Monday, May 18, 2009

From Essence Magazine page 90

Suffering in Silence

Let's end the myth that only white girls have eating disorders. A new study published by the University of Southern California found that African-American girls are 50 percent more likely to be bulimic that girls who are white.

For some reason this doesn't surprise me. I have notice within the last few years that the Black women of Baltimore seem to fall on the far ends of the weight polls. In other words, the Black women are very slim or very heavy. There are not many who fall in between. I think some of this could be a result of trying to look like video girls but for the majority of sisters, their bulimia is a result of other problems. Child hood abuse, being a single mother, working numerous jobs, not feeling attractive are all possible reasons why the rate of bulima is much higher amongst black women.

16 comments:

Aishyo said...

i know i see rates rising here in the uk aswell

Secret Diary said...

Eating disorder does not discriminate.

Joanna Poppink said...

Thank you for raising awareness on this topic. Eating disorders have no boundaries in terms of gender, race or age.

I have been in practice working in the field of eating disorder recovery for over 25 years. My patients have been men and women, black, white, asian, middle eastern and south american.

Why, I wonder, do stereotypes and myths take on such power that the realisties some of us face daily are unknown?

Thank you again for helping to dispel some of the false impressions the public has about who can have an eating disorder.

BeautyinBaltimore said...

@black british girl- do tell more please.
@secret dairy- the belief was black women did not suffer from eating disorders.
@joanna popink- your welcome. I found this to be shocking because about ten years ago there was a study saying that black women had the strongest body image of any group of women. I think the number was 80% of black were proud of their body. So I wonder how or why things went downhill so fast?

Bombchell said...

eating disorders definitely don't care about your ethnicity or gender.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for bringing up this issue. It is a problem in the black community as well, but rarely talked about.

Unknown said...

this really is a huge issue, thanx 4 bringing it up...

Naija Doll said...

I agree with you guys, eating disorder does not discriminate, it's just more spoken about within the white community- the pressure to look a certain way affects different types of girls...

Jenell : BlakIzBeautyful said...

Stereotypes pray on those with the upper hand.

Blacks aren't known to be skinny, eventhough you can find Black thin men and women everywhere. But this stereotype that Blacks are fat stems from the belief that Black people live in ghettos and hoods and you can only find Fast Food restaurants on every corner, with no supermarket in sight.

What do Black people know about fresh produce and organic food. Do Black people even know what WholeFoods is?

This is the mindset of those with the upperhand. So our daily qualms go unnoticed. I'm addicted to working out because I'm afraid to be fat. I've gone to the extreme many many days where I thought I was going to pass out....

This was my first time visiting you and I opened up a whole lot. I'll make sure to come back. Check me out when you can.

Muze said...

hey where you beez? i'm going to follow you on twitterness. :)

SOLOMONSYDELLE said...

girl, come on back...

Anonymous said...

Wow...looking back on my high school years, I really wonder if my eating habits were or lack thereof were based on some subconscious fear of gaining weight...

awesome topic for discussion.

Tomi.theaspenshops.com said...

HI!!!
Im a follower of your blog and Id love for you to visit my site and blog! www.tomi.kateaspenshops.com We specialize in stylish favors for all of life's special occasions – wedding, bridal showers, baby showers, birthday and anniversary parties, Thanksgiving dinners.
Thank You!!!

Tomi.theaspenshops.com said...

Hi!!!
Im a follower of your blog and I would love for you to check out my website www.Tomi.theaspenshops.com
...We deliver stylish favors for all life's events!!!
Thank you!

Stella Kodi said...

Yep...eating disorder has nothing to do with blackness or whiteness...it's like having a flu only this time you choose to have it.

BMore...what's blogspot w/o you...lol

you shld do it more often

Cynthia said...

I agree. I still battle mine daily, I've had one since the 4th grade. I'm actually thinking of writing a book on what it is like to have one.