Vikki Carr's voice -- Diva definitions : Me and Ms. (Grace) Jones -- Diva style : Tía Lucia, Prima Prima Donna -- Diva movidas : Rita and Anita -- Diva comeback : Tina and the river -- Diva monstrosity : Divine and Jaime -- Diva feminism : Aretha and the rest -- Diva relations : Celia and La India -- Diva girls : Venus and Serena -- Diva revivals : Me and Ms. (Jomama) Jones -- Diva portals : Nona and Patti and Sarah and all the space children -- Lucia's last act

"What does it mean to be a 'diva'? A shifting, increasingly loaded term, it has been used to both deride and celebrate charismatic and unapologetically fierce performers like Aretha Franklin, Divine, and the women of Labelle. In this brilliant, powerful blend of incisive criticism and electric memoir, Deborah Paredez--scholar, cultural critic, and lifelong diva devotee--unravels our enduring fascination with these icons and explores how divas have challenged American ideas about feminism, performance, and freedom"--Dust jacket