Impacts of Racism on Body Image and Eating Disorders
Over the last decade, I’ve heard (more times than I can count) remarks made about others’ body sizes, facial features, hair, and skin color. This is especially noted for women of color, who are perceived more intensely and harmfully in society. So, how does subtle and overt racism impact body image and the progression of developing an eating disorder? Well, in very many ways.
Cultural Views of Bodies
In many Asian cultures, Whiteness is highly valued. Lighter skin is beautiful, and darker skin is disliked. Why? Internalized racism. We see the impact of this value among people who use skin-lightening creams and skincare products to achieve a more “youthful and lighter glow”. This can have many implications for young Asian people who grow up around the notion that being darker-skinned is “bad” or makes you “lesser than”.
A stereotype of Asian populations is that “Asians are always thin,” which is a very dangerous and incorrect narrative. This stereotype is reinforced by the high value placed on thinness in many Asian cultures. As a result, individuals can experience social pressure to restrict food, strive to be skinnier, compare themselves to peers, friends, and family, and internalize fat-phobia.
Highlighting Black culture and people is important in this conversation due to the high rates of microaggressions and racism Black individuals face daily. The frequent masculinization of Black women contributes to a broader narrative of harmful stereotypes and microaggressions as well.
The history of Slavery and the long-time control over Black bodies to this day shows up in “professionalism standards” in the workplace, including clothing, hairstyles, and physical expression. Colonization, media, and systemic racism have all played parts in the policing of people’s bodies that are very rampant and visible to this day. Black people experience less visibility in media, pressure to conform to Eurocentric norms, and a chronic underdiagnosis of mental health disorders such as eating disorders. This can lead to a disconnect between cultural foods and a lack of acceptance of their bodies.
Although I focus on Black and Asian individuals as examples, discrimination related to body image and eating disorders impacts people of all ethnicities and cultures. There are many stereotypes about how women's bodies throughout cultures should look, and there are no exceptions.
The Importance of These Implications and How They Appear
1. Perfectionism
2. Restrictive Eating
3. Internalized phobias
4. Depression/anxiety
5. Dysregulated nervous systems
Healing
Naming where these harmful ideologies come from and what they’re guised as.
Speaking against racism and bigotry.
Working towards body neutrality, different from body positivity (which can be hard to obtain for many people initially).
Finding ways to connect back to your ancestry and family to see the beauty of everyone who came before you and how you are a reflection of them, instead of what is expected of you in today’s societal standards (which are always changing).
Seeking culturally affirming support- someone you feel comfortable with that will understand the impacts of discrimination.
All bodies are imperfect and beautiful, and unfortunately for people of color, that can be difficult to believe with the never-ending suggestions on how we “should look”. Whether that be from family, strangers, friends, doctors, etc. The most important practice is to stop and notice when we are judging other bodies and see what that says about us and our internalized beliefs/phobias. This is some of the most important work we can do for ourselves and those around us.
Here's to hoping we can all be kinder to others and ourselves.
Some helpful and important reads related:
Reclaiming The Black Body: Nourishing The Home Within by Alicia McCulla
Hijas Americans: What Every Latina Needs to Know About Her Roots and Her Body by Rosie Molinary
The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor
Decolonizing Wellness: A QTBIPOC-Centered Guide to Escape the Diet Trap, Heal Your Self-Image, and Achieve Body Liberation by Dalia Kinsey
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
