Martha Cooper, Nika Kramer and Rokafella

It always seemed like breakdancing was not something that girls did. Heck, they even fit legendary Rock Steady Crew dancer Crazy Legs with a long wig so he could body-double for Jennifer Beals in the infamous audition scene in Flashdance where “she” starts whirling around on her back.

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We B*Girlz proves differently; that sisters are doin’ it and doin’ it well. Photographer Martha Cooper and writer Nika Kramer traveled extensively to capture B-girls in their habitats and interview them about what it feels like to be one. What’s amazing is how seamlessly universal the culture is: What looks like a girl gettin’ down in Manhattan might actually be in Montpelier or Munich.

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As a whole, the B-girls in the book aren’t only athletically on point, they come across as strong, sassy, even defiant. When Mega from the Rock Steady Crew sports a “Boys Ain’t Shit But Hoes & Tricks” T-shirt, you know the script has been truly flipped.

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This book is a combat vehicle against the stereotypes of women in hip-hop, and as such would make a great gift for your favorite fly girl. Too often the culture is a boys club where women gotta show skin to get in, but We B*Girlz shows an alternative spectrum of female sexiness and class thriving in hip-hop. Now, if the model chicks would only start spinning on their heads in the videos.