jezebel Unhinged gave me the representation/praxis I had been looking for. To add to this group of books that changed my life, is Red Lip Theology. I started following Ms. Benbow from Twitter many years ago and I have really seen her come into herself as a very gifted theologian and writer. This book is no exception. It is EXCELLENT. With Lipstick Theology she created a 21st-century womanist framework that is relatable to the everyday Black woman. In this book she is fearless! She talks about a lot of taboo subjects such as grief, purity culture, leaving church, mean girl academia and questioning who God is regarding Their deity and theology. She also deals with the significant issues of racism, sexism, misogynoir, and sexual assault. My favorite essays in this book are “We Should All Be Womanists,” “Black Lace Teddy’s and Other Pieces I Rock Under the Anointing,” and “Why I Left the Church.” But most of all, this book is a love letter to her beautiful and transcendent mother. I related the most of this because my mother died a few years ago and I was also lost and trying to explain to people-what I was going through was extremely difficult. This book, among the others that I mentioned before, calls out all the sins of the church against Black women and gives us space to wrestle with our spirituality. I gave the book a 4.5. It was almost perfect. I just wish that I had an index and a selected bibliography list. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I HIGHY recommend it. Thank you, Candice, NetGalley and Convergent for the ARC of this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review.
Review coming closer to publication date.
Review
Representation in media is of paramount importance to me as a Black church girl. When my mother passed away, my reason for living vanished. She was my blueprint/map of black womanhood. My whole entire life. So, I was lost for some time but then I started reading a lot of Womanist/Black Feminist texts and I found myself again! Books like Dr. Britney Cooper’s Eloquent Rage and Dr. Tamura A. Lomax's, Jezebel Unhinged gave me the representation/praxis I had been looking for. To add to this group of books that changed my life, is Red Lip Theology. I started following Ms. Benbow from Twitter many years ago and I have really seen her come into herself as a very gifted theologian and writer. This book is no exception. It is EXCELLENT. With Lipstick Theology she created a 21st-century womanist framework that is relatable to the everyday Black woman. In this book she is fearless! She talks about a lot of taboo subjects such as grief, purity culture, leaving church, mean girl academia and questioning who God is regarding Their deity and theology. She also deals with the significant issues of racism, sexism, misogynoir, and sexual assault. My favorite essays in this book are “We Should All Be Womanists,” “Black Lace Teddy’s and Other Pieces I Rock Under the Anointing,” and “Why I Left the Church.” But most of all, this book is a love letter to her beautiful and transcendent mother. I related the most of this because my mother died a few years ago and I was also lost and trying to explain to people-what I was going through was extremely difficult. This book, among the others that I mentioned before, calls out all the sins of the church against Black women and gives us space to wrestle with our spirituality. I gave the book a 4.5. It was almost perfect. I just wish that I had an index and a selected bibliography list. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I HIGHY recommend it. Thank you, Candice, NetGalley and Convergent for the ARC of this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review.