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About-Face facts on SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, ETHNICITY, AND THE THIN IDEAL
The popular idea that eating disorders are mainly a problem among the wealthy has now been disproven by several studies. In recent years it has been found that eating disorders are now also occurring among women in lower SES groups (Pate, Pumariega, Hester & Garner,1992; Rosen et al., 1988; Root, 1990, Story et al., 1995). It seems that different ethnic groups are now also experiencing the pressure to be thin, and eating disorders are no longer confined to White upper-class women. In 1994, an article in Essence magazine (a publication aimed at an African American audience), written by an African American woman made it painfully clear that "..largeness...once accepted-even revered-among Black folks,..now carries the same unmistakable stigma as it does among Whites" (Gregory,1994). The Essence magazine eating disorder study mentioned earlier, examined a sample of 600 female respondents. Sixty-six percent of the respondents reported dieting behavior, 39% claimed that food controls their lives, and 54% were at risk for an eating disorder (Pumariega et al., 1994). A recent study by Striegel-Moore et al. (1995), found that Black adolescent girls demonstrated significantly higher drive for thinness than White adolescent girls. The study also found that Black girlsą drive for thinness was significantly correlated with having been criticized for being too fat. Schreiber et al. (1996), found that in their study of 2379 Black and White 9 and 10-year olds, 40% of the girls reported wanting to lose weight, with no significant difference between Black or White girls on this measure. One hypothesis is that the more acculturated a woman is, meaning assimilated into the mainstream popular culture (which is mainly White), the more she will experience body image dissatisfaction. The more a person is pressured to emulate the mainstream image, the more the desire to be thin is adopted, and with it an increased risk for the development of body image dissatisfaction and eating disorders. Root (1990) states that increased social, vocational and economic opportunities are available to women of color, especially to those women who can conform to the dominant White culture's norms. Women of color thus may become vulnerable, and conform to pressure to be "perfect" in the context of upward social mobility. This perfection may be pursued by shaping one's body to fit the mainstream culture's female body ideal. In the last five years there has been a significant amount of dieting and body shaping among African American celebrities/role models. Performers such as Janet Jackson, Salt N' Pepa, Toni Braxton, as well as Oprah Winfrey have become thin. Pumariega et al. (1994) found that Black female stars in the film, music and fashion industry are now just as thin as their White counterparts. The thin ideal for women seems to be spreading across all color lines A study by Smith & Krejci (1991) examined eating disordered behavior and attitudes among high school Hispanics, Native Americans and Whites in the U.S. Rates of self-induced vomiting and binge-eating were significantly higher for the two minority groups, even when controlling for weight. The study concluded that the rate of disturbed eating behavior is at least as prevalent among Native Americans and Hispanics as it is among White adolescents. Matsuura et al. (1992) report that in Japan the desire to be thinner has increased within the last 20 years, accompanied by an increase in body size dissatisfaction among the Japanese. One study (Lee, 1993) asked 1,044 Hong Kong born bilingual University students to complete the English version of the EAT (Eating Attitudes Test). The results indicated that young Chinese women were much in agreement with their Western counterparts where desire to be slim was concerned with 36% reporting preoccupation with a desire to be thin. Liz Dittrich (1997) found no ethnic differences in body image dissatisfaction levels among her sample of 234 women attending a junior college, ages 18-55. Sample consisted of 27 Latina women, 104 Caucasian women, 34 Black women, 49 Asian American women, 19 women who identified as being of mixed ethnicity, and 1 Native American woman. The study found that overall, 49% of women stated they were trying to lose weight. Fifty-six percent of Black women reported they were currently trying to lose weight, as well as 58% of Latina women, 46% of White women, and 43% of Asian American women. Fourteen percent of the women qualified as overweight (BMI of 28 or higher), 63% were of average weight (BMI of 20 to 27), and 23% of women qualified as underweight/being in a state of starvation (having a BMI of 19 or less). These figures stand in contrast to how overweight the women perceived themselves to be, with 54% of the sample thinking of themselves as overweight, 38% considering their weight to be "about right", and 8% considering themselves underweight. Of the women who classify as underweight, 16% considered themselves to be overweight, 58% considered their weight to be "about right", and 26% thought they were slightly underweight. Of the women who are average weight, 59% considered themselves to be overweight, and 58% were currently trying to lose weight. The women who were overweight (BMI >27) also reported wanting be leaner, 81% of them currently trying lose weight. Le Grange, Stone & Brownell (1998) analyzed questionnaire results that were submitted by Consumer Reports subscribers, and self-reported dieters. 9,971 females answered weight, eating and self-esteem related questions. The sample consisted of 397 Asians, 222 blacks, 125 Hispanics and 9,227 Whites. The study found unhealthy eating attitudes for women who diet (such as bingeing and purging) to be similar across ethnic groups, again suggesting that eating disordered behavior is not simply a White problem anymore. For all groups self-esteem was rated highest for times when subjects' weights was lowest. Kenny & Runyon (1998) in their study of African-American, White, and Latino males and females about the role of acculturation and eating disordered behavior, found that the degree of body-satisfaction, self-esteem and degree of acculturation (adoption of customs and values of mainstream culture) were all significant predictors of eating disordered behavior. They found that African American students reported the highest rate of eating disordered behavior and body-dissatisfaction, along with the highest scores on the acculturation measure (the higher the more acculturated). There have been multiple studies investigating the difference between African American women and White women regarding body-image satisfaction, eating disordered behavior, overall appearance satisfaction etc. Oftentimes the findings have been seemingly contradictory, e.g. Smith, Thompson, Raczynski, and Hilner (1999) found that overweight Black women were more satisfied with their overall appearance, although they reported just as much of a discrepancy between their ideal and actual body shape as White women did. Thomas & Michelle (1988) found that among their sample of 102 Urban Black women, body weight and happiness with one's boy was negatively correlated but that body dissatisfaction was not linked to other aspects of their lives like relationships, sports or sex. This study along with others suggests that Black women consider other elements besides body size to be important in determining their attractiveness. Some studies show that African American females focus in addition to body shape, on overall grooming (hair and nails), as well as personality characteristics when judging attractiveness (Parker et al., 1995, Harrison & Stonner, 1976). Thus an African American definition of female beauty seems to have more dimensions than the mainstream Caucasian-defined beauty ideal. This picture of beauty seems more inclusive and allows for an inclusion of a woman's humanity and individuality. As we see more and more African American women in the media this may shift. Especially in the print media, the typical image of a woman shows the woman as an object to be admired, to be pleasing to others. She is in a state of self-objectification, in tune with how she is being evaluated, how she appears, she is not focused on, nor reveals her own internal state. Rarely do we see women responding to their own internal cues in fashion layouts, or ads. This takes away clues about the woman's character, her humanity, and her personality. With an absence of these stimuli the typical definition of beauty is subject to change to one that no longer relies on personality factors when assessing beauty.
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