[IMC-Editorial] Black Women have Healthier Body Images

[Journal News]

For Immediate Release:  April 15, 2004 
journalnews at bos.blackwellpublishing.net 
Phone (781) 388-8448
www.blackwellpublishing.com/pwq 

A study contends that Black women and White women are affected by viewing television characters of their own race

Although findings indicate a connection between frequent media use and greater body dissatisfaction, little attention has actually focused on the role of race.  Black women, compared to White women, report fewer body image disturbances from watching television.

According to the article by Deborah Schooler and L. Monique Ward et al, “Who’s that Girl: Television’s Role in the Body Image Development of Young White and Black Women”, in today’s society, the representation of women in the media is thinner than the images of their male counterparts and thinner than the actual female population.  Sadly, this representation is the basis for how countless young women view themselves and their lifestyles, and exposure to this depiction leads viewers to assume that this illustration is a valid reality.  A study at the University of Michigan took this one step further and explored the relation between television viewing and body image amongst Black and White women.  It’s the first study to consider both the race of the viewer and the race of the characters being viewed, and in doing so found that Black women may actually benefit from watching television.  In addition to worrying about body weight and appearance, the beauty portrait existing in mainstream 
media is more or less exclusively white, making it all the more unattainable for women of color.  Research shows that among White women, viewing predominantly White media predicted poorer body image, while viewing Black-oriented media was unrelated to body image. Among Black women, viewing Black-oriented television predicted a healthier body image, while viewing primarily White media was unrelated to body image. Ethnic identity also predicted healthier body image among Black women, and appeared to moderate, to some extent, the contributions of viewing Black-oriented programming.     

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About Psychology of Women Quarterly:
Psychology of Women Quarterly (PWQ) publishes primarily qualitative and quantitative research with substantive and theoretical merit, along with critical reviews, theoretical articles, and invited book reviews related to the psychology of women and gender.  It is published on behalf of the Society for the Psychology of Women, Division 35 of the American Psychological Association.

The author is available for questions and interviews.  To set up a telephone interview, please email L. Monique Ward at ward at umich.edu, Monday- Friday, 9-5:30pm.

About Blackwell Publishing:  
Blackwell Publishing is the world’s leading, independent society publisher with offices in the US, UK, Japan, Denmark, Australia, and Germany.  

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Jill Yablonski, Journals Marketing Assistant
journalnews at bos.blackwellpublishing.net
Blackwell Publishing
Phone (781) 388-8448
www.blackwellpublishing.com/pwq
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