Black Women Vs White Women Essay

It has been argued that Black women are more likely to appreciate their physical appearance and have a broader definition of beauty compared to Caucasian women who were more disappointed with their appearance based on media standards (2012). Black women tend to be more rejecting of thin-ideals and accepting of voluptuous body ideals in comparison to Hispanic and White women. The media images of what is “expected” influences not all women. Media tends to pressure the adaptation of Western ideals. “In Western societies, women may think it is their bodies that get noticed by men, whereas in other countries, such as Asia, women may think it is their face that is more important” (Frith, Shaw & Cheng, 2005). Although cross-cultural beauty ideals

Women of all races have ideals that they are “expected” to live up to, based on cultural and personal preference. Hispanic women ages 13-35 reported that they had a preoccupation with body image and weight and that diet and exercise was the main focus to meet certain ideals (2004). Research has shown that magazine geared to White women puts more emphasis on rejection, being self- critical and ambivalence, whereas magazines geared to Black women emphasized more themes of celebration, identification and seeking depth (Ogden & Russell 2012). These results may only show a central role of self-identity within the races. In contrast, does this self-portrayal make a difference in the number of young girls and women with eating disorders? According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) (2015), eating disorders spread across all ethnicities. African American women and girls succumb to eating disorders to counteract negative stereotypes, Asian and Asian American women and girls are becoming more susceptible to eating disorders and body dissatisfaction, there has also been an increase in Native American women and girls and Cuban and Mexican American