Eating Disorders, Body Image and Cultural Contexts Essay

Eating Disorders, Body Image and Cultural Contexts Although a great deal of early research on body image and eating disorders focused on upper/middle class Caucasians living in America or under the influence of Western ideals, many researchers are realizing that eating disorders are not isolated to this particular group. They are also realizing the differences in body image between occur in different races and genders (Pate, Pumariega, Hester 1992). Recently, several studies have shown that eating disorders transcend these specific guidelines, and increasingly, researchers are looking at male/female differences, cross-cultural variation and variation within cultures as well. It is impossible to broach the concept of body image without†¦show more content†¦They found that black women overall prefer a more voluptuous and robust body shape; the women seem to correlate this with wealth, stature and fitness across cultures (Ofuso, Lafreniere, Senn, 1998). Another study that looked at how women view their bodies supports these fin dings. This study shows how perceptions of body image vary between African American and Caucasian women. African American women tended to be happier with themselves and have a higher self esteem. The women were all college women from two small community colleges in Connecticut; this is very important that their surroundings are essentially the same (Molloy, Herzberger, 1998). Although these studies reveal that African American and Black women across the world have different cultural constraints and body image ideals than other ethnic groups, other studies urge researchers not to forget that Black women are not unsusceptible to eating disorders and low self esteem. One literature review cautions that the dominant culture of a society may impose its views on individuals and cause a deterioration or change in values and perceptions (Williamson, 1998). Interestingly, Black women with high self-esteem and more positive body images also possess more masculine traits than other women studi ed. This raises the question about gender difference and the concept of body image and prevalence ofShow MoreRelatedEating Disorders, Body Image Gender Essay1721 Words   |  7 PagesRIGHTS (HE6) ASSIGNMENT EATING DISORDERS, BODY IMAGE GENDER Submitted to: Dr. Sivakami Muthusamy Centre for Health and Social Sciences School of Health Systems Studies, TISS, Mumbai. Submitted by: Pallavi Muraleedharan Enrollment Number: M2015HE018 Master of Health Administration (2015-17) Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai Date: 16/08/2016 INTRODUCTION Eating disorders, body image and gender remain as a very complex interlinked web. 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