Journal of Counseling Psychology 2014. Vol. 61. No. 1,37-49

© 2013 American Psychological Association 0022-0167/14/$12.00 DOI: IO.lO37/aOO34597

Gender and Race Matter: The Importance of Considering Intersections in Black Women's Body Image Christina M. Capodilupo and Suah Kim Teachers College, Columbia University Traditionally, body image literature has used race as a variable to explain ethnic-specific differences in body satisfaction and the prevalence of eating disorders. Instead of employing race as an explanatory variable, the present study utilized a qualitative method to explore the relationships among race, ethnicity, culture, discrimination, and body image for African American and Black women. The purpose of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of how race and gender interface with and inform body image. Women were recruited through community centers in a major metropolitan city and represented a diversity of ethnicities. In total, 26 women who identified racially as Black (mean age = 26 years) participated in 6 focus groups, which explored body ideals, societal messages, cultural values, racism, and sexism. Narrative data from the focus groups were analyzed using grounded theory. The central category, Body/Self Image, was informed by perceptions of and feelings about not only weight and shape but also hair, skin, and attitude. Three additional categories, each with multiple properties, emerged: Interpersonal Influences, Experiences of Oppression, and Media Messages. These categories interact to explain the central category of Body/Self Image, and an emergent theory is presented. Keywords: race, gender, body image, African American, grounded theory

Body image is a multidimensional concept that comprises one's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to one's physical appearance (Cash & Pruzinsky, 1990; J. K. Thompson, 2004). Despite this broad definition, the majority of body image investigations focus on girls' and women's experiences (mostly dissatisfaction) with shape and weight—more specifically, the pursuit of a thin ideal. Ample research with White girls and women exists to support the idea that a desire to be thinner and to lose weight is a central preoccupation bordering on normalcy (e.g., Bearman, Martinez, & Stice, 2006). Related, drive for thinness and a preoccupation with weight and shape are required symptoms in the major eating disorder diagnoses (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Early investigations of body image that included women of color generally tended to explicitly compare these populations to their White counterparts. Specifically, research suggested that African American girls and women were generally more satisfied with their bodies and experienced fewer eating disorder symptoms than White girls and women (see Lovejoy, 2001, for a review). Race was therefore used as variable to explain differences between these populations. Researchers postulated that the general acceptance of larger body sizes in the African American community accounted for this difference, protecting African Americans from eating and body

image disturbances (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2003; Duke, 2000; Gentles & Harrison, 2006). In her review of the literature and summation of feminist theory, Lovejoy (2001) proposed that differences in the body disturbances of Black and White women could be explained by three sociocultural observations: (a) Black women may have a more positive valuation of their bodies because they embrace a different beauty aesthetic that opposes societal devaluation of their appearance, (b) Black women are less likely to be motivated by the thinness ideal than White women due to differences in cultural constructions of femininity in their racial communities, and (c) Black women's resistance to the thin ideal may be a defensive strategy to deny tendencies toward overeating and obesity, which reflect a larger issue of problematic coping behaviors in the face of multiple oppressions. As the literature expanded and more investigations included African American girls and women, conflicting findings began to emerge. Specifically, some studies showed little to no significant differences in eating disorder symptomatology and body image attitudes between different ethnic groups in the United States (Forbes & Frederick, 2008; Franko, Becker, Thomas, & Herzog, 2007; Shaw, Ramirez, Trost, Randall, & Stice, 2004). Several cross-sectional designs with both African American and White adults (Cachelin & Regan, 2006) and adolescents (White & Grilo, 2005) found that dieting status, independent of race, was related to greater body image disturbance. These findings suggested that not all African American girls and women were immune to body image disturbance by sole virtue of their race and led researchers to question this intraracial distinction.

This article was published Online First November 4, 2013. Christina M. Capodilupo and Suah Kim, Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University. This research was supported in part by the Dean's Grant for Student Research at Teachers College, awarded to Christina M. Capodilupo. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Christina M. Capodilupo, Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027. E-mail: cmc2002 @columbia.edu

Racial Identity, Not Race, as a Buffer Against Body Dissatisfaction A burgeoning literature has begun to examine the role of racial identity in body image development for African American women. 37

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In a recent study of African American women of varied ages and levels of education, it was found that women who more closely identified with White culture experienced higher levels of disordered eating (Henrickson, Crowther, & Harrington, 2010). Similarly, recent studies support the ideas that African American women who were more affirming of and highly identified with their ethnicity exhibited fewer eating disordered behaviors (Shuttlesworth & Zotter, 2011) and that positive feelings about one's racial group lessen body dissatisfaction (Oney, Cole, & Sellers, 2011). In an effort to understand how ethnic identity may buffer African Americans from eating disorder disturbances, Rogers Wood and Pétrie (2010) tested the sociocultural model of eating disorders by including the infiuence of ethnic identity for African American undergraduates. They found that the more strongly women identified with their ethnic group, the less they internalized mainstream ideals of attractiveness and thinness, which was in tum linked to lower levels of disordered eating. A similar finding emerged in a recent study of African American undergraduates that explored the role of racial identity in objectification theory (Watson, Ancis, White, & Nezari, 2013) such that high racial identity attitudes were found to buffer the link between sexually objectifying experiences and an intemalized thin ideal. Furthermore, African American women with high levels of thinideal intemalization endorsed high levels of body shame, appearance anxiety, and disordered eating behaviors (Watson et al., 2013).

Do Women With High Racial Identity Not Experience Appearance Dissatisfaction? Reviewing the literature as a whole, it would appear that African American women for whom race and ethnicity are salient and positive are protected from body and eating disturbances. However, the methods by which these conclusions have been reached are based on quantitative investigations that utilize body image measures centralizing the thin ideal. In these studies, even when White samples are not explicitly included, African American women are being implicitly compared to their White counterparts for whom drive for thinness and preoccupation with weight and shape have proven to be salient. What about African American women and Black women for whom thinness is not relevant? Are we to believe that this group is protected from negative feelings about their physical appearance because they are not concemed with the thin ideal? Qualitative methods that directly ask African American girls and women to share their experiences and feelings about their physical appearance can help to understand what comprises the body image construct for this population. Unfortunately, few investigations of this nature exist.

Qualitative Findings Among the qualitative studies available on African American women's body image, four specifically examined racial and cultural aspects of body image development (Hesse-Biber, Livingston, Ramirez, Barko, & Johnson, 2010; Kelch-Oliver & Ancis, 2011; Poran, 2006; Rubin, Fitts, & Becker, 2003). Several themes emerged across all four studies: Black women's consciousness of mainstream beauty ideals, multiple interpersonal infiuences on

body image, a negotiation of conflicting beauty expectations, and negative media images (Hesse-Biber et al, 2010; Kelch-Oliver & Ancis, 2011; Poran, 2006; Rubin et al, 2003). African American women who participated in these studies demonstrated an awareness of the thin ideal in particular, though they varied in terms of how relevant it was to their body esteem. They also discussed the positive and negative roles of family members and Black men (Hesse-Biber et al., 2010; Kelch-Oliver & Ancis, 2011; Poran, 2006; Rubin et al., 2003) and competition with other African American women (Poran, 2006) as significant interpersonal influences on their body image. In face of these pressures, participants reported engaging in some psychological negotiation between meeting the expectations of the dominant White culture versus Black subculture, which resulted in either intemalizing the thin ideal, actively opposing mainstream beauty standards, endorsing an Afrocentric aesthetic, and/or achieving self-acceptance (HesseBiber et al., 2010; Kelch-Oliver & Ancis, 2011; Poran, 2006; Rubin et al., 2003). Finally, participants discussed not only the lack of African American women in the media (Hesse-Biber et al., 2010) but also a misrepresentation of them through distorted ideal images of Black women that reflected either White standards of beauty (Kelch-Oliver & Ancis, 2011; Poran, 2006) or negative racial stereotypes (Rubin et al., 2003). While there were similarities in these findings, nuances emerged in part due to methodological differences. With the exception of one study that used an individual interview format (Hesse-Biber et al., 2010), the rest utilized an open-ended or semistructured focus group procedure (Kelch-Oliver & Ancis, 2011 ; Poran, 2006; Rubin et al., 2003). The individualized nature of Hesse-Biber and colleagues' (2010) investigation allowed for a more thorough analysis of racial identity among Afiican American women, which elucidated within-group differences in body dissatisfaction. Specifically, participants with stronger ties to Black culture reported higher self-esteem and endorsement of Black beauty ideals (e.g., curviness, positive way of carrying oneself), while those who identified with White culture held beauty ideals comparable to their White peers and reported varying levels of body dissatisfaction. Beyond this dichotomy, participants who identified themselves as drifting between cultures experienced conflicting pressures to accept "thickness" while also pursuing a thin body type that made them accepted by neither the White nor the Black community (Hesse-Biber et al., 2010). Altematively, the focus group format of the other studies allowed for participants to discuss issues in an interactional and exploratory manner, which highlighted shared experiences among the African American women. These studies generated more indepth discussions of beauty standards beyond thinness, a critique of Eurocentric ideals alongside a description of an Afrocentric aesthetic, and frustration with the conflicting messages from the Black community (Kelch-Oliver & Ancis, 2011; Poran, 2006; Rubin et al., 2003). On the whole, participants of these studies both acknowledged the thinness ideal and rejected it through active resistance. Such efforts included challenging dominant beauty standards and identifying other physical (e.g., hair, skin tone, curviness; Poran, 2006) and nonphysical attributes (e.g., confidence, personal style self-care, strength, spirituality; Kelch-Oliver & Ancis, 2011; Rubin et al., 2003) to define a more multifaceted concept of beauty. The mental energy invested in negotiating the

BLACK WOMEN'S BODY IMAGE confiicting terms of beauty suggests that Black women are not immune to the thinness ideal but are perpetually coping with it. Considerable quantitative research depicts African American girls and women as experiencing less pressure from family, friends, and significant others to meet an ideal of thinness and depicts Black men as preferring larger body sizes (BeauboeufLafontant, 2003; Duke, 2000; Gentles & Harrison, 2006; Milkie, 1999; Ofosu, Lafreniere, & Senn, 1998). However, qualitative studies reported family and Black men as significant, confusing, and frustrating factors to Black women's body image development. The focus group studies also revealed that although standards of thinness may be summarily rejected by members of the Black community, other physical appearance standards exist that create unique aesthetic pressures for Black women. Participants spoke about parents as strengthening their allegiance to Black culture and Afrocentric values and ideals while simultaneously wanting them to straighten their hair or conform to other White beauty standards (Rubin et al., 2003). Participants in both Poran's (2006) and Kelch-Oliver and Ancis's (2011) studies also reported Black men as "standard enforcers" from whom they sought to validate their own attractiveness and who were an additional source of demands. Some methodological shortcomings may have limited the scope of the findings presented in each of these qualitative studies. For example, one study included guiding questions that pertained to thinness ("Can you tell me your views on dieting?"; Hesse-Biber et al., 2010, p. 701), while another instmcted participants to list what they loved and hated about their bodies (Poran, 2006). Such prompts focusing on physicality appeared to generate reports of body dissatisfaction centered on thinness and discussion of other physical traits to define body image rather than the intemal attributes emphasized in the other two studies (Rubin et al., 2003; Kelch-Oliver & Ancis, 2011). Additionally, Kelch-Oliver and Ancis's (2011) study generated focus group questions based on prior individual interviews with two participants, which asked about specific infiuences later confirmed in the findings (e.g., family, dating partners, media). Furthermore, participants in all four studies were undergraduate and/or graduate students from predominantly White universities. In this way, findings from these studies were limited to Black women's experiences of their bodies during a developmental phase when body dissatisfaction may be high and within an environment where their race is particularly salient in contrast to the dominant group. While these studies effectively dispute the notion that Black women are protected against body image issues and illuminate their struggles, there is still much to be leamed about their experiences. Beyond identifying relevant internal and extemal aspects of Black women's body image development and distinguishing them from White standards, it is important to understand how Black women integrate these factors into how they define their body image. How do Black women interpret these stimuli, and in what ways do these infiuences interact with each other to shape their body image?

Current Study The findings of a small number of available qualitative research suggest that culturally specific variables are lacking in the existing literature on Black women's body image. Furthermore, there is a larger trend of studying Black women through the lens of domi-

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nant White culture by imposing the thin ideal as a universal standard for all women. The present study seeks to address this gap by using a poststnictural/critical version of the grounded theory approach (Fassinger, 2005) that gives voice to Black women's perspectives about their body image development and presents an emerging theory distinct from the existing literature. In keeping with this version of grounded theory, no prior or existing theory (including those related to racial identity) guided the analysis, allowing for a unique framework to emerge without the infiuence or bias of existing perspectives. We felt this was a particularly important choice given that the majority of previous samples studied on the topic were college age and attended predominately White universities, neither of which describes our current sample. In addition, no questions about dieting or mainstream media were asked, again to avoid the assumption (i.e., bias) of the salience of either the thin ideal or the media's role in body image development. Participants were involved in the data analysis process and engaged in discussions of the final conceptual model. Whereas previous qualitative investigations (save Rubin et al., 2003) utilized current college or graduate students, this study focused recmitment efforts through community centers. Although nearly half the sample had obtained or was in the process of obtaining a graduate degree, only a small number were currently students, and the majority identified as professionals.

Method Participants Women who identified as Black or African American were invited to participate in group discussions about body image and culture. Recmitment materials purposefully requested "Black and/or African American" women as an acknowledgment that not all women who are racially Black identify ethnically with being African American. Therefore, the terms African American and Black are used interchangeably to describe participants; they were of varied ethnicities and cannot accurately be represented by either designation alone. With the appropriate moderator's permission, several invitations were sent out via electronic mailing lists that were specifically for women of color. One electronic mailing list in particular that was created for young professionals of color by a large nonprofit community organization served as the primary source for participants. Focus groups were also held at this community center. Recruitment materials stated that the researcher, a graduate student in counseling psychology, was looking for Black and African American women who were interested in discussing their experiences with body image, appearance, and culture. Participants were compensated $20. The women ranged in age from 21 to 35 years old (mean age = 26.5) and represented a broad range of ethnicities. Specifically, women identified as African American iN = 10), Black American (Af = 4), Caribbean American (A^ = 4), and Haitian American iN = 2). Six women did not specify an ethnicity. All participants had completed some college iN = 9) or obtained a bachelor's degree (Af = 5); some had obtained a master's degree iN = 5), while others were currently enrolled in graduate school (N = 7).

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Procedure As previously mentioned, focus groups were held at a large nonprofit community organization in a major metropolitan city. Each group had a lead facilitator and observer who identified as a Black American woman. These were graduate students and colleagues of the senior author. The observer's role was to record nonverbal exchanges and note the speaking order. A semistructured interview protocol was used, which utilized open-ended questions to encourage participants to determine the direction and shape of the conversation. The following are examples of questions from this protocol: How do you see your body? How has your culture shaped your feelings about your appearance? What do you notice about White culture versus Black culture in terms of body and appearance? Discussions lasted between 75 and 90 minutes, and all were audiotaped and subsequently transcribed verbatim. In addition, the facilitator and observer sat together at the close of each focus group to discuss their observations and reactions; this was also audiotaped and transcribed. A total of six focus groups were conducted. Four were conducted, and then the open coding process began; the additional two groups were mn at the close of open coding to ensure that no new themes emerged from the data and that established categories were repeated. Thus, theoretical saturation was met. Three groups were composed of five members, one group had four members, and one group had seven members.

Data Analysis A grounded theory methodology was used to analyze the data. This was the chosen form of analysis as it allows for flexibility and the generation of new theory or framework (Charmaz, 2006; Strauss & Corbin, 1994). As the overwhelming majority of body image and eating disorder measures and theories were normed on and created with White female samples, it seemed appropriate to start from the ground up with this topic and not assume that previous theory would apply to a Black/African American population. Therefore, we analyzed the data without the guiding use of existing theory and instead looked for a theory to emerge from themes. Following the suggestion of Heath and Cowley (2004), we engaged in a constant comparison of the major themes and subthemes as we ran focus groups and throughout the coding process. The postgroup facilitator process (taped and transcribed) was a place where the facilitator and observer would note themes that were both new and repeated, and these transcripts were very useful in helping to determine theoretical saturation. In the first level of coding (open coding), the senior author read through every transcript and color-coded units of meaning, sometimes as short as one sentence and other times as long as one page. Two team members (both African American women who facilitated the focus groups) each read through half of the transcripts, coding in the same way. In most cases, we used participants' language to label the concepts (herein referred to as categories). We then met as a group and compared and contrasted our coding categories. Detailing the interrogation process that ensued at this point is beyond the scope of the present discussion, but it is important to note that this phase of analysis lasted nearly three months. Involved in the interrogation was revisiting transcripts of both the actual focus group and the postgroup facilitator process to be sure we maintained the integrity of the participants' statements. Toward the end of this

process, we ran two additional focus groups to confirm that we had met theoretical saturation. One observer from the focus groups sat in on these team meetings to provide her feedback in the role of an auditor, another important step in monitoring research team bias and staying close to actual data. During the second level of coding (axial), the team began to use diagrams to further explicate relationships between the categories. For example, the senior author created a diagrammatic representation of the data as an adaption of the paradigm model (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Such a visual depiction "allows the researcher to clarify and structure key methodological tools and . . . show the ways in which they mesh with the emerging theory" (Buckley & Waring, 2009, p. 322). Creating visual representations of the concepts and producing diagrams that show the relationships between categories are recommended during this phase of coding in grounded theory (Buckley & Waring, 2009). Figure 1 represents the adaptation of the paradigm model. The model makes use of causal conditions, contextual conditions, intervening conditions, actions/interactions, and consequences, consistent with Strauss and Corbin's (1998) model. Models such as this one were created continuously throughout the analytic process to serve as a method of constant comparison and to understand the relationship between variables. This also aided our analysis in the process of integrating and refining the emerging conceptual model. Ultimately, during selective coding, we arrived at a core category of Body/Self Image. The key components that contributed to Body/Self Image were hair, skin, attitude, and physique. As part of our constant comparison process, each member of the team continued to create diagrammatic models to assist us in understanding the relationships between the categories and the core category. A similar process as during axial coding ensued whereby we consistentiy checked focus group transcripts to be sure the emerging theory remained close to participants' statements. Finally, we arrived at the ultimate conceptual model of the body/self image development of Black/African American women that can be found in Figure 2. This model consists of a core category (Body/Self Image) with four subcategories (hair, skin, attitude, and physique), dynamically informed by three main categories of influence (Interpersonal Influences, Experiences of Oppression, and Media Messages) that each had two additional properties. The processes connecting two or more categories are depicted by arrows. Participants from the study were shown the categories and their properties along with supporting verbatim material from the focus groups. They were also shown the conceptual model. Overall, they evaluated the analysis positively and provided feedback on both categories and the model. Thus, participants served as auditors in the data analysis process, strengthening the confirmability, dependability, and credibility of the research. We also had one final audit process with a team member who had served as a focus group observer but had not engaged in any data analysis.

Results The conceptual model is depicted in Figure 2. The core concept, Body/Self Image, was informed by the four subcategories: hair, skin, attitude, and physique. There were three main categories: Interpersonal Influences, Experiences of Oppression, and Media Messages. Each main category consisted of two properties. In the diagram, arrows are used to show the ways in which concepts

BLACK WOMEN'S BODY IMAGE

Causal Conditions l.Messages from fämily about what is beautiful 2.Actual features (hair, skin, body shape] 3.Personal definition of beauty

c

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Contextual Conditions l.Genderand race 2.Cultural expectations 3.Racism and Sexism

Intervening Conditions

Consequences

1.Media messages about what is beautiful 2.Black men's aesthetic preferences

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l.Feelings of invisibility 2.Conflicted feelings about appearance 3.Stronger racial pride/ resistance to racism

Actions/Interactions l.Conflicting definitions ofbeauty 2.Intemalization of media messages about cultural ideal 3.Resistance to cultural idea

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Figure 1- The modified paradigm model. A visual representation of emerging concepts and relationships between variables was developed to aid in the data analysis process and subsequent production of a theoretical model. Adapted from "An Emergent Theory of Altruism and Self-Interest," by S. V. Flynn and L. L. Black, 2011, Journal of Counseling and Development, 89, p. 463. Copyright 2011 by the American Counseling Association.

interacted with each other to inform the central category. These connections have implications for theory. Categories and their properties are described in greater detail below with quoted supporting material from the focus groups.

Core Concept: Body/Self Image Ultimately, women in this study spoke about their experiences of their physical bodies and overall appearance. In every group, the discussions focused on participants' lived experiences of their body and self-images. The women spoke about their body image not only in their own eyes but also in the eyes of others—those known to them, such as family members, as well as society at large and the media. Discussions were both perceptual, in that participants discussed perceptions of their physicality (regardless of actual features), and also attitudinal, such that feelings about appearance were also a major component of the discussion. In this way, the definition of this core category truly matches the following description: "a multidimensional construct that refers to subjective perceptual and attitudinal experiences about one's body, particularly one's physical appearance" (Cash, Melnyk, & Hrabosky, 2004, p. 305). Where our fmdings deviate from the substantive existing literature on body image is that the four subcategories equally inform the body image construct, such that hair, skin, and attitude are as important as body shape and size. Here, a participant illustrates this concept through her observation of Black women in music videos:

Well, I don't remember the last time I've seen a girl in a video that even came close to what I look like in the mirror, and it's not even weight. It's just complexion, it's hair, it's everything, like I look— couldn't tell you. And it's so funny, my roommate and I were watching a video yesterday, and she was like. Wow, do dark people exist? I said, I don't know! [laughs] Because it's just like not there. Hair. Across all focus groups, participants discussed the importance of their hair as a physical feature. In particular, they discussed hair texture (i.e., kinky vs. straight), length, and color. A theme was that of keeping hair natural versus relaxing it or wearing a weave and how these decisions had social consequences. For example, one participant spoke about her decision to wear her hair naturally: I guess people look at me and they think. Oh, the natural girl, whatever, the hair and all this, and so they put me in a box, right? Like they connect me with someone like Eryka Badhu, or make assumptions about what I am like . . . maybe militant, or more earthy, when I am not like that. Another participant discussed her feelings about straightening her hair: It's expensive, hair... a lot of us do it, and there's definitely a feeling that straight hair, long hair, it's what's beautiful. Sometimes I think, I don't feel like doing this anymore . . . but then there's a nagging sensation that I won't look as good if I don't... .

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1. Core Category: Body/Self Image

4. Media Images

T--

Uckof Acknowledgement of Afrocentric Features

Figure 2. Conceptual model of the generated theory. The core category of Body/Self Image, as defined by hair, skin, attitude, and physique, is affected by Interpersonal Influences (Category 2) from Black men and family members. Experiences of Oppression (Category 3) due to race/gender microaggressions and feelings of invisibility, and Media Images (Category 4) that influence Black men's aesthetic preferences and lack an acknowledgment of Afrocentric features. The relationships between the categories are denoted by solid or dashed arrows that indicate qualitatively positive or negative effects, respectively. Media images, particularly their influence on Black men, play an integral role in linking categories to each other as do feelings of invisibility in impacting participants' body/self image.

Here, a participant indicates the equal importance of maintaining her hair as well as her physical body in terms of looking good: I'm a woman of color, I'm a certain age. I better work it, I have to work it. I should go to the hair stylist, get a new style. I have to go to the gym every other day and put in those thirty minutes like I've been hearing everybody saying. Weight Watchers, L.A., I mean, it's like— and it's like you're not normal if you don't do these things.

Skin. Across all focus groups, participants discussed the role that their skin tone and complexion played in their self-image. In general, participants attached a lot of social meaning to the tone of their skin, with a theme being that light skinned Black women were the most preferred by men and the media. Participants discussed feeling discouraged and disappointed by the media's consistent depiction of Black women as light skinned and also connected this phenomenon to a desire to see Black women looking "more White." For example, one woman in her mid-20s who had dark skin and natural hair was chosen to dance in a music video and shared her experience of being put in the back of the group: Homegirls with the weaves and the light skin and the very specific look, a very specific standard, were put in the front ofthe camera, and

I understood that it wasn't about me, it wasn't personal. I did look good, but I did have that moment of insecurity, like okay, I don't have the long hair and da-da-da-da. But I do feel that there's still a huge unconscious strain of wanting to assimilate White or facial characteristics that are associated with Whiteness.

Similar to discussions of hair, participants felt that assumptions were made about them based on their skin tone and that social experiences were differentially impacted by the shade of their skin. For example, a participant in her 30s who self-identified as "medium toned" stated. For me growing up, one thing I was very aware of was skin tone. If you're Black, get back [laughs]... it was very blatant. If you're in the medium range, you're just regular [laughs] . . . but if you're particularly light skinned, or particularly dark skinned, you're going to have very distinct set of experiences. In the same group, a woman in her early 20s responded by talking about her personal experience of being light skinned: "It's like, sometimes I feel bad for being light skinned because I'm the quote-unquote, the good one, or the one that a mother would tell her son to marry." In a different group, a woman in her late 20s

BLACK WOMEN'S BODY MAGE shared a similar sentiment, "Sometimes I feel guilty for being light skinned. That's crazy, I know, but it's like . . . my skin tone makes me the better one, as opposed to a dark skinned one." Attitude. Women in all of the focus groups included selfconfidence and the way one carried oneself as an important aspect of body image. There was a consensus that a woman's attitude can project beauty and transcend physical features. For example, one participant stated. How you wear the clothes, not necessarily what the size of the clothes are, but how you wear them, how you put yourself together, and how you feel about yourself I think is a lot more important than what the actual size is. Participants felt that if a woman feels beautiful, she can be beautiful, regardless of whether or not her actual features match what the cultural ideal is. Another participant stated, "If someone walks into the room and you can tell they are comfortable in their body, you are going to want to talk to them. They're attractive." Physique. Women in the focus groups discussed an awareness that losing weight and staying in shape was a major focus in mainstream media and across U.S. society. Some women in the study felt a desire to lose weight and be more toned, while others talked about an entirely different standard that they felt pressure to meet: one where they had large breasts, shapely hips, and a full backside. There was a general consensus that Black men preferred the latter shape and therefore it represented the ideal body for Black women. For example, in all of the groups, when the facilitator asked what was ideal in terms of body shape for Black women in the eyes of the Black community, the group response was a mixture of " b u t t . . . hips . . . boobs.. . . " One women stated, "You want curves, hips and a butt. It's not what mainstream society thinks is ideal, but it's what our men like." Another group used the female singer Beyoncé as a personification of the ideal body: "Beyoncé is thin but she's got curves. She's a curvy woman with hips and a butt." Large breasts were discussed frequently as important feature: "Without the breasts, it's like, you're not womanly." Conflicting messages about the importance of being in shape and losing weight versus being "thick" were also described in all groups but one. For example, one woman described the experience of living with both standards: I see White women in the street and I see White men tum their heads because that White women is a Size 6 or Size 5, she has a flat behind, she has like maybe an A, a Size A bra [laughs] and she's, and that's attractive to him. A Haitian man, a Jamaican man, a Trini—they're not looking at that. They're looking at somebody who's got a Size C, Size D bra [laughs] and big butt, filling out their pants, and as a female, if anything, it makes you—it sort of makes me go nuts. It's like I know I'm fine, you know, but at the same time, as a woman, you want to be attractive to people, to all men, I think. For me. And it's like, okay, if I stay this way, I'm attractive to one, I'm not attractive to another. Another woman described her stmggle to balance the body norm in Caribbean culture versus White culture: Frustration is a constant psychological struggle as to defining what is normal for my body, and should I be striving, should I be going to the gym and striving for the Eurocentric body image? Or should 1 just leave myself alone and be at peace with the body image that is

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Caribbean? 'Cause in the Caribbean, there's no flat behinds, there's no [laughs], there is no size—a Size 4 Caribbean woman, that would be hard to find because we are thick! [laughs]

Category: Interpersonal Influences Participants in all the focus groups spent significant time talking about the role that others play in their self-perceptions and feelings about their body and appearance. The two major forces that were discussed in this category were Black men and family members. Each one was spoken about differently and as a distinct entity, and thus, each represents a separate subcategory and is described below. The influence of Black men. This subcategory represents the extent to which participants were influenced by their perceptions of Black men's aesthetic preferences. All participants, regardless of how personally influenced they were by these preferences, discussed having an awareness of what Black men consider beautiful. In general, the consensus was that Black men prefer women with curves (specifically, large breasts, hips, and backside), which was spoken about in a factual and more intellectualized manner. When the subject matter tumed to elements of hair and skin preferences among Black men, participants were more emotional in their responses and described personal reactions and consequences. For example, one participant stated, "In the case of Black men in rap videos, they surround themselves with women who are like, skinny girls in bathing suits with long hair that's straight as can be. I just feel like, you're not good enough." A participant in a different group described her reaction: Black men, they like the long hair, they like it straight, they like it a certain way. I'm like, "Get over it! It's just hair! It doesn't define who you are." But I notice, when I put in the long weave, it's easier. The guys are fascinated by it. Another participant shared her feeling that hair is related to being sexually appealing to men: Some of the men have bought into the European standard for hair, like a lot of women have. And it's like, I recently cut my hair, and I was thinking, "Oh my God! Oh my God!" What goes through your mind is, will I be attractive to the opposite sex? Finally, a 40-year-old participant stated, "Why does a Black woman pay two hundred dollars to put a weave in her hair? She wants to attract a man." The influence of famiiy members. Participants in all focus groups spoke about the influence their families had on their feelings about their weight, shape, overall appearance, and eating in general. Families seemed to play an important role in informing participants' ideas about what is an ideal body shape and size, which was most commonly in opposition to the mainstream focus on thinness. For example, one participant stated, "[in my family] you don't hold back on eating because you're trying to stay small. You eat because that's what you do! It's part of your culture, that's how you show love, it's how you bond with your family." Another participant shared a similar sentiment: "If you ask a Caribbean woman this, if they do lose weight and become a Size 10, their family members will ask them, 'What's wrong? Are you sick? Have you been eating?" The majority of the women felt that a thin ideal was irrelevant for them (e.g., "As far as White women go, I

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just see their bodies as completely different. That's a totally different standard [of thinness] so it doesn't even cross my mind") and described support from family members for having larger body sizes. Older females were mentioned as particular sources of support. One participant said. Growing up, my mother never said anything negative about my body. I never felt like I wasn't beautiful. And if you look at the women in my family, all shapes and sizes, they make you feel like you're fine the way you are. It's like—Here's something else to eat. It's fine. While family was generally seen as a source of support for body image, participants also discussed confiicting messages that they received between their family and White society. For example, one participant detailed her experience of being "naturally thin" and how this caused her to gain accolades from White friends but was picked on by her family of origin: At school, I guess some of the White women were always very, also very positive, like, your arms are so toned and what are you—like why—you know, you look, like you always look so in shape . . . but um whereas at the same exact time—and I guess that's—my sister would be like, you're too skinny, you're scrawny. You're losing your boobs! Like, she was mean.' [laughs] And . . . and so then she'd call me names. You look scrawny! Like so I was getting two kind of conflicting messages. Well, [name], you look so nice, so toned. The other one is like. Get a meal !

There was lots of verbal and nonverbal agreement recorded from participants who also attended educational environments with a minority of Black students. Another example of a microaggression, which was raised in the majority of the focus groups, had to do with being seen as exotic by White men. Though several women iN = 5) shared experiences of having dated White men, there was consensus of mistrust toward White men and a questioning of their intentions. As one participant stated. It's like when you talk about, what's the—do you really want to get to know me"! Do you just want to get a sneak peek into like what my race is like? Do you want to fulfill some type of fantasy? You know what I mean?

At that point, another participant answered, "Am I an experiment for you?" Invisibility. In direct contrast to the experience of microaggressions that caused participants to feel more conspicuous in their environments, participants discussed feelings of being invisible and unimportant. The word invisible was used spontaneously in five out of six focus groups, without mention by the facilitator. The general consensus was that Black women are undervalued and underappreciated in society. As one participant stated, I'm Black but I'm still a woman, you know what I mean? You all don't listen to what I say, and how I feel doesn't matter, but that's just something else to think about, I think. About race and gender, how they intersect.

A participant from a different focus group commented. Though the people in your family are telling you one thing and that affects the way you see yourself. But then the culture, the Eurocentric culture tells you something else, and you're like, you're stressed out because there's this struggle, they confiict with each other.

Category: Experiences of Oppression The women in all of the groups spoke about experiences of oppression that they felt were unique to their status as Black or African American females. There were two major themes that developed under this category: race/gender microaggressions and invisibility. Race/gender microaggressions. Women in all focus groups discussed daily experiences of oppression in the form of microaggressions. Participants did not use the term microaggressions; however, they were describing subtle forms of discrimination that pervaded their daily experiences, all of which made them more aware of their status as Black females. For example, multiple participants discussed their feelings about attending predominately White colleges, where they felt singled out for being exceptional because they were intelligent. This kind of attention and hypervisibility was described as causing participants to feel very uncomfortable and as if they did not belong in the environment. For example, one participant in her 30s spoke about her college experience: In my graduating class at . . . there were eight hundred people and twenty-five were Black, the environment is suffocating. These White people, they were like, "Oh my! A smart Black person!" And it does make you more aware of your body . . . like I'm Black and I'm an anomaly.

As opposed to standing out in White environments, as was discussed with regard to intelligence, participants shared anecdotes of being looked over and ignored in White contexts, especially when it came to issues of being attractive: We were in an environment, we were just like one of the few Black people, it's like, oh my God—does no one see me? Men or women. Gosh, am I invisible? You know what I mean? I could not understand and it really made me feel bad.

A participant in a separate group corroborated this feeling: "I'm in this school environment and I was interacting with the guys and they're handing out fiyers for parties and give all of my friends, except for ME! I felt totally invisible." Another women stated that when she was in an all-White classroom, it was as if she was "absent."

Category: Media Messages The media was discussed as an important vehicle for transmitting messages about what is considered beautiful and desirable among women. Participants discussed mainstream media as well as Black media. Two subcategories emerged that shared significant overlap with previous categories: lack of acknowledgment of Afrocentric features and infiuence on Black men. Lack of acknowledgment of Afrocentric features. Women noted that when it came to mainstream media, characteristics that were celebrated in their own culture, such as a large backside or full lips, were not featured on Black women. For example, one participant stated. No offense to White models, but they're taking our body characteristics and using them to market magazines, but no Black models are

BLACK WOMEN'S BODY IMAGE being used who have the thick—who are bom with the thick lips and the big butts and the big breasts are on Elle magazine or on Vogue magazine, and it's like they're taking our stuff, what makes us beautiful and unique, and they're not acknowledging us. And it goes to our men too.

In two different groups, Jennifer Lopez was spontaneously mentioned as an example of a woman who was celebrated in the media for having a large backside. Participants described feeling insulted by the attention her large backside received, as if it is only a sexy and attractive feature when it is not on a Black woman. Examples follow (initials represent different participants across two groups): T: What's the big deal about J. Lo? Because for her to become a big star, despite the fact that her body image wasn't the stereotype of what is beautiful in this country, means that the mainstream society finally accepted the fact that this can be beautiful too. R: It wasn't warranted attention [to J. Lo's backside] because if you see it every day in the street in your community, you're like, I don't understand what's the big deal? It's like when mainstream media finally puts their stamp of approval on it, should we feel better about ourselves? Like we've been okay with who we are in terms of curves and shapes, so like with that, it's like I don't even understand. B: Then there's J. Lo . . . she's got a full butt and totally loved by the media for i t . . . if she was Black, would she be such a star? I have to think, no. Just look around, most of the sisters have them, and you don't see them featured in the mainstream like J. Lo.

One participant spoke about her feelings that her body type never seems to be the one that is featured in shows about fashion: So I'm like okay, if those are the clothes that she's the perfect model for, and I am shaped nothing like her, then um where are these, like these designers are not thinking of people who have actual bodies in mind. She's flat, no hips, no butt. So basically I have to be a wall [laughs] to wear any of these clothes, according to the fashionable clothes that are all the rave in Europe and all these different places, and that doesn't make you—it makes you almost feel irrelevant, like if I don't look like that, then I can't wear cool clothes too?

Influence on Black men. In this particular category, there was significant overlap and connection to the subcategories of influence of Black men and invisibility. Specifically, participants discussed feelings that media images impacted Black men's impressions of beauty and resultant feelings of invalidation and invisibility. The following excerpt from a focus group discussing the feature of full lips on Angelina Jolie illustrates the concept: R: When I see the media making such a big deal of Angelina's lips, I just feel . . . invisible. S: Invisible. And insulted. This is beautiful on Black women, also. And I think of Black men seeing that and thinking, "Oh, White women can have what we like!" But you know, it's not the same. A: It's not the same. It's on a White woman, so it might catch your attention, but it's not the same as dealing with a Black woman. She might have the feature, but it's not going to be the same experience as being with a Black woman.

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Similarly, women discussed the idea that stick-thin models do not necessarily appeal to them but seem to be influencing Black men's preferences. For example. Those are just rappers on TV and maybe the wife or girlfriend they go home to doesn't look like that [skinny], but the fact that you have these girls in your video, either that's your perception of what beauty is or that's what you're playing to what you think is society's idea of or perception of beauty, and you're just trying to get your record on TV or whatever. So I mean, either way it just doesn't speak well to me about what they think beautiful—or how our bodies are. The women noted an increase in thin models in rap videos, specifically, and that any prominent African American or Black Hollywood actresses that are featured in mainstream media tend to be thin. For example. It's not enough that most Black actresses are lighter skinned, or even biracial, but then they are pretty thin, also. They find women who are thin but have curves . . . and Black men start to think that they can find a Black woman like that who "has it all" [participant used air quotes]. It's impossible, and it just feels like I'm up against it.

Discussion The present study contributes to the small body of qualitative research that provides an understanding of the complexity of Black women's body image. Unlike prevailing literature, this study suggests that Black women are not immune from negative feelings about their physical appearance just by virtue of their race. Recently, researchers have contended that this difference is accounted for by racial identity; specifically, racial identity is believed to act as a buffer against body dissatisfaction such that those with higher racial identity levels and thus more identification with African American culture are more immune to body dissatisfaction (Rogers Wood & Pétrie, 2010; Watson et al, 2013). The present findings, supported by other qualitative studies, suggest that a focus on weight-related issues and a neglect of other physical features that are more relevant and conceming for Black women are major shortcomings in this body of work (Hall, 1995; Hughes & Hertel, 1990; Neal & Wilson, 1989). Furthermore, without consideration of these physical features, a tme, holistic picture of Black women's body image cannot emerge. Rather than imposing existing theory onto the findings, the grounded theory approach used in this study allowed for a new theory to emerge based on the voices of the participants. The theory generated in this study produced a core category of Body/ Self Image, defined by physique, hair, skin, and attitude, which was both negatively and positively affected by Interpersonal Influences (i.e., the influence of Black men and family members) and was negatively affected by Experiences of Oppression (i.e., racial/ gender microaggressions and invisibility) and Media Images (i.e., influence on Black men and lack of acknowledgment of Afrocentric features; see Figure 2). The relationships between all of these categories are consistent with the preconceived notion that body image consists of both perceptual and attitudinal aspects (Brown, Cash, & Mikulka, 1990; Cash & Pruzinsky, 1990, 2002); women in this study described Body/Self Image with statements that reflected both how they felt about their appearance and how they perceived others (e.g.. Black men, family, society at large) evaluated them.

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The first and core category of Body/Self Image incorporated beauty standards defined by hair, skin tone, curvaceous physique, and the attitude of being beautiful (e.g., self-confidence, body carriage, fashion style). On the one hand, these features were generally described as being positively influenced by family members because of the social support, acceptance of larger body sizes, and positive associations with food and eating that they provided. On the other hand, these standards were described as both positively and negatively influenced by Black men, as they were perceived as accepting a fuller figure than society at large but also espousing increasingly Eurocentric and narrow aesthetic preferences (i.e., long, straight hair, voluptuous breasts and buttocks, and lighter skin tone). Participants reported both a desire to be physically appealing to Black men and also frustration with their standards. While these Interpersonal Influences (Category 2) are potentially affirming, they also pose additional pressures to meet an impossible ideal. Participants in the present study also discussed the negative effects of Experiences of Oppression (Category 3)—specifically, race/gender microaggressions, as manifested by subtly pervasive racist and sexist slights, and feelings of invisibility—on Body/Self Image (Core Category 1). According to participants, being a Black woman elicited a sense of hypervisibility through othemess as well as feeling unseen and devalued by society. The women in this study talked about their experiences being a visible racial minority in predominantly White contexts (e.g., higher education) and perceiving sexual exoticization by White men. These experiences heightened the awareness of Black women to their bodies as deviations from the social norm; experiences with oppression made them more aware of how their bodies looked to others and that they would be treated in dismissive ways. Feelings of invisibility were also linked to Media Images (Category 4) through the lack of acknowledgment of Afrocentric features in popular images wherein Black models are scarcely represented and traditionally Afrocentric features are oftentimes considered beautiful only when highlighted on non-Black women. These results coincide with only two other quahtative studies that reported Black women's awareness of media images portraying both increasingly "White-like" images of Black women (Poran, 2006) and a co-opting of features celebrated in African American culture by non-Black figures (Kelch-Oliver & Ancis, 2011). On their own, these themes are similar to findings from other research that includes body image concems beyond thinness (Buchanan, Fischer, Tokar, & Yoder, 2008; Overstreet, Quinn, & Agocha, 2010; Poran, 2006; Rogers Wood & Pétrie, 2010; Rubin et al., 2003); the interpersonal influences of Black men, family, and racial community (BeauboeufLafontant, 2003; Gentles & Harrison, 2006; Kelch-Oliver & Ancis, 2011; Poran, 2006; Rubin et al., 2003); and the negative impact of media (Kelch-Oliver & Ancis, 2011; Poran, 2006). Findings of the present study extend this existing literature in several ways. First, as seen in Figure 2, Black men's role in Black women's body image provides overlap and connection to other extemal factors (i.e., interpersonal influences, oppressive experiences, and media images). Other studies have investigated Black men's body size preferences through figure rating scales and measurements of waist-to-hip ratio (Freedman, Carter, Sbrocco, & Gray, 2007; Webb, Looby, & Fults-McMurtery, 2004). While helpful in determining Black men's preferences for body shape and size, these studies do not speak to Black men's preferences for

other aspects of physical appearance (e.g., hair, skin). Our study found not only that these additional physical characteristics were equally important as weight and shape in the core category of Body/Self Image but also that our participants perceived Black men's aesthetic preferences to very much include hair texture and length, skin tone and complexion, and facial features. Second, participants spoke about believing the media to have a powerful effect on influencing Black men's aesthetic preferences. Not only did this produce interpersonal pressures to meet these standards but they were also perceived as oppressive, which then negatively affected participants' feelings about their physical appearance. Notably, this nuanced finding not discussed in other qualitative reports suggests that these images are not simply directly harmful to body image through Black women's intemalization of them but are also indirectly harmful through their perceived influence on Black men. This phenomenon is indicative of the third-person effect, whereby the perceived influence of media images on others is more powerful than the effect of the images on the self (Günther & Story, 2003). Participants in this study expressed concem that the media's admiration of Afrocentric features (e.g., full lips and backsides) on White female models/celebrities and Eurocentric features (e.g., thinness and lighter skin tone) on Black female models/celebrities would influence Black men to prefer mainstream ideals of beauty that increasingly diverged from Black women's body image. This divergence not only contributed to participants' described feelings of devaluation but also negatively impacted their body image; that is, the more participants felt that Black men's preferences were influenced by the media, the more they felt negatively about their physical attractiveness. Unlike previous research examining a sociocultural model of body dissatisfaction wherein African American women's intemalization of societal beauty ideals was a linking feature to lower body esteem and disordered eating (Rogers Wood & Pétrie, 2010), our findings suggest that this model could be expanded to include the endorsement of these ideals by significant others. This notion is in line with African Americans' tendency to value collectivism over individualism (Lukwago, Kreuter, Bucholtz, Holt, & Clark, 2001; Myers, 1998) and may explain our relational finding that others' perceptions were just as or more so meaningful to Black women's body image than their own perceptions. Last, the findings of this study differ from past research on body image in its discussion of Black women's feelings of invisibility. The invisibility syndrome was previously conceptualized to portray African American men's inner stmggles with feeling unseen as persons of worth by others and society at large due to daily racist encounters (Franklin, 1999). In its extension to African American women, this psychological dilemma moves beyond struggling with racist events to include the constant need to negotiate White, Eurocentric standards with one's own cultural values (Wyatt, 1999). This negotiation corresponds to W. E. B. Du Bois's (1903) notion of double consciousness in understanding the struggle to live simultaneously in both White American and African American societies within the context of racism (Parham, 1999). The present findings illustrate this phenomenon in participants' reports of invisibility via media images wherein Afrocentric features were compromised by the admiration of those that were more Eurocentric. Our findings also expand upon the struggle of double consciousness to include Black women's feelings of devaluation

BLACK WOMEN'S BODY MAGE within their racial community. Participants described Black men's attraction to Black women with more Eurocentric features as contributing to the oppressive experience of invisibility that Black women also felt as racial beings in predominantly White communities and in their underrepresentation in the media. This observation illustrates Hargrove's (2000) idea that Black women face the double jeopardy of two oppressed identities and highlights the notion that the intersection of race and gender should be considered in Black women's body image. Thus, apart from previous research, the present study found that feelings of invisibility serve an important link between the negative effects of the media and Black women's body image.

Implications for Counseling With the perceived notion that African American women are protected from body image, clinicians may not explore appearance-related distress in this population. Clinicians working with African American and Black women will want to consider their attitudes about other physical characteristics that may be particularly relevant to them such as their hair and skin tone. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the media's depiction of Black women and thus its portrayal of ideal beauty extended beyond weight and shape and also include features such as hair and skin tone. Clinicians should challenge their assumption that all women are affected by the media's portrayal of the thin ideal and instead explore women's reactions to depictions of hair and skin. For example, light skin tone and persistent awareness of one's complexion were linked to dissatisfaction above and beyond body shape consciousness in Black women (Buchanan et al., 2008). The connections between these physical characteristics (i.e., weight and shape, hair) may also be particularly complex in this population. Previous studies reported Black women's pursuit of a thin body shape in order to avoid further discrimination due to skin tone—a more immutable racial feature—rather than to simply meet a thin ideal (Hesse-Biber et al., 2010; B. W. Thompson, 1992). This is not to suggest that the thin ideal will not be important to some African American clients. Recent studies have suggested that women with lower racial salience or racial identity statuses have higher intemalization of the thin ideal and subsequent body image dissatisfaction and eating pathology (Oney et al., 2011; Rogers Wood & Pétrie, 2010; Watson et al., 2013). The thin ideal has been linked to depressive symptoms, disordered eating, body shame, and appearance anxiety in African American women (Mitchell & Mazzeo, 2009; Watson et al., 2013). Therefore, clinicians should avoid assumptions and instead be more effortful and sensitive in exploring body image concems among African American women. In approaching these concerns contextually, clinicians should consider the effects of familial and peer influences on body image development. Familial influences have been purported to positively impact body image perceptions and attitudes through racial socialization that emphasized educating children on the history and meaning of being Black (Granberg, Simons, & Simons, 2009). In this way, family context and racial community may prepare Black girls and young women to resist dominant cultural influences that associate thinness with success and competence. This study supported the idea that family and community positively affected participants' feelings about their physical appearance. However,

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when it came to Black men's perceived preferences, participants felt positively about Black men's disinterest in thinness but negatively about their desire for women with increasingly Eurocentric features (long, straight hair, lighter skin tone). It would behoove clinicians to consider these interpersonal influences when conceptualizing the body image development of their Black and African American clients. Furthermore, women in this study spontaneously raised the notion of feeling invisible in relation to Black men's perceived preferences, media depictions of idealized images, and the influence of these media on Black men. It is possible that the experience of feeling invisible (sociopolitical relevance discussed earlier) has unique connections to body image development in this population. Rather than describing low self-esteem in the traditional sense, this population may experience low perceived social worth that then negatively affects body/self image.

Limitations and Future Research A limitation of the present study is the small number of participants, who, while ethnically diverse, may be more homogeneous in other respects. Therefore, findings cannot necessarily be extended to the larger African American/Black female population. In particular, all participants were college educated, and nearly half the sample had obtained or was pursuing an advanced degree. Therefore, experiences of oppression and other external influences described in this study may not adequately reflect other Black women's experiences with varying educational backgrounds. Another hmitation is that participants' sexual orientation was not obtained on the demographic questionnaire or discussed in the focus groups. Therefore, differences among women based on sexual preference could not be assessed, and the relevance of Black men for women who date women and/or identify as bisexual or lesbian is missing from this investigation. Future research should examine other social identities including those related to social class, age, disability, and sexual orientation as they relate to Black women's body image. Additionally, many researchers continue to investigate body image-related issues among women of color by using psychometric measures that have been developed and validated with predominantly White Westem samples (Davis & Yager, 1992; Lovejoy, 2001). Specifically, studies continue to assess Black women's body image by measuring them on standards related to weight and shape and pursuits of thinness. This study illustrates the multifaceted concept of African American women's body image that is not captured in currently used instruments and underscores the call for more culturally relevant measures, as attitude toward weight alone is not sufficient. Future research should consider the role that invisibility may play in Black women's body image development and potentially on their weight status. For example, women of color have described overeating behaviors in an effort to cope with feelings related to experiences of racism and discrimination (B. W. Thompson, 1992). It is possible that feelings of invisibility mediate the relationship between experiences of racism and overeating behavior as getting physically larger could be seen as a means to become more visible and potentially more attractive in their community. In our study, women felt that being "thick" or large was regarded as a positive thing by their families, the community at large, and Black men. Weight may therefore be an aspect of their physical

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appearance that they associate with having a strong Black identity, versus straightening hair or lighter skin, which are seen as having a Eurocentric influence. This study illuminates the unique experiences of African American women and demystifies the notion that they are protected by their race. As participants in this study spoke positively about the influence of their families on their body image and indicated great immersion in Black culture, they also spoke about their appearance concems related to overall physique, hair and skin. One possible explanation for this co-occurrence is that Black women with strong racial and cultural ties may also have frequent and significant interactions with Black men who they perceive to prefer Eurocentric features. Additionally, neither Black women nor Black men may be immune from mainstream societal messages, and the constant struggle to negotiate White Eurocentric standards against those of African Americans may further obfuscate attractiveness ideals that engender negative body image attitudes in Black women. While many of this study's findings support themes seen in past research and those of other qualitative work, they also illustrate a dynamic interplay between culturally specific influences that give a better understanding of Black women's body image development beyond a focus on weight and shape.

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Received January 30, 2013 Revision received July 17, 2013 Accepted July 23, 2013

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