African-American beauty

African Americans and their skin color and hair were once considered unattractive by white people. Black women and their bodies have been devalued and rejected by white ideal beauty standards.^[1]

Lead

African American beauty focuses on the beauty of African Americans, as beauty is viewed differently by various groups.^[2] Similar to other cultures, ideals of beauty in African-American communities have varied throughout the years. Influenced by the racial perspectives on beauty, lighter skin tones and straight hair have been considered desirable characteristics by different groups, including African Americans.^[3]^[4]

History

Racialized perspectives on beauty which led to lighter skin tones being considered desirable characteristics by different groups including African Americans can be traced back to slavery.^[5]^[6] The view of lighter skin tones as the ideal beauty standard are linked to colorism, which affects African Americans perceptions of themselves, with African women being disproportionately affected.^[7]^[8]

Beauty Standards

Despite some similarities between how African Americans and other groups view beauty, African Americans also view beauty as seen in body ideals as not being limited to one specific type that has been portrayed in the media.^[9] This view of beauty transcends the physical perception of beauty and recognizes that beauty is not limited to physical characteristics only.^[9]

Hair

African Americans hair is politicized, and this affects how African Americans choose to wear their hair as there is no way to know how it will be perceived, and the treatment that will arise from this.^[4]

Effects of beauty standards

Similar to other minority groups, African Americans have been subject to Western beauty ideals which portray slim body types as the standard to aspire to. The portrayal of slim body types as the ideal in Western beauty ideals has been linked to various eating disorders. There have been limited studies that show the effects of Western beauty ideals and the resulting eating disorders amongst African Americans.^[10]

Media

African American beauty takes into consideration the intersectionality of African Americans and how this intersectionality has affected the representation of African Americans in media, which plays a significant role in communicating what society's beauty standards are.^[11]^[5]

Portrayals of straight hair in the media have set a beauty standard which is exclusionary of the different hair textures of African Americans.^[12] Despite the role played by media in setting beauty standards for hair, social media has provided a platform for African Americans who are progressing beauty standards by wearing their hair in different states, including its natural state.^[12]

References

^ Awad, Germine H.; Norwood, Carolette; Taylor, Desire S.; Martinez, Mercedes; McClain, Shannon; Jones, Bianca; Holman, Andrea; Chapman-Hilliard, Collette (December 2015). "Beauty and Body Image Concerns Among African American College Women". Journal of Black Psychology. 41 (6): 540–564. doi:10.1177/0095798414550864. PMC 4713035. PMID 26778866.
^ Duncan, Margaret Carlisle; Robinson, T. Tavita (February 2004). "Obesity and Body Ideals in the Media: Health and Fitness Practices of Young African-American Women". Quest. 56 (1): 77–104. doi:10.1080/00336297.2004.10491816. S2CID 144642186.
^ Patton, Tracey Owens (2006). "Hey Girl, Am I More than My Hair?: African American Women and Their Struggles with Beauty, Body Image, and Hair". NWSA Journal. 18 (2): 24–51. JSTOR 4317206. Gale A149460405 Project MUSE 199496 ProQuest 233235409.
^ ^a ^b Mbilishaka, Afiya M.; Apugo, Danielle (2020-09-02). "Brushed aside: African American women's narratives of hair bias in school". Race Ethnicity and Education. 23 (5): 634–653. doi:10.1080/13613324.2020.1718075. S2CID 213377397.
^ ^a ^b Turnage, Barbara F. (2005-04-26). "Influences on Adolescent African American Females' Global Self-Esteem: Body Image and Ethnic Identity". Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work. 13 (4): 27–45. doi:10.1300/J051v13n04_02. S2CID 144552052.
^ Rozie-Battle, Judith L. (2002-09-25). "African American Girls and the Challenges Ahead". Journal of Health & Social Policy. 15 (2): 59–67. doi:10.1300/J045v15n02_06. PMID 12413107. S2CID 40764745.
^ Harper, Kathryn; Choma, Becky L. (2019-06-01). "Internalised White Ideal, Skin Tone Surveillance, and Hair Surveillance Predict Skin and Hair Dissatisfaction and Skin Bleaching among African American and Indian Women". Sex Roles. 80 (11): 735–744. doi:10.1007/s11199-018-0966-9. S2CID 150156045.
^ Balcetis, Emily; Cole, Shana; Chelberg, Marie B.; Alicke, Mark (2013-01-01). "Searching Out the Ideal: Awareness of Ideal Body Standards Predicts Lower Global Self-esteem in Women". Self and Identity. 12 (1): 99–113. doi:10.1080/15298868.2011.639549. S2CID 143048134.
^ ^a ^b Reel, Justine J.; SooHoo, Sonya; Franklin Summerhays, Julia; Gill, Diane L. (December 2008). "Age before beauty: an exploration of body image in African-American and Caucasian adult women" (PDF). Journal of Gender Studies. 17 (4): 321–330. doi:10.1080/09589230802419963. S2CID 144911557.
^ Gilbert, Stefanie C.; Crump, Stacey; Madhere, Serge; Schutz, William (2009-06-24). "Internalization of the Thin Ideal as a Predictor of Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating in African, African-American, and Afro-Caribbean Female College Students". Journal of College Student Psychotherapy. 23 (3): 196–211. doi:10.1080/87568220902794093. S2CID 143591088.
^ Cummings, Kamilah (2019-03-15). "Sisters in the Shadows: an Examination of Prince's "Strange Relationship" with Black Women". Howard Journal of Communications. 30 (2): 144–163. doi:10.1080/10646175.2018.1541768. S2CID 150139997.
^ ^a ^b Ellington, Tameka N. (2015-01-02). "Social networking sites: a support system for African-American women wearing natural hair". International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education. 8 (1): 21–29. doi:10.1080/17543266.2014.974689. S2CID 145688859.