A recent study found that shape is more important than weight in the African-American community, as most participants believed the most attractive body shape for them was slightly overweight.
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A University of Missouri graduate student has found that black women actually differ from white women in their perceptions of the ideal body shape and size.
Rashanta Bledman, a doctoral student in the department of educational, school and counseling psychology in MU’s College of Education, examined the cultural ideals of body type for black women, changing the focus from weight and thinness to shape in order to better understand black women’s perceptions of attractiveness. Previously, most research has focused primarily on middle to upper class white women and excludes African-American women.
“Historically, the ideal for women is to be thin,” Bledman said. “However, I noticed that within certain communities, thinness was not the most desired shape for women.”
Bledman surveyed 79 African-American women using a questionnaire designed to measure concerns about body image, weight, shape and satisfaction. Her goal was to find out how satisfied African-American women are with their bodies, what the ideal shape is for black women, and whether there is a discrepancy between the ideal and the actual shapes of these women.
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