Black women, body image and eating disorders

Since I work so many hours during the weekends I will have to make posts during the week (with very little time to edit, sorry)so that you guys will have something to read . I thank all of you for visiting my blog and reading what I have to say. This is the post for Saturday 6/10/06. The media constantly focuses on white women and their obsession with their bodies. A number of years ago their was a survey which found that black women were overwhemingly satisfied with their bodies. Well today I would argue that things are not quite the same. Today many young black women have serious issues with body image. Many flirt on the edge of various eating disorders. As hip hop has become a larger part of American culture and accepted by the mainstream , the images of the scantly clad women have made their impressions on young black women. One of the most notable things about the physiques of the video girls( i refuse to call them hos) is that they are not stick thin. This sort of takes them out of the idealized beauty of mainstream America. That said, the bodies of these women are far more difficult to obtain because it takes more than going to the gym and eating carrots. Most of these women have very flat stomachs(sometimes 6-packs stomachs), large hips, big round behinds, thick thigns and slim tappered calves. Breast size can vary as it is not as important in African-American culture( perkiness is important). Three of the most celebrated video women: Buffy the body, Ka-toi and Melissa Ford are the embodiment of the perfect video girl ,with their extreme hourglass figures they resemble the black version of Jessica Rabbit. Many young black girls find themselves wanting to desperately look like these women. Unfortunately no amount of dieting can make you look you these women, with therportions of Buffy,Melissa and Ki-Toy it simply comes down to genetics. You either got it or you don't. Just as their are young black girls who want to look like the video girls there are also those who desire to look like supermodels ,who mainstream America tells us are beautiful. More and more young black women are being diagnosed with the eating disorders anorexia and bulemia. I think one of the reasons is that more blacks are being intergrated into white society so there is a sort of negative acculturation happening in that young black women are picking up the negative relationships that many white women have with their bodies and food. When I was a teenager I would never hear young black girls talk about wanting to be very thin. Unfortunately, today its become more common to hear young black girls talk about wanting to fit into a size 0 or 2. A few years ago I worked at a department store which was patronized by a mixed clientele. There were a few young black saleswomen who were a size 0 or 2. What we noticed was that the white women patronizing the store would frequently comment on the fact that they (salespeople) were so thin and also state that they wish they were lucky enough to be so thin. This happened so rarely with black customers , admiring the thin bodies of the saleswomen that it can be counted on one hand. In recent published statistics it has been pulished that of all women in America , African-American women are the most overweight. I think their are many reasons for this, tradionally African-American culture is more accepting of women having a few extra pounds. A second reason is that some African-American women avoid strenuous exercise for fear of messing up their hair. A third and not deeply examined issue is that many black American women suffer from an eating disorder-they are chronic overeaters who binge. Many poor black women find themselves having to pick up the slack because they are unmarried and have children with deadbeat fathers. Therefore , they are working two or three jobs to pay bills. When they come home they find themselves to tired to cook a nutritious meal therefore they overly rely on fast food and processed foods which have little to no nutritional benefit for the body. To deal with the stress many simply overeat to make themselves feel better. While the temporary feeling that eating junk food may feel good or like a rush, it is only later that black women see the damage(obesity,high blood presureand diabetes) that their overeating has caused. Give me your thoughts and opinions please. Conflicted con. I know you have your opinions on this post.