Becoming Unbecoming

(Paperback)

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Description

A devastating personal account of gender violence told in graphic-novel form, set against the backdrop of the 1970s Yorkshire Ripper man-hunt.

It's 1977 and Una is twelve. A serial murderer is at large in West Yorkshire and the police are struggling to solve the case despite spending more than two million man-hours hunting the killer and interviewing the man himself no less than nine times. As this national news story unfolds around her, Una finds herself on the receiving end of a series of violent acts for which she feels she is to blame. Through image and text Becoming Unbecoming explores what it means to grow up in a culture where male violence goes unpunished and unquestioned. With the benefit of hindsight Una explores her experience, wonders if anything has really changed and challenges a global culture that demands that the victims of violence pay its cost.

Reviews

'Unflinching, heartbreaking and utterly compelling. Una's story explores how the public silencing of women's voices too often creates a private hell.' - Emma Jane Unsworth; 'Male violence against women is a major problem - for all of us. This exploration of blame and shame brings home that fact in an immediate way, but also with great delicacy.' - Mary Talbot; 'This is a beautiful, haunting, take on Peter Sutcliffe's reign of terror, and the women and communities he destroyed. The bare fact is, as Una beautifully explores, that females are living under a reign of patriarchal power that requires us to take the rough with the rough. Except we don't. Una illustrates - through prose and graphics - how this fightback is taking place. Consume this book, and be prepared to join the revolution.' - Julie Bindel; 'Delicate in construction yet uncompromising in message, Becoming Unbecoming is an astonishing testament to the potency of visual metaphor.' - Andy Oliver; 'Make no mistake, this is one of the most important comics works of 2015.' - Broken Frontier: Comic of the Week; 'Brilliant, brave and fiercely intelligent... I read it in one sitting.' - Kerry Hudson; 'Touching, moving and tackling a really serious subject. A wonderful, wonderful book.' - Jenni Murray, BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour; 'Honest, matter-of-fact and absolutely gut-wrenching... shows what happens when women refuse to be silent. Read this. Get angry. Start shouting.' - Emerald Street; 'A sensitively rendered yet powerful exploration of the blame and shame culture that surrounds sexual violence... Becoming Unbecoming should be read by everyone.' - Pamreader

Author Bio

Una is a comics artist and writer. She has 20 years experience in community arts education with adult learners and 8 years experience lecturing in fine art and illustration. She has a PhD in Fine Art Practice from Loughborough University, MFA (University of Leeds) and a 1st class BA Hons (Leeds Arts University). Unas first graphic novel Becoming Unbecoming(Myriad Editions, 2015) has been widely translated and was featured on BBC Radio 4 Open Book and Womans Hour, Oprah.com and in Newsweek and Elle magazine. Una received Arts Council England (ACE) funding for a creative writing/drawing project which resulted in a 40 page comic book On Sanity: One Day In Two Lives (2016) and a collaborative zine We All Start At The Beginning (2016). Unas latest comic book Cree (2018) was commissioned by New Writing North and Durham Book Festival. She is currently working on a second graphic novel, Eve, for Virago Press and is supported by ACE for two years of professional development.