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A question about eating disorders and society?

Okay, I'm not trying to make any stero types or racial judgements. This is just an innocent obsevation.

In general are black girls happier with their bodies than white girls? It seems that every time you see a movie, talk show or a celebrity of a girl/woman with an eating disorder they are white.

So do black girls have better self-esteem or body image than white girls?

Nicole Ritchie being the exception,

and yes there are a lot of races that I did not mention

7 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Yes, you are very right. I'm not saying that black girls can't suffer from eating disorders, but many have a much more positive body image due to curves being celebrated and their role models not being stick thin celebs and models.

    This just proves how much influence the media plays in the development of eating disorders. I'm not saying they cause eating disorders, but they trigger them off in so many susceptable young girls. I hope things will change in time, because eating disorders are soul destroying, not to mention can end up being life threatening. HTH : )

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    It is true, there are LESS cases of African Americans with eating disorders, although there still are some. I think it has to deal with how people were raised, who their role models are, etc. There are a lot of pretty black women that are thin but not TOO thin, while there are tons of anorexic white models out there. Typically girls will idolize someone they can connect with, which for white girls would be white. Of course there are exceptions to every rule. There are black girls, and even guys, with eating disorders. It can go across all borders, and seems to be spreading to nonwhite girls more and more unfortunately...

  • ?
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago

    Yes, it is socially acceptable to be large and it is ok to have curves within the black community. And within the Hispanic community. It is rampid within the white community to be thin and sickly looking. Sad but very true. There have been studies done to back this up. Nicole Richie is mixed she is half white and has grown up in a predominately white (rich) community. Do a search. Have a blessed Christmas and a joyous New Year! God bless****

  • 5 years ago

    the fashionable vogue is to blame somebody else for each little thing. So because of the fact that's no longer MY fault I easily have an ingesting ailment, it may desire to be society's. and you're acceptable, of direction. that's an entire crock. that's regularly a family individuals element. there is, sarcastically, an emotional starvation going on. each and every youngster is definitely helpless to repair that and as a substitute roots around for some style of shield or shielding cover. Anorexia is one. that's an emotional coping mechanism. no longer a healthful one, even with the undeniable fact that it lessens the emotional discomfort the person could be suffering in any different case. that's a variety of emotional oxy you are able to truly self-medicate with. back, to deleterious result, yet - whilst in discomfort, we don't consistently care approximately any deleterious result. basically turn off the discomfort. Too, no rely what motives it, or any undertaking, it relatively is basically one element of it. the three aspects are Who brought about it Who owns it now Who will fix it. So no rely who brought about it, guess who owns it now and who will could desire to repair it if it is going to get fixed.

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  • 1 decade ago

    In my family, if you are invited to a BBQ then you better be ready to eat, and if you even think about barfing it up in the bathroom, you are gonna piss off a whole bunch of people that spent time cooking that food. Long story short, you gonna get a whoopin from everyone. We have our own way of doing things, and we do not value skin and bones.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    eating disorders have to do with society and solely society. some say that the possibility of genetics being involved isn't far-fetched. well i say it is. it is all about body image and self confidence. what you could not control in your life gnaws at you and you feel desperation all the time. therefore you want to compensate yourself for this lack of authority and power.

    if there is one thing you can control, it is your body and it becomes their coping mechanism in many instances; that strive toward perfection lead you even further away from it. you become an emaciated figure but all you see is numbers...numbers become your enemy. it is in the brain what sees this distorted image.

    i want to stay away from mentioning races because i feel it is a broad generalization...i don't apply the word steriotype here because it isn't necassarily a common generalization...but a generalization nevertheless. not prejudicial because i see what you are getting at.

    as per races all i will say is that any race regardless of which one acts based upon a difference in culture. there environment is different...nurture has been different and all the factors which ultimately determine their state of mind vary...therefore it is possible for one race to be more inclined towards an eating disorder due to the type of community they live in and its expectations.

  • 1 decade ago

    i dont want to generalise but perhaps black girls are brought up in a way that they are happier with a curvy figure. you do get many black people with anorexia though, mainly when they wish to persue a career as a model.

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