Chapter One: Introduction Chapter Two: Afro-textured Hair and the CROWN Act Chapter Three: What Black Women Political Elites Look Like Matters Chapter Four: Candid Conversations, Black Women Political Elites, and Appearances Chapter Five: Sisterly Discussions on Black Women Candidates Chapter Six: Is there a Black Woman Candidate Prototype? Chapter Seven: Voter Responses to Black Women Candidates Chapter Eight: Linked Fate, Black Voters, and Black Women Candidates Chapter Nine: Conclusion

"Generations of future scholars will cite this text for its agenda-setting analysis on phenotype, hair style, and hair texture of Black women candidates, and for its creative use of tools to evaluate these topics." -- Christine M. Slaughter , Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Politics at PrincetonUniversity, Politics and Gender "Brown and Lemi weave together the complexity of the lived experiences of Black women with the political context in which voters make political decisions. Through political and historical analysis, they offer a necessary intervention that moves us beyond the flat tropes that fail to explain the intricacy and fullness of Black women's political engagement." -- Pearl K. Dowe, Emory University "In this original, engaging, and incisive book, Brown and Lemi document the ways that the politics of appearance DL particularly of hair DL shape Black women's political ambition and access to political office. The authors document that the personal is political, the everyday politicization of Black women's bodies, and the centrality of imagery in understanding who gets to belong in politics. In doing so, they illustrate that what we see when we look at candidates matters, why it matters, how it is gendered and racialized, and the importance of these intersectional considerations." -- Mirya R. Holman, Tulane University "Brown and Lemi bring a long-overdue spotlight to the ways in which personal appearance (i.e., skin color, hair texture) can influence political judgments for Black women seeking political office. The authors provide a fascinating and methodologically broad investigation of how Eurocentric standards of beauty can disadvantage Black women in the political arena. I learned a lot reading this important book." -- Vincent L. Hutchings, The University of Michigan "Sister Style is that rare type of academic work that will be as important to Black women within and outside of the academy. It offers important insights and analysis for all who seek to understand how and why women in general and Black women in particular have to navigate a world that at once says body size, hair texture and style, and skin shade don't matter, and at the same time makes clear that all of it matters a great deal. Sister Style is a tour de force presentation of how 'pretty' is politics by other means. Buy it, read it, savor it, and learn." -- Noliwe Rooks, Cornell University

Selling point: One of the first book-length volumes to examine how the politics of appearance shape Black women's political ambitions, opportunities, and access to political office Selling point: An intersectional approach that centers Black women as political candidates, voters, and activists Selling point: Examines in-group dynamics and the politicization of Black women's bodies to understand who gets to belong in politics

Nadia E. Brown is a University Faculty Scholar and an Associate Professor of Political Science and African American Studies at Purdue University. She is the author of Sisters in the Statehouse: Black Women and Legislative Decision Making. Danielle Casarez Lemi is a Tower Center Fellow at the Tower Center at Southern Methodist University.

Selling point: One of the first book-length volumes to examine how the politics of appearance shape Black women's political ambitions, opportunities, and access to political office Selling point: An intersectional approach that centers Black women as political candidates, voters, and activists Selling point: Examines in-group dynamics and the politicization of Black women's bodies to understand who gets to belong in politics