Body Image The African American Culture - 1667 Words

Body Image in the African American Culture Today we live in a society that over the years has become so obsessed with body image and how an individual should look. Different cultures have different standards and norms that help to define their ideal body image. African Americans because of their differences in culture have gone against most cultural norms and have set their own definitions of beauty, body image, and body satisfaction. Because of these key differences, the African American community is less likely to feel the pressures that come with body shaming that typically leads to many eating disorders. Through research of different studies, surveys, and interviews, we can begin to learn why African Americans have set their own set of standards and how they have decided to fit into todays society. Throughout many decades, African American women have been able to set their own standards of beauty. Lonnae Parker, a writer for The Washington Post, states in her article Black women heavier and happier with their bod ies than white women, poll finds, that â€Å"Freed from that high-powered media gaze, generations of black women have fashioned their own definitions of beauty with major assists from literature, music, and help from their friends† (Parker, 2012). The importance of this quote is that they were getting help from their culture, the music and literature is essentially the culture that helped them to define their own standards of beauty. By being isolatedShow MoreRelatedThe Influence Of Black Women In America1044 Words   |  5 Pagesstudies show African American women suffer from higher rates of being overweight or obese than Caucasian women. African American women are pressured by their culture to be self-accepting of their bodies that God gave them, and in their culture beauty is not only measured by weight, but by other personal features. 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