Marie A. Predestin
Instructor: Dr. R. L’Heureux Lewis-Mccoy
SOC 253000
Nov 30, 2016
Title:
Christina M. Capodilupo and Suah Kim.nGender
and Race Matter: The Importance of Considering Intersections in Black Women’s
Body Image. Retrieved 2016
Introduction: Body image plays a central role of understanding eating disorders. The perception of body image is different between African American women and Caucasian women. In this modern popular culture, the large-frame black women are embraced in the black community and thinness ideal is appreciated in the white community. This article asserts the notion that black women are less likely to remain thin and white women ideal of body image is thinness.
Summary: Body image is a pivotal facet to discern certain eating behavior. The authors Christina M. Capodilupo and Suah Kim explore the ideology of body image in different racial groups. The article encounters the following question, is the perception of body image similar across racial groups? The authors arrive to this question because they wanted to understand eating disorder in different cultural groups. The perception of body image and self-concept varies across racial lines. The authors assert that black women’s bodies are more acceptable in the black communities, due to cultural differences; health factors vary, and certain eating habits reflect coping behavior for racial issues. Capodilupo and Kim purpose that black women have a positive appraisal of their bodies because the black community accepts “beauty aesthetic” (Capodilupo and Kim, 2014) and rejects society’s ideology of body appearances. The next component elaborates that white women are more likely to idolize smaller body frames than black women because femininity differs in numerous cultural groups. Lastly, the reading material describes black women that reframe from losing weight because the black community prefers women that have a larger body frame. Thus, this encourages obesity. Nonetheless, qualitative research design is the method that measured body perception in different racial groups. The women in this research address their experiences of body image; overall interpretation of their physical trait such as hair, skin, eye color, physique, culture, etc. This article examined the correlation between the hypothesis and statistical data. The researchers discover the complexity of a black woman’s physical appearance. Black women are less likely to interpret negative feelings towards their body image. These findings are supported by qualitative studies.
Evaluation: This article addresses the attitude of eating disorder in different racial groups. This assertion confirms the problematic racial issues that are occurring in this modern time. The qualitative design that was purposed in this reading material is relevant to the research because it provided the evidence to support the hypothesis. However, the authors fail to explore the health factors associated with thinness in the white community. This limitation creates bias reports among the racial groups.
Conclusion: In conclusion, the qualitative research design measured the perception of body image in African-American group and Caucasian group. The researchers provided insightful information of physical appearance in different ethnic communities and elaborated the ideology of thinness.
