We’ve all had those moments. The ones where you look in the mirror and nothing feels ok looking back at you. For Anita Bhagwandas, this started when she was a child growing up in South Wales, and it created an enduring internal torment about her looks.
We’re all told that this sadness is just part of ‘being a woman’. We’re encouraged to obsess over it and go to any length to change it, but we’re also ordered to ‘just love ourselves’ from every corner of the internet. But what if there was another way out of the beauty myth? Anita uncovers where these beauty standards started, unpicks why they’ve been perpetuated and unmasks how they’re still being upheld.
Smart, intersectional and insightful, Ugly is a melding of history, pop culture, psychology and memoir, featuring Anita’s own experience as a plus-sized, dark skinned woman of colour working in an industry which, in her words, ‘never loved her back’.
It is time to finally break free from those limiting beauty standards, because feeling ugly has nothing to do with us.
Praise for UGLY
‘Anita’s deep dive into beauty, its history and the pressure to look “perfect” is essential reading’
Caroline Hirons
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‘A bold, beautiful undertaking – this book unravels what we think we know about beauty, both in how we view ourselves and others. Anita’s thorough research, lived in experience and brilliant prose makes it a must read for anyone struggling to find their place in the world.’
Poorna Bell
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‘We predict this book will have you and all the women in your life talking’
Spell Magazine, Ones to Watch
‘From the smart and questioning beauty writer Anita Bhagwandas, this book is set to explore the intersectional notions of what is beautiful’
Stylist Magazine, Ones to Watch
