Studies have found that Black women are not impervious to dominant culture and are impacted by European standards of beauty ( James, Phelps, & Bross, 2001). Fewer studies report negative body satisfaction among African American women (e.g., Flowers, Levesque, & Fischer, 2012 Porter, Stern, Mazzeo, Evans, & Laver, 2013).īecause several scholars have cautioned against using the comparative research framework to examine phenomena with ethnic minorities, there has been a movement away from comparisons between Whites and Blacks to more thoroughly investigating the specific experiences of African American women ( Azibo, 1988 Awad & Cokley, 2010 Cokley & Awad, 2008). Furthermore, Falconer and Neville (2000) found that African American women with bigger body sizes were more likely to be satisfied with specific body areas. When compared with White women, findings show that African American women reported lower levels of body image dissatisfaction ( Gordon, Castro, Sitnikov, & Holm-Denoma, 2010 Lokken, Worthy, Ferraro, & Attmann, 2008), maintain a more favorable view of larger body sizes ( Cash & Pruzinsky, 2002 Gordon, Castro, Sitnikov, & Holm-Denoma, 2010), have less concerns about dieting, weight fluctuations, and fear of fatness ( Rucker & Cash, 1992), and are less likely to internalize sociocultural standards of beauty ( Lokken, Worthy, Ferraro, & Attmann, 2008). Historically, psychological research on beauty and body image has focused its efforts almost exclusively on women and girls of European descent ( Grabe & Hyde, 2006 Hall, 1995). The notion that Black women are less attractive is a message that is transmitted daily and from multiple external forces or social institutions (e.g., church, government, business industries, media, and family/peer groups). Features more akin to the African esthetic are deemed ugly, undesirable and less feminine. puts a premium on “fair” white skin, blue eyes and straight, long, blond hair and considers these features the epitome of beauty. In the past and still today, Black women’s bodies and beauty have largely been devalued and rejected by mainstream culture, which overvalues the European aesthetic and undervalues the esthetic of other racial/ethnic group with of exception of exoticizing them ( Banks, 2000). Black women were viewed as hypersexual Jezebels (or Sapphires) deserving of sexual exploitation or as breeder women lawfully usable for populating owner’s plantations with new slave stock or for the generation revenues.
During the slave era negative, controlling images of Black women emerged ( hooks, 1992 Collins 1990 2000 Mama, 1995). Black women’s bodies were routinely violated for others profit and pleasure without recourse or protection. According to Black feminist theory, the devaluation of US Black women is rooted the institution of American slavery.
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Findings of the current study suggest a reconceptualization of body image for African American women where relevant characteristics such as hair and skin tone are given more priority over traditional body image concerns often associated with European American women.īody image and beauty among African American women can only be truly understood within a framework of interlocking systems of “isms” – (e.g., racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism). Themes included: sacrifice, ignorance/racial microaggressions, and validation and invalidation by others, thick/toned/curvy as optimal, hypersexualization, and being thin is for White women. The majority of themes pertained to issues related to hair, skin tone, body type, and message sources. Data were analyzed using a thematic approach and several themes were identified. A total of 31 African American women participated in one of five focus groups on the campus of a large Southwestern University to examine beauty and body image. In recent years, there has been an attempt to include ethnic minority samples in body image studies (e.g., Grabe & Hyde, 2006 Hrabosky & Grilo, 2007 Lovejoy, 2001) but few specifically examine unique issues pertaining to beauty and body image for African American college age women. The current study examined body image concerns among African American women.
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