Race and Beauty by Josie Schoel - 9781032499321

Race and BeautyEarly Modern Cosmetics and the Mythology of Whiteness\nAuthor(s): Josie Schoel\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9781032499321, 978-1032499321\nSynopsis\nThis work examines how beauty standards, specifically the ideology of \""fairness\"", contributed to the racialization of bodies in early modern England. Schoel emphasizes the need to dismantle whitenesss invisibility in historical criticism, noting that it has long been an unexamined norm. By focusing on the materiality of cosmetic whiteness, the text aims to disrupt colorblind ideologies and reveal the mechanisms behind white supremacy.\n\nDrawing on diverse texts like sonnets, travel literature, and medical treatises, the book discusses how light skin and hair were idealized, symbolizing Christian virtue and femininity. This rhetoric of fairness not only promoted racial hierarchies but also constructed whiteness through cosmetics like whitening creams.