Beauty and Body Image Concerns Among African American College Women

The Journal of Black Psychology
Germine H AwadCollette Chapman-Hilliard

Abstract

The current study examined body image concerns among African American women. 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. 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. Data were analyzed using a thematic approach and several themes were identified. The majority of themes pertained to issues related to hair, skin tone, body type, and message sources. 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. 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.

References

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Citations

Mar 17, 2016·Journal of Youth and Adolescence·Antoinette M Landor, Carolyn Tucker Halpern
Feb 7, 2018·Frontiers in Public Health·Rodney P JosephColleen Keller
Jan 24, 2018·Qualitative Health Research·Nicole Ola CameronWhitney Stefani
Feb 27, 2019·Social Work in Public Health·Tracey Marie BarnettSchnavia Smith Hatcher
Aug 15, 2019·Perspectives on Psychological Science : a Journal of the Association for Psychological Science·Antoinette M Landor, Shardé McNeil Smith
Oct 2, 2019·Public Health Nursing·Laura Manns-James, Angela Neal-Barnett
Sep 27, 2018·Journal of Family Theory & Review·Antoinette Landor, Ashley Barr
May 11, 2018·Current Opinion in Pediatrics·Nadia CraddockPhillippa C Diedrichs
Dec 1, 2020·Journal of American College Health : J of ACH·Carly ThompsonTavis Glassman
Nov 3, 2020·Eating Behaviors·Alexandria E DaviesSuzanne E Mazzeo
Mar 14, 2021·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Konstantinos IoannidisKatarzyna Czabanowska
Jun 24, 2021·PloS One·Carla HoukamauKhanh Linh Kha
Oct 15, 2021·Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy·Yael R Rosenstock GonzalezDebby Herbenick

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