Gender and race matter: The importance of considering intersections in Black women’s body image.

Abstract

Traditionally, body image literature has used race as a variable to explain ethnic-specific differences in body satisfaction and the prevalence of eating disorders. Instead of employing race as an explanatory variable, the present study utilized a qualitative method to explore the relationships among race, ethnicity, culture, discrimination, and body image for African American and Black women. The purpose of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of how race and gender interface with and inform body image. Women were recruited through community centers in a major metropolitan city and represented a diversity of ethnicities. In total, 26 women who identified racially as Black (mean age = 26 years) participated in 6 focus groups, which explored body ideals, societal messages, cultural values, racism, and sexism. Narrative data from the focus groups were analyzed using grounded theory. The central category, Body/Self Image, was informed by perceptions of and feelings about not only weight and shape but also hair, skin, and attitude. Three additional categories, each with multiple properties, emerged: Interpersonal Influences, Experiences of Oppression, and Media Messages. These categories interact to explain the central category of Body/Self Image, and an emergent theory is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).