Tangled - by Sarah Mesle (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A witty, razor-sharp cultural critique of white women's hair--and the politics it quietly carries

In Tangled, acclaimed cultural critic Sarah Mesle unpacks the surprising power of white women's hair in shaping American identity, politics, and pop culture. From rom-coms to TikToks, blowouts to legislation, Mesle explores how hair--often dismissed as trivial--has been a stealth vehicle for transmitting whiteness, privilege, and conservative values.

White women's hair evokes pleasure, pride, anxiety, and envy. But unlike women of color, who navigate hair as a deeply political terrain, white women often treat their styles as purely aesthetic. Mesle argues that this perceived innocence is precisely what makes white women's hair so potent--and so dangerous.

Through 7 iconic hair moments spanning the Reagan era to Trump's rise, Tangled blends personal essay with cultural analysis, revealing how hair has mirrored--and fueled--the rollback of feminist progress. With wit, depth, and originality, Mesle invites readers to rethink what hair has done in America--and what it could do differently.

Smart, funny, and fiercely insightful, Tangled is essential reading for anyone interested in feminism, race, media, and the hidden politics of beauty.

Review Quotes

"With surprising storytelling, gorgeous prose, and deep research into racism and hair history, Mesle moves gracefully between the impact of popular hair icons like Jennifer Aniston and Farah Fawcett and her own life experience. Her incisive cultural criticism and unflinching self-awareness call out and question the power given to whiteness and women's hair."
--Elizabeth L. Block, author of Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing

"I could read Sarah Mesle on white women's hair for hours. For days! Tangled is such an incisive, clarifying look at the meaning of white women's hair: how it quietly wields power, announces dominance, and reasserts white women's place in the social order. This is a fascinating, addictive read that will make you think differently about your hair--and every hairstyle around you."
--Anne Helen Petersen, author of Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation

"With agile prose and remarkable insight, Tangled exposes the political work that gets done when Americans assume white women's hair has no political meaning. Many claim they want white people to confront their privilege to become allies and accomplices. Sarah Mesle more than answers that call; she equips others to join her."
--Koritha Mitchell, author of From Slave Cabins to the White House

"With curiosity, insight, and careful reporting, Sarah Mesle's Tangled uses the ponytails, bobs, and highlights of white women over the last half century to tell a story about race and gender. Entertaining and incisive, this work of criticism shows how hair--ever present but often overlooked--can be a tool of remarkable power."
--Heather Radke, author of Butts: A Backstory

About the Author

Sarah Mesle is a professor of writing at the University of Southern California and the author of Reasons and Feelings: Writing for the Humanities Now. The former senior humanities editor at the Los Angeles Review of Books, Mesle is also the founding co-editor of the LARB channel Avidly and the short-books series Avidly Reads. Mesle's writing about gender, media, and culture has appeared in venues ranging from Studies in American Fiction and InStyle to the New York Times Magazine.