Racialized body dissatisfaction in Black women: development of the Black feminist model of body image

Abstract

Background

Body image has predominantly been examined among young White women. As a result, the guiding theories in this area of study are based on implicit assumptions that this population’s experience is normative. These assumptions include thinness as the ideal body type and the lack of consideration of body shape, skin tone, and hair texture in body image. As a result, research examining body image among Black women has been limited by using theoretical constructs that do not fully capture the lived experiences of this population. The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of the racialized beauty aesthetic in Black women’s body image.

Methods

Eight focus groups were conducted with 30 Black women aged 18–29 with a Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 25-kg/m². Focus groups used a semi-structured interview guide to assess race, beauty ideals, pressures to meet the beauty ideals, and the social costs and benefits of obtaining the ideals. We used a constructivist grounded theory approach to develop a conceptual model. This method's steps include initial, focused, and theoretical coding.

Results

Results indicated that the standardization of Eurocentric beauty standards resulted in the stigmatization and devaluation of Black women based on appearance. Participants described being stigmatized on the basis of their appearance and feeling devalued due to the prevalence of negative stereotypes about Black women’s appearance and behavior. Experiences of gendered racism resulted in racialized body dissatisfaction. Participants coped with these experiences by engaging in shifting behaviors to reduce the appearance of stigmatizing marks or by rejecting normative Whiteness. Both coping methods came with costs and benefits; participants expressed that they felt they were in a no-win situation, which had adverse health consequences. These findings resulted in the development of the Black Feminist Model of Body Image.

Conclusions

Consideration of Black women’s body image in the context of their intersectional marginalized identities highlights how Eurocentric beauty standards are used to perpetuate the stigmatization of Black women. This work implies that efforts to improve the health of Black women must seriously consider the role of body image and racialized body dissatisfaction on their mental and physical health.

Plain English summary

Body image has mainly been studied in young White women, and body dissatisfaction has been understood as the lack of meeting the beauty ideal of being thin. However, this definition of body dissatisfaction did not capture Black women’s experiences. In this study, we conducted 8 focus groups with thirty Black women to explore how their racial identity influenced their body image. We found that Black women were often criticized and mistreated due to physical appearance attributes such as hair texture, skin tone, and body shape. As a result, some took actions to modify their appearance to blend in better with White women, which helped them in work and school environments but led to them feeling like they were not being authentic. Others chose to embrace their appearance differences but were at a disadvantage in predominantly White environments. All the participants reported that having to navigate these issues on a daily basis had a negative influence on their mental and physical health.

Background

The feminine beauty ideal in the United States has historically been defined by Eurocentric characteristics and values such as pale skin, long straight hair, and thinness [15, 46, 53, 54]. This standard has inherently excluded Black women and other women of color due to physical characteristics such as melanated skin [3, 37], textured hair [50, 70, 75], and curvaceous body shapes [12, 41, 69]. These attributes separate or “mark” Black women as different from their White counterparts and set the scene for stereotyping and stigma to occur [35, 63, 78]. Thus, for Black women, stigma is inextricably woven into body image.

Although absent from much of the body image literature, the othering of Black women due to their physical appearance has been explored in theories of intersectionality [21, 24, 71], based on the work of Black feminist scholars. Black Feminist thought is a critical social theory that describes Black women’s experiences in the context of social structures that marginalize Black women based on their race, sex, and socioeconomic class [22]. According to Collins, the objectification of Black women as “the other” has been a source of continued oppression and is maintained through so-called controlling images or stereotypical representations of Black women that purport to explain their function in society. These controlling images were developed out of the extremely limited roles Black women were relegated to during enslavement and evolved to reflect modern adaptations while maintaining their oppressive functions. Notably, the controlling images include not only behavioral traits but also defining physical characteristics that capture intersectional stigma based on race, weight, class, and gender.

Specifically, the controlling images defined by Collins describe the stereotypical ways Black women are represented in American culture (1990). The “mammy” is the ultimate domestic servant and caretaker, a large, dark-skinned, asexual woman who traditionally cared for White children first and foremost. This image is juxtaposed with that of the sexually promiscuous and aggressive “jezebel.” The jezebel image was used to justify the sexual assault of enslaved Africans by White slaveholders, shifting blame onto the women themselves by characterizing them as sexual aggressors. According to Collins, this image is maintained in the modern era with images of the “hoochie,” perpetuated through mediums such as music videos in which Black girls and women dress in sexually explicit attire and are portrayed as aggressive sex objects. A third controlling image is that of the “matriarch,” a large, intimidating woman who emasculates men with her strength and essentially takes the role in the family that a Black man “should” have. In contrast to the matriarch who is continually working to support her family, the “welfare mother” is a poor, lazy, unwed Black woman who drains resources from the community and is to blame for her own poverty.

Another image, which has elements from many of Collins’ foundational controlling images but has taken on a somewhat different function, is that of the Strong Black Woman [7]. She is resilient, takes care of everyone around her (except herself), and can endure anything that life sends her without outside support and without allowing anyone around her to perceive her suffering [1]. Although there are positive aspects to the Strong Black Woman, such as her confidence, racial pride, and ability to persevere in the face of adversity, there is a looming expectation of self-reliance, any deviation from this very high standard is viewed as a weakness [2, 7]. A substantial body of research connects the Strong Black Woman schema, as well as that of other controlling images, to numerous mental and physical health concerns [29, 94]. Although few studies have examined the role of the controlling images in eating behaviors, one found that for Black female trauma survivors, stronger identification with the Strong Black Woman schema mediated the relationship between trauma and binge eating behaviors [36].

Overall, these controlling images portray Black women as either inferior or endowed with inhuman strength; neither extreme depicts Black women as possessing femininity or beauty. The construction and maintenance of these stereotypes serve a key function in othering and devaluing Black women, and physical appearance is an important aspect of each.

Despite the existence of this key framework for examining the role of stigma in body dissatisfaction, body image literature has not incorporated Black Feminist thought, and has centered the experiences of White women [63, 92]. Black women continue to be underrepresented in body image research [63, 76], perpetuating the long-held belief that Black women are inoculated from body image concerns and their detrimental effects on mental and physical health [12, 23, 55, 91]. However, more recent critical examinations and mixed methods approaches have brought attention to other (often unmeasured) relevant constructs critical to understanding Black women’s body dissatisfaction, including racialized aspects of appearance such as hair texture and length [5, 70, 84], skin tone [3, 44], facial features [13] and body ideals other than thinness [12, 69]. Although these more nuanced studies confirm the presence of body dissatisfaction among Black women, the role of intersectional stigma and the far-reaching implications of Black women’s exclusion from the Eurocentric beauty ideal remains to be meaningfully integrated into the study of body image. One challenge to integrating this key construct is that empirical research is guided by theory, and the prominent theories in this area, such as social comparison theory, objectification theory, and the tripartite model of influence, have limited applicability to Black women’s lived experiences [30, 31, 85, 86].

For example, social comparison theory posits that there is a human drive to evaluate oneself, and in situations in which there is no objective standard for comparison, individuals compare themselves to similar others [30]. However, findings from the limited research examining the role of race and ethnicity in the social comparison process are often conflicting. For example, several studies have found that Black women do not engage in comparison processes when the target is not Black [19, 32]. On the other hand, Thompson [84] reports that Black women are not immune from comparison to the mainstream beauty ideal of long flowing hair because of its salience to femininity.

A second prominent conceptualization of body image, objectification theory, posits that women are subject to the continuous sexual objectification of their bodies by others, which leads to self-objectification and, ultimately, surveillance of the body [31]. Self-surveillance, in turn, is associated with body shame, which increases the risk of disordered eating behavior [11]. A recent study evaluated the applicability of objectification theory to Black women [26]. These investigators identified support for the core components of this theory in their sample of Black women, but contrary to the authors’ hypothesis, ethnic and racial identity did not moderate any of the observed associations [26]. Although ethnic and racial identity were assessed in this study, participants’ experiences of stigma or discrimination that might be relevant to body shame and surveillance were not measured. Without consideration of these variables critical to Black women’s lived experiences [51, 61], a theory of body image in this population is inherently incomplete.

A third prominent body image theory, the tripartite influence model, is also potentially problematic when applied to Black women as it centers internalization of the thin ideal in its conceptualization of body image [85, 86]. For many Black women, the thin ideal is less relevant than the curvy or hourglass ideal [3, 42]. Thus, if these alternate ideals are not incorporated into the conceptualization of body image, and the thin ideal is not endorsed, one might erroneously conclude that Black women are not dissatisfied with their bodies when, in fact, they might not desire thinness, but are nonetheless discontented with their shape or weight. Recent studies suggest that these alternate beauty standards, including the curvy or hourglass [38] and fit ideals [88], negatively impact Black women. For example, in a qualitative study, Black women described the impossibility of meeting both the thin and curvy ideals as “crushing” to their self-esteem [81]. Because of these limitations to the existing theories in body image, the incorporation of Black Feminist thought into a theory of body image for Black women is not only merited but essential.

Summary and purpose of the current study

Stigma is made possible by identifying marks that separate some individuals from others in society [35]. Black women are marked by their skin tone, hair texture, and body shape and size. Beauty ideals are racialized and include Eurocentric characteristics such as fair skin, long straight hair, and thinness [15, 46, 53, 54]. Black women are thus othered and stigmatized for their lack of these characteristics. Moreover, negative stereotypes of Black women reinforce their otherness and justify the devaluing of the physical attributes they possess [22, 35, 37, 63]. Extant theories of body image lack information about the aspects of appearance that are most relevant to stigma and stereotypes (i.e., skin tone, hair texture, body shape) among Black women. Thus, the current study used a constructivist grounded theory approach [16, 17] to develop a conceptual model of Black women’s body image. Specifically, this study’s first aim is to examine Black women’s beauty ideals (i.e., ideal weight, body shape, hair texture, skin tone) and the sources of these beliefs. Aim two examines the degree to which Black women experience societal pressure to obtain the beauty ideals and their perceptions of the costs and benefits of pursuing them. The third and final aim explores how navigating these ideals influences Black women’s mental and physical health.

Methods

Participants

Participants were Black women aged 18–29 divided into two groups: undergraduate students enrolled at a public university in the Southeastern United States (i.e., University Group) and individuals from the surrounding community (i.e., Community Group). The decision to conduct these groups separately was based on the recommendation that focus groups with more demographically homogenous participants tend to have higher levels of cohesion and discussion [56]. University women were recruited from Black student organizations (e.g., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, and the Black Student Union) via recruitment flyers and electronic announcements. Community women were recruited via flyers posted and distributed at local community organizations, hair salons that primarily serve Black women, and Black-owned restaurants and cafes.

Snowball recruitment strategies, in which women are asked to recruit other women in their social circles, facilitated recruitment in both groups by providing participants with the recruitment email and flyers upon completion of focus group participation. Eligible participants self-identified as: (1) female; (2) Black or African American; (3) and had body mass index (BMI)s ≥ 25-kg/m². The authors would like to acknowledge the racist and troubled history embedded in the development and usage of the construct of BMI, particularly as it relates to Black women, who are the focus of this study [6, 9, 68, 82]. Although we recognize the significant problems inherent with the construct of BMI, we included it as an eligibility criterion for three reasons. The first was guided by best practices in conducting focus groups, which recommend maintaining homogeneity within the group on the factors most related to the focus group questions [56] in our case, the topic of body image. In addition, the authors’ previous experience conducting focus groups about body image with Black women across the weight spectrum highlighted important differences in the experiences of stigma and the nature of body image concerns reported by Black women living in larger bodies [81]. Secondly, women in our previous work reported feeling more comfortable speaking about body image, eating, and weight in a group of women with similar body sizes [81]. Lastly, one of the original research questions for the study in which these data were collected was to examine the role of body image in Black women’s enrollment in interventions to improve dietary quality and increase physical activity, thus we wanted the sample to reflect individuals who would be eligible for weight management interventions based on current insurance criteria [47].

Potential participants were pre-screened for eligibility via a brief web-based survey assessing age, race, ethnicity, height, and weight; 56 women completed this initial eligibility screener; 13 were deemed ineligible due to BMI < 25 kg/m². The full questionnaire battery was completed by 37 participants; 30 attended the focus groups (n = 15 University, n = 15 Community).

Participants ranged from 19 to 29 years of age (mean = 23.10, SD = 3.14). Participants were asked to identify all racial categories and ethnic designations that applied to them. All participants self-identified as Black (N = 30); 13.3% also identified as multiracial (n = 4) and 6.7% identified as having Hispanic ethnicity (n = 2). Most participants identified as heterosexual and 10% (n = 3) identified as bisexual.

Measures

Demographic questionnaire

Participants reported their age, sex, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, marital status, education, employment status, and income. Undergraduates also indicated their year in school.

Focus group guide

Focus group questions were organized into four domains: (1) beauty standards defined, (2) pressure to obtain beauty standards, (3) the relation between beauty standards, eating, and physical activity behaviors, and (4) the relation between body image and interest in lifestyle interventions. Before conducting focus groups, questions were reviewed by a group of four Black women (three graduate students and one health care professional) with expertise in African American studies and/or obesity and overweight, and subsequently vetted by six psychology faculty with expertise in body image, eating disorders, qualitative research, and Black women’s health.

Procedure

Interested participants contacted the first author via email and were sent a link to the demographic questionnaire or accessed the survey link directly (i.e., via electronic recruitment materials). After providing electronic consent, participants were directed to the screening survey. Upon survey completion, participants received an automated message indicating they would be notified of eligibility status within five business days. Eligible individuals were emailed another link with a password to connect their demographic data to their study data. If they did not complete the full survey data within 7 days, they were prompted with up to two reminders. Once questionnaires were completed, participants were paid electronically with a $5 Amazon gift card and invited to participate in a focus group. Participants were invited into focus groups on a rolling basis and scheduled based on their availability.

Focus groups

The university’s Internal Review Board approved all focus group procedures. Informed consent, confidentiality, and study purpose were described at the beginning of each group. A total of eight focus groups were conducted (four community, four university); each group included three to six women. Focus groups with community women took place in a community location. Focus groups with university women were conducted on the university’s campus. Each group met for ~ 90 min and was co-led by the first author and a secondary process observer, (one of two graduate students trained in qualitative research methods and identified as Black). Groups were audio recorded; audio only was captured to protect participant confidentiality and minimize the influence of the research process.

Upon arrival to the focus groups, each participant was given a paper copy of the informed consent procedures and paid $15 in cash. Informed consent was reviewed, and participant questions and concerns were addressed. Group guidelines regarding confidentiality, safety, and sharing of space were discussed, and participants were asked to provide a pseudonym, which they used for the duration of the group. A semi-structured interview guide was used with each group. The same questions were asked in each group; however, the semi-structured format allowed the facilitator to ask follow-up questions and request clarifications from group participants as needed. After each group, the facilitators invited participants to ask any remaining questions and encouraged them to inform other women about the study.

Research Team. Qualitative analysis involves a series of decisions that situate the data collection and analysis process. As noted by Creswell and Poth [25], it is important to first acknowledge the researcher as a “multicultural subject,” with a particular history and research tradition that informs her beliefs and point of view. The first author is a Black woman and at the time of data collection and interpretation, she was enrolled in a doctoral program at a large, predominantly White institution in the Southeastern U.S. Each focus group was co-facilitated by a Black, female process observer (graduate student with considerable training in qualitative research). In addition to the primary researcher and one of the process observers, the coding team included one South Asian (Indian) woman and one White woman. All coders had extensive backgrounds in qualitative data collection and analysis as well as body image and eating behavior research and/or Black and African American studies research.

Reflexivity Statement. As a Black woman engaged in research about Black women, the first author acknowledges her positionality as both an insider and outsider to the community of women with whom the research was conducted. She used several strategies recommended in the literature to ensure the rigor of the data collection and the integrity of the data and analytic process [62]. These included the creation and maintenance of an audit trail, which served as a map of decision points and processes, and the inclusion of a Black woman other than the first author, who also served as the primary process observer in the focus groups. Lastly, upon the conclusion of each focus group, the primary researcher and process observer engaged in post-processing and discussed observations and reflections about group processes, including how each compared with previous groups.

Data analyses

A social constructivist approach to grounded theory provided the philosophical assumptions, interpretive frameworks, and research strategies for this study [16]. The objective of grounded theory approaches is to generate a theory or model that allows for accurate interpretations and predictions, as opposed to attempting to force data into preexisting theories that might not adequately describe a given phenomenon [34]. To the authors’ knowledge, no existing theory or model of body image accurately describes the experiences of Black women; thus, a grounded theory approach was merited. Charmaz [16] offers guidance on a social constructivist approach to grounded theory, in which the researcher acknowledges that her very presence generates a new and different reality than the one that exists naturalistically. Charmaz’s method of constructivist grounded theory was selected for use in the current study because it is a flexible approach that can facilitate appropriate adaptations in the data collection and analysis processes (2000, 2005). The major procedural components of constructivist grounded theory include initial, focused, and theoretical coding [16, 17, 73].

Coding procedure

Throughout the data analysis process, an audit trail was used to document thinking processes, activities, and decisions about data analysis [62]. As focus groups were completed, interviews were transcribed by two trained research assistants based on guidelines developed by the first author. Transcribers included non-verbal information in brackets (e.g., whole group expressed agreement, hesitations, laughter, or emphasis). The first author verified transcripts against the audio recordings to check for accuracy. After six groups (three community and three university) were completed, the research team felt that saturation had been reached (i.e., no new themes seemed to arise). Two additional groups were conducted (one community, one university) to confirm this perspective. Codes are the smallest unit of analysis within the data and are later subsumed into a small number of themes that broadly describe patterns across all of the data [8, 62].

Coding was an iterative process that began with immersion into the data (transcripts) and memo writing to keep track of overall impressions of the data, commonalities, and differences across groups. Transcripts and the coding protocol were distributed to the research team. In the initial round of coding, coders developed their own codes based on their impressions of the data. The first author created an initial codebook based on the independent observations of each coded transcript. The codebook included a description of each code which defined its boundaries and provided an example from the study data [62]. The initial codebook was distributed to the team, and they were asked to provide feedback, which the first author used to make adaptations.

In round two of coding, the team used the adapted codebook to code one common transcript. Following the coding process, the team met to discuss and resolve discrepancies. The first author used feedback from this meeting to develop the third and final iteration of the codebook. In the final round, the coding team independently coded the transcripts using the updated codebook and then all data (transcripts, codebook, and coded data) were entered into NVivo software for further analysis. Intercoder agreement was established by calculating a kappa reliability statistic, with the goal of at least 80% agreement [62]. Mean κ across codes was 0.9. At this point, the primary researcher engaged in theoretical coding and began development of the theoretical model.

Results

The conceptual model depicted in Fig. 1 represents the outcome of the constructivist grounded theory approach we used to examine Black women’s body image. The Black Feminist Model of Body Image is informed by extant theories and models and the experiences of focus group participants. These experiences are detailed in the following sections with the use of quotes. Quotes are labeled as follows: Community Group (CG) and group number (1–4) or University Group (UG) and group number (1–4).

Fig. 1

Black feminist model of body image. Socializing agents: institutional/media/interpersonal

The element of the model termed, “socializing agents” refers to the actors in society who most shaped participants’ social realities and influenced their beliefs about beauty standards for Black women. Socializing agents identified included: Institutional, Media, and Interpersonal Influences (Potential partners and men, Peers, and Families).

Institutional

The institutional level is the broadest environmental setting in which participants reported experiencing critical appearance feedback, which contributed to body image dissatisfaction. It includes institutions such as schools, places of employment, and more generally, entire areas of cities or towns affected broadly by segregation. In all eight focus groups, women shared stories about how society creates an environment in which they are devalued, made to feel unsafe or unwanted, fetishized, and/or covertly and overtly discriminated against. At the broadest level, women expressed apprehension about simply leaving their homes and noted the pressure of being judged on their appearance in the public domain as a contributor to body image concerns.

Their apprehension about leaving the house is captured in part by their frustration at the necessity for laws focused specifically on attributes such as hair.

Why is it that New York state literally just had to ban people from being able to discriminate against people for hairstyles? ‘People’ being BLACK people. Because that's the only group of people who were getting discriminated against off their hair. – CG 1

Participants’ reports of their individual experiences also highlight “de facto legislation” of Black women’s appearance.

I remember like working and wearing my hair down to work one time…then the next day, a company-wide email like went out like you cannot have your hair extend more than three inches from your head and obviously, I’m the only person there whose hair can possibly do that, yeah. - CG 1

School environments also frequently were highlighted as having policies that disproportionately affected Black women and girls due to their physical characteristics such as hair and body shape.

I remember when my sister …used to have to wear a uniform and the uniform was like a button down…but she had a D cup in fricken’ third grade. My mom started buying her the boys’ shirts because the slit wasn’t as low down, but then it was ugly…and it didn’t fit correctly. Like damn now she got to be ugly every day! And it wasn’t fair… - CG 3

Media

Another set of socializing agents that reinforced participants’ experiences of devaluation were mass media and social media.

Mass Media. Participants reported that television (i.e., programs, advertisements, and music videos), played a formative role in socializing them about appearance expectations for Black women.

…the Black kids on there [TV] would be light skinned with perfect hair, or it's like…everyone is light skinned with a big butt…– UG 1

Similarly, marketing campaigns shaped the idea that only a narrow range of beauty is acceptable.

…like even companies that start branching out and start making more makeup for like women of color, a lot of the time they cater to women who are my color. There will be like seven different shades of light of skin, but like three shades of chocolate. So, it’s like, the word ‘[beauty] standard’ sort of makes me think like, what does society say is the most common, or even most desirable and let’s cater to that. - CG 3

Social Media. Participants reported that social media functioned as critical socialization sources. Interestingly, social media both reinforced unobtainable beauty standards and provided a much broader spectrum of beauty ideals, with the added flexibility of user-curated “feeds” that could be tailored. Thus, social media platforms are complex because they function in different ways simultaneously.

Reinforces the unobtainable ideal:

I think social media standards is [sic] like long hair, tiny waist, big butt, big boobs, mm that’s pretty much it…and lighter skin – UG 4

Provides alternatives to the Eurocentric beauty ideal:

Even like Jackie Aina [social media influencer with dark skin tone]…a lot of what we’re talking about in the redefining of those standards of beauty for those women of color really does come from social media and us being able to have a voice. Rather than back in the 90’s or early 2000’s where like, whatever mass media decided for us to see is what we saw…I’m a darker skinned woman. I’m going to follow a darker skinned woman with makeup. So you are able to pick and choose and say, ‘I want to reaffirm myself by looking at myself.’ - CG 3

Models a variety of mechanisms for shape and weight alteration, and sometimes serves the dual role of advertising specific products (e.g,. flat tummy tea):

It’s false advertising, you see these Instagram models with their Flat Tummy Tea but they also have flat tummy liposuction; they had injections; they have money; they have all this different stuff to make their bodies look like that. That tea is probably not doing all of that for you. - UG 3

Interpersonal influences

Participants identified potential romantic partners and men, peers, and family as key influencers of their perceptions of themselves, and their understanding of body image.

Potential Partners and Men. Romantic partners were identified as significant socializers for participants. Although these were frequently identified as Black men, two important facts should be noted. First, not all participants identified as heterosexual, (see descriptives), and second, participants sometimes referenced men in general or White men specifically.

With potential romantic partners, beauty ideals seemed to create self-doubt:

It's also looking at what the people who you are attracted to are interested in…I know my boyfriend, I'm almost six feet tall and shaped kind of like an A-line, but I know that my boyfriend likes five foot four or five foot five women with big butts, small hips, that's his thing. And so, when we first got together, there was a lot of insecurity... I think it’s a thing that Black women have to deal with all the time, Am I desirable? Am I what you really want?….- CG 1

Similarly, spouses were a source of appearance pressure:

My mom’s main goal in life was to please [my dad];…whenever he would come home from deployment, there was this quick, ‘I got to be skinny. I got to make myself go to the gym, and like, I got to get my hair done, and…I got to pick out an outfit to pick him up from the airport in.’- CG 3

Lastly, men were often described as sexually objectifying women:

Or like me when I do wear something and don’t think about it, and…now I’m getting cat-called, and I’m like…’fuck… I shouldn’t have worn these pants.-UG 3

Peers. Participants also identified peers as important appearance socializers. Like other socializing agents, peers had the potential to exert both supportive and critical influences. Still, the vast majority of what was reported by women was coded as critical.

Yes, and our peers at school. Like you notice different ways they would interact with you because you're Black, or because your hair is different. It reinforces the idea that I need to do my hair this way. If my mom says that I need to, and then they react to it this way then, yes, that's what I need to be doing.- UG 1

Sometimes experiences of criticism from other women were cited as a source of growth, or as a catalyst for the development of resilience:

Because I feel like there’s pressure like from other girls to sometimes, like undergrad it was like, ‘You got to wear something cuter’ and I was like ‘No girl, I’m going to wear whatever I put on…’Yeah, I feel like it really taught me how to be so unapologetic.- CG 3

Interestingly, in all eight groups, women offered in vivo support to one another as they heard others describe the challenges they faced with their body image.

Participant A: Because like me, I did a big chop {Yasssss…loud cheers and clapping from other women} because my hair was so annoying, and like the stage right now, this twa [teeny weeny afro], it’s like kind of hard but I’m trying to reach my own standard, and my standard is a beautiful, Black woman who’s happy with her natural hair.

Participant C: You look good sis! -UG 2

Families. Similar to other socializing agents, families provided both supportive and critical influences. Families also exerted pressure, typically related to the belief that physical appearance could negatively influence how one would be perceived by others in the community, which, in turn, could reflect poorly on the entire family.

…maybe what your parents grew up with, and that’s what they’re carrying on. Like just worried about what people will think. So like, if your child’s bigger than everybody else, like what are you not doing for your child? – UG 4

Umm, just growing up, if your hair wasn’t hot combed every Sunday it was unkempt, and you were an unkempt child…you weren’t raised with dignity and respect and morals if your hair wasn’t hot combed. You weren’t shown attention if your hair isn’t done in general- UG 4

I went to go see my aunt and they’re like, ‘Oh my god all that hair why’d you cut your hair?’ …‘Oh, now you’re going to be ugly! How are you going to get a man? Who’s going to want you?’ - CG 3

Participants less frequently reported receiving appearance support from family, however when they did, it was described as being very influential:

And also having parents that are comfortable with who they are, my mom was very, very dark-skinned and she loved her skin. She told us every day that there’s no reason why you shouldn’t love your skin…So it just you know seeing that and hearing her love her skin, you know made me love my skin also.- CG 3

In sum, socializing agents operated at the interpersonal and the systematic levels, and messages about beauty ideals were communicated via social and mass media. After categorizing the primary ways that messages were communicated, participants described the effect this information had on their lives.

Gendered racism and racism related stress

Participants reported numerous ways in which they experienced stigma in the form of gendered racism. They noted that these experiences most frequently occurred at work or in other professional environments.

So, like one of the things that I feel like coming into the professional world that I was self-conscious about was the way that I dress. I felt like I couldn’t wear tight stuff because I didn’t want anything to extenuate [sic] my butt…, and we saw with that teacher who went viral. People acted like she walked up in there with a thong like, and she was dressed normal. We’re always objectified… like even in pants…Was she supposed to leave her booty at home…?! - CG 3

Yes! Because it seems like for Black women to be considered professional you have to have a flat iron. And … it takes me 3 hours, and that’s just the flat iron part, that’s not even the blow out, the washing…I’m not doin’ that every day. - CG 4

Hair was the most common focus of these micro and macro aggressions, and hair-related incidents were described in every focus group.

I’ve also seen and experienced people in a work setting, and they would somehow question your ability to do work based on your hair. So, I had these extensions in…and I didn’t have time to twist it. So, the hair was just out, and it was huge, and I went to work like that. They were like, ‘How are you going to be able to work with patients if you can’t put your hair in a scrub cap?’ I was like, ‘I can just put on two scrub caps or whatever.’ Not to mention, some of the attendings don’t wear the surgical caps and they do a great job. You can do your job. - CG 1

I change my hair up all year long braids… everything. I’ve had a lot of [White] coworkers that were like, ‘Why are you changing your hair so much? I can’t even recognize you!’- CG 3

Have you guys ever had of someone of a different race just come up to you and touch your hair? I've experienced that myself. I was at the doctor's and the nurse just went up to me and started touching my hair and telling me-- She was like, ‘I love your hair’…It was a weird experience. - UG 1

Racialized body dissatisfaction

Participants also described multiple experiences of racism related stress which resulted in racialized body dissatisfaction.

It is a huge source of stress! Because… I am like kind of hourglassy; like I still have that stomach that you guys were talking about…but I still have a relatively thin waist. …I can’t even like dress how I want to dress sometimes when I want to go out because it’s like I don’t want people touching me… I just don’t--- I’ve been through too much to where I don’t even want the stress of like drawing attention to myself, or like wearing yoga pants. I’m stressed out and have a bad day and want to be comfortable, but I don’t want to be walking trying to get to class and having three cars honk at me while I’m waiting to cross the street.- UG 3

I feel like sometimes with hair there is no winning. Like if I go back to my parents' house, and my natural hair is out, she goes like, ‘You need to get your hair done.’ And if I'm at work I would change my hair every couple of weeks… and I work with all White people. And every time it's like, ‘Oh I liked your hair better when it was straight,’ or trying to touch my hair because I change it all the time….So I feel like sometimes there is no winning if it's straightened… or if it's curly… or it's whatever.- CG 1

Shifting behaviors

One way participants coped with experiences of racialized body dissatisfaction was to engage in shifting behaviors, which involved attempts to modify the body to accommodate appearance pressures. Appearance modifications were typically made in the service of harm reduction. Participants described these modifications as a way to reduce their exposure to appearance-related stigma.

Yeah, so it’s like you, if you are a Black woman and kind of like beside them [White women], you should look kind of like them. You’re kind of like a face of something... you should be more conforming. Especially, if you’re like a minority in there. - CG 2

I feel like hair is politicized because you’re a minority. If you’re entering a White space at your job, school, what have you, if you have your hair in a fro’ or locs or you know, not straight, they come up with certain assumptions about who you are, and sometimes that’s associated with radicalism or rebellion or starting problems. Then they may reconsider, do I want to hire this person or admit this person to this place if they’re going to shake up the status quo of what our culture is? That’s a big cost, which is why…. not that I’m neglecting my Blackness, but I’m going to be who I am once I pull the wool over your eyes. That’s what an interview is. It’s like I’m myself, but I’m a toned-down version of myself. If I get the job I’m going to turn up! Exactly, and you can’t fire me because then I’ll go to HR.- CG 3

In addition to appearance concerns, participants reported modifying their behavior to minimize potential discrimination and avoid stigmatization.

Like that was something I was intentional about for a while, because I didn’t…want to be seen as that angry Black woman, or like the aggressor, or fitting into that stereotype. But then… that affects your ability to be heard in most places because you’re trying to like fit into this little box. Meanwhile, the idea that John and Mary said, you thought of 2 min ago. But you just didn’t want to seem like you were inserting yourself into the conversation… because you don’t want to dominate the conversation. - CG 2

Social benefits

Participants reported that engaging in shifting behaviors facilitated acceptance by White peers and colleagues. Importantly, the underlying goal was described as avoidance of stigmatization, and efforts to achieve Eurocentric ideals were articulated as strategic decisions, which generated mixed emotional responses from participants.

I straighten my hair and I notice people move out the way for me on the sidewalk or they hold the door open and I’m like, it’s literally,…only this one thing has changed. So, it’s more... the proximity to Whiteness that now makes me have some type of respectability. – UG 2

I wear wigs because I just get nervous about perception, because I don’t know what they’re going to think about my [natural] hair. So, I throw on a wig, so I don’t have to think. I feel like straightening is damaging…but then I’m conforming. It’s a complex situation. -CG 3

Although shifting offered benefits, participants described frustration resulting from a lack of freedom to make decisions based solely on their style preferences and distress that shifting was performative.

My hairstylist is always suggesting like really cool ideas. My first thing that comes out of my mouth is, ‘I cannot. People will think I’m ghetto.’ I have two degrees and I do a lot of work within the community and I’m like, I don’t want to knock on nobody’s door and the first thing they see is this big ole hair and it’s purple and blues and green which I love, absolutely adore. Like Instagram-wise I am always liking pictures like that, but when it comes to me, she’s like, ‘Why don’t we do it?’ I’m like, ‘Because I don’t want anybody at my work to judge me for it.’ Which is a horrible reason, but it’s very true. - CG 1

Rejection of normative whiteness

Another response pattern described to cope with experiences of gendered racism and racialized body dissatisfaction was a rejection of normative Whiteness. Participants reported choosing to display certain characteristics, such as their natural hair texture, as acts of resistance that they employed to combat appearance standards directly. Before using these strategies, they carefully weighed the costs and benefits.

I don’t want to have to be... be White at work… because I’m not… I shouldn’t have to be. I should not have to hide anything about me, and so my perspective is like, I’m not going to. Like other professional things…I’ll put on a blazer. I’ll put on a pencil skirt or whatever…but my hair grows out of my head like this, and I’m not changing it. Braids are a part of my culture. I’m not, under no circumstances am I going to take them out. - CG 3

I feel like I’ve been a lot of places where they praise Black people and they want them to come and get involved in STEM. But in actuality, you’re never going to be around that…Like you’re not going to see yourself. So that’s just reality... So, when I get to show off my hair, I definitely do. I went to a career fair. I had my afro out….It makes me stand out and I like that. So, I see it as a good thing. It can be a bad thing… Like, like I’m not a zoo animal… You know, just talk to me as a human. At the same time, I don’t know. I like the fact it sets me apart …and I admire that about myself. - UG 2

Participants also expressed a global appreciation for the appearance of Black women, which seemed to serve  a protective function against the intense scrutiny they often encountered due to their physical attributes. 

What I would say is this: I think Black women have the single most unique DNA, and that everybody in this room looks completely and totally different. It’s how we express ourselves too. Everybody, and some of their different hairstyles, and everyone looks different, and we all exist. I don't think that there is another race that can be as expressive as we can. - CG 1

Social costs

Although participants reported that resisting pressure to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards helped to affirm their appreciation for the beauty of Black women, they also expressed fears about the influence of these decisions.

I'm not sure if affluent people will be there, so I'm just going to dress to meet their expectations just in case… that's the only time I like ever contour my face with my makeup to try to make my nose look a little bit smaller. I do my hair, and all that different stuff, or really invest in that kind of stuff, is when I feel like there is that expectation and there may be some cost like social exclusion or something like that. - CG 1

In front of other people, or even when I present to people as a business owner, I have to be cautious. So, like, if I'm online and I'm cooking, I'm like, ‘This is how much butter that I usually use.’ I'm presenting myself as I'm Black… but I'm not fish fry Black. I'm not like plates on a Sunday after church Black. I constantly have to fight that... like changing the narrative of what a plus size Black woman looks like, right? …I have to worry about what I eat in certain social situations. Even company lunches and stuff. I have to be very careful…to not repeat the narrative that I like fall in line with how people perceive a plus-sized Black woman to look. - CG 1

Negative mental and physical health

In all eight groups, participants expressed how experiencing and coping with appearance-related stigmatization influenced well-being. They described how these pressures resulted in feelings of worthlessness. In turn, they reported engaging in health-compromising behaviors to reduce these negative effects.

It’s just different. It’s just different for Black women and White women. …White women can walk up to a Black man. It’s just like they’re getting to pick and choose…and like Black women...I feel like we’re some of the most unloved, disrespected creatures in the world. - UG 2

You get no love. It’s like we got to change ourselves to get love from who we’re trying to get love from. We deserve love too. It’s like, what we got to do to get it? …We try to change our hair and our body type and all this stuff… because when I got to college and I didn’t have natural hair…I still had relaxers in my hair…Yeah, and then I went natural. Well, I was trying too hard. You just told me to do it. I did it… It still wasn’t good enough. So I started…to hit the gym more. I gained a lot of weight and it didn’t bother me because now I went up a [bra] cup size. I was like hazah! But then it wasn’t okay because then I was fat. So, then I started to hit the gym to try to lose weight but I couldn’t lose what I gained in my chest. Couldn’t do that. No, I had to lose it in my stomach. But I was like, how…? - UG 2

As a Black woman, you can never be too anything…too tall or too short, too fat or too small. Black women ride this very fine line where in order to be considered beautiful, you have to be smack in the middle of every beauty standard that there is and that makes it very hard to live... - CG 1

Discussion

The Eurocentric beauty ideal is considered normative and defined by White women; thus, Black women are stigmatized based on appearance characteristics that differentiate them from White women, such as hair texture and skin tone [13, 43, 53]. To explore the influence of these experiences on Black women’s body image and health, we conducted eight focus groups with emerging adults (ages 18–29, four community, four university, N = 30). Data were analyzed using a social constructivist grounded theory approach [16, 17]. The Black Feminist Model of Body Image (see Fig. 1) was developed based on these data. The following sections highlight the prominent aspects of the Black Feminist Model of Body Image and place them in the context of the extant literature.

Socializing agents of gendered racism

Participants in our study reported encountering appearance-based stigma from a variety of individuals, institutions, and in a multitude of settings. Although numerous settings were described, they reported the most frequent experiences of stigma in places of employment. Participants’ experiences in professional settings represented two seemingly paradoxical ends of one continuum. On the one hand, women reported feeling completely ignored, overlooked or denied credit for their work. On the other hand, they experienced scrutiny and tokenization as exemplars of all Black women; thus, they were both invisible and hypervisible, a phenomenon noted in prior research [40, 65, 66]. These findings add to a growing literature demonstrating that Black women are subject to a unique set of challenges specific to their intersectional identities (i.e., Black and female) [51, 61]. Stigma in the workplace is likely due in part to the numerical underrepresentation of Black women in high-status jobs, which increases the likelihood that they will be a numerical “token” in professional settings [28, 52]. This tokenization leads Black women to feel that the work they do reflects on all Black women, adding to the immense pressure they already experience [28]. Moreover, the workplace is a setting in which both institutional (i.e., institutionalized racism) and interpersonal (i.e., gendered racial microaggressions) factors converge, adding to the potential for stigmatization [80].

A recent study comparing the experiences of Asian, Black, and White women in work environments highlights some aspects of this setting that might be unique to Black women [77]. Specifically, Black women were most likely to be perceived as incompetent and being suitable only for the lowest-status jobs. Black women in the study were also more likely to experience a greater wage penalty than White and Asian women. They also found that Black women were perceived as more masculine than women of other races and ethnicities. Consequently, they were considered less fit for female-dominated jobs. Moreover, when Black women were hired into traditionally female jobs (e.g., nursing or administrative positions), they faced a wage penalty. In addition, Rosette and colleagues reported that Black women experienced a unique social exclusion: they could not leverage any part of their identity to connect with the dominant group (i.e., White men). Unlike Black men, they could not gain entry through their maleness, and unlike White women, they could not benefit from Whiteness. Lastly, the authors found that the strategies that have often been recommended to White women to break the glass ceiling, such as “leaning in,” are not only likely to fail when Black women use them, but may actually cause harm due to Black women’s inability to control their visibility status as a result of being numerical tokens [77].

Related to this hypervisibility, current study participants indicated that both their appearance and behaviors were critiqued by their White colleagues. Participants received unsolicited feedback about their manner of speaking, hairstyles, body weight and shape, and food choices, reflecting multiple forms of stigma. A recent qualitative study examining the relation between upward mobility and health among Black individuals reported similar findings [40]. Specifically, Hudson and colleagues found that participants went to great lengths to minimize such commentary by engaging in behaviors such as avoiding certain foods (i.e., watermelon and chicken) and hairstyles (i.e., braids) in corporate environments to reduce stereotype threat (2020). These authors characterized the state of remaining constantly aware of one’s circumstances and behaviors as a type of vigilance.

The current study’s findings are especially concerning, given the burgeoning literature examining the health costs associated with this intense vigilance and identity shifting [27]. Overall, this work suggests that the stress experienced by Black women as a result of the need for constant shifting and vigilance is directly related to deleterious mental and physical health outcomes [40, 58].

Whereas professional environments were the most frequently identified setting for structural and interpersonal experiences of gendered racism, the media were the most commonly mentioned influence on Black women’s body image concerns. This finding is consistent with the tripartite model of influence, which identifies media as one of the most formative factors in the development of the beauty ideal and notes that the process of social comparison facilitates negative affect, ultimately contributing to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating [85]. However, few studies have examined how Black women interpret beauty ideals when the targets for comparison are White [64, 90]. Current findings suggest that when White women are a target for comparison, negative affect is elicited, but not necessarily body dissatisfaction as it has been historically understood and measured. Instead, the negative affect appears to be a response to feelings of invalidation due to the underlying assumption that Whiteness is the standard for beauty. Moreover, mass media portrayals of Black women frequently represent negative stereotypes [48, 49, 72]. Intersectional research and current results support the idea that Black women are aware that Whiteness is equated with beauty and that, as Black women, they are inherently excluded [22, 60, 75, 84]. Although mass media were the primary perpetrators of the Eurocentric beauty ideal, participants described social media as a context where they were exposed to multiple, and often conflicting, ideal images of Black women. Historically, the images of Black women presented in the U.S. media have been limited, homogenous on racialized aspects of appearance (i.e., hair texture and skin tone), and stereotypical [18, 33, 45]. However, numerous social media platforms now feature images and videos of a diversity of Black women, including thousands of blogs, YouTube channels, Instagram accounts, and Twitter handles exclusively about Black women’s hair [10, 67]. Although this might seem insignificant compared to the volumes of products, advertising campaigns, etc. featuring images of White women, it represents an environmental shift. The result is a shift towards a media environment where Black women have the opportunity to engage more easily in upward and downward social comparison within their own racial group. Relatedly, participants identified social media as a place where Black women’s body appreciation could flourish. This finding is consistent with recent data which showed that viewing social media images featuring women of diverse body sizes may be associated with body satisfaction and body appreciation [20]. The influence of social media on Black women’s body image remains to be seen, but will be an important area for future study.

Responses to racialized body dissatisfaction

The organizing theoretical construct which recurred in the data was that Black women are devalued by society because Whiteness is the standard. We termed the experience participants described which resulted from this identity based stigma, which is mainly predicated on appearance, racialized body dissatisfaction. Participants responded to racialized body dissatisfaction in one of two ways: (1) shifting behaviors, which provided social benefits, but resulted in feelings of inauthenticity and internal conflict or (2) rejection of normative Whiteness, which was associated with body appreciation, but resulted in social exclusion in White environments. Shifting includes modifying appearance and behavior to reduce the threat of stigmatization arising from embodying a negative stereotype [28]. Participants discussed making body image modifications in an effort to preempt negative feedback, resolve experiences of microaggressions, and/or blend into predominantly White environments. They stressed that these efforts were not due to a desire to assimilate into White culture, but rather, were intended to reduce the stigma of gendered racism, which they repeatedly incurred.

Black women’s attempts to modify their appearance to meet the Eurocentric ideal have sometimes been interpreted as evidence of self-hatred [84]. Current results challenge that idea. Specifically, these data suggest that Black women’s body modifications are conscious, deliberate choices, often made after carefully weighing the costs involved. For example, our participants clearly identified the emotional ambivalence associated with receiving more favorable treatment after modifying their appearance to conform to Eurocentric standards. Whereas internalized racism indicates that engagement in such behaviors results from accepting and joining in with the belief that Eurocentric beauty represents true beauty [50, 89], current data suggest that shifting behaviors can be engaged in while actively rejecting the Eurocentric beauty ideal. Participants’ lived experiences indicate that body modification is a strategy that can be used to reduce harm, grant access, and, at times, serve as what Lee and Hicken [58] describe as armor to help Black women mitigate prejudice and discrimination. In our Black Feminist Model of Body Image, we propose that because of the structural and pervasive nature of gendered racism, Black women are not granted equal access to a full life. Furthermore, this exclusion based on intersectional characteristics differs from the experiences of individuals with single marginalized identities (such as Black men or White women) and necessitates that Black women develop novel responses to adapt to an unjust society.

Although all participants were critical of the idea that Eurocentric characteristics represent the normative appearance standard, some of them chose to reject normative Whiteness by refusing to engage in shifting behaviors. Those who chose this path expressed body appreciation and self-acceptance and identified what Tylka and Wood-Barcalow [87] have defined as a broad conception of beauty, which appeared to be a source of strength. Despite the potential psychological benefits offered by this response, rejection of normative Whiteness often came at the expense of inclusion and acceptance by White peers and colleagues, which in turn limited social mobility and professional opportunities.

Regardless of how they responded, Black women reported that navigating appearance in the context of gendered racism is a no-win situation. Each approach to managing the stigma had a significant cost and was associated with negative outcomes. These results are consistent with the growing literature on the influence of racism on Black women’s health, which highlights that these experiences elicit both psychological distress [14] and negative physical health outcomes, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease [59], diabetes [4], certain types of cancer [83], and adverse birth outcomes [79]. At the same time, there is evidence that some of the coping strategies commonly used by Black women to manage gendered racism, such as disengagement from the situation or perpetrator, and utilizing shifting and other  impression management behaviors, might also elicit adverse health outcomes [93], and prolonged activation of the body’s fight or flight systems [58]. As a result, Black women are caught in a double bind. They frequently experience gendered racism, which threatens their physical and mental health, yet the coping strategies most readily available to them are similarly associated with adverse health outcomes.

Strengths, limitations, and future research

This study had several limitations. One was the use of BMI as an inclusion criterion, especially considering the racist origins of the measure [6, 82]. We acknowledge that this measure has been weaponized against Black women and perpetuated racism and weight stigma [6, 74, 82]. Future research should consider alternative strategies for recruiting a sample of women living in larger bodies, such as having potential participants self-identify their body size. Additionally, our sample only included three women identifying as bisexual. These women likely experience unique forms of stigma due to having an additional marginalized identity.

Current study participants were all highly educated; thus, the prevalence of the racialized beauty ideal might have been particularly salient, as their daily lives likely required navigating predominantly White environments. Therefore, they may have experienced more frequent pressure to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards and received more significant benefits from shifting behaviors compared to Black women who live and work in more racially homogenous conditions [39].

Despite these limitations, it is important to note that a significant strength of the current study is its use of an inductive approach and focus groups. Because this area is understudied, and current literature provides conflicting data about Black women’s body image, semi-structured focus groups, in which the target population was provided the opportunity to explore body image, produced rich data. Another strength was the inclusion of Black women not currently enrolled in undergraduate study and not in a relatively homogenous clinical or socioeconomic group. In addition, the age range of our participants was broader than that of a traditional college sample. Thus, participants had life experiences from a wide range of environments, which elicited rich discussions.

Conclusion

Black women experience multiple levels of stigma due to intersecting marginalized identity characteristics, including race and gender. This stigma is frequently encountered in the form of appearance-related macro and microaggressions. This study used a constructivist grounded theory approach to develop the Black Feminist Model of Body Image, which demonstrates relations among beauty standards, racialized body dissatisfaction, coping behaviors, and health. These data indicate that body dissatisfaction, when operationalized to capture the sociohistorical complexities of race and ethnicity, has a strong influence on Black women’s health and health behaviors. Of note, after the data presented above were collected and while this paper was being prepared for submission, we were excited to see the publication of the Sociostructural- Intersectional Body Image (SIBI) framework [57]. We view this publication as a significant step in shaping the future of body image research and believe that our Black Feminist Model of Body Image aligns well with the framework. Future research must seriously consider the role of factors such as stigma, stereotypes, and gendered racism in Black women’s lived experiences. Likewise, intervention researchers and clinicians should create and implement health promotion strategies that properly situate the source of the problem not within Black women but rather within the societal injustices that perpetrate harm against them.