Black women ‘more confident in their bodies’
BLACK women are happier about their bodies than white women, even if they weigh more, a study has found.
Two-thirds of overweight or obese black women said they had high self-esteem, compared with only 41 per cent of average-sized or thin white women.
Experts said white women focused too much on what nature had given them, while black women had a ‘deeper’ appreciation of beauty. This includes how they present themselves, the style of clothes they wear and grooming. The researchers concluded that black women have developed their own ideas about what it means to look good rather than rely on magazines and TV shows as white women do.
The study, commissioned by the Washington Post, also pointed out that prominent black women, such as Michelle Obama and Beyonce, tended to keep their curves, even after losing weight.
Mrs Obama is regularly admired for hers despite her gruelling exercise routine. The poll found that 28 per cent of black women felt being attractive was ‘very important’, compared with 11 per cent of white women.
But 90 per cent of black women also said that living a healthy lifestyle was ‘very important’, compared with 8 per cent of white women.
Professor Imani Perry, who teaches African American studies at Princeton University, said: ‘It’s a powerful statement about our resilience given the dominant images of black women which have been generally degrading and unattractive, or hypersexual and less feminine.’