********************* This paper has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Eating Disorders. Please do not quote because some editorial changes will likely be made during the copy-editing process. For further information, please contact Arnold Kahn, FAC_ASKAHN@VAX1.ACS.JMU.EDU ********************* Racial Differences in Women's Desires to Be Thin Andrea D. Powell and Arnold S. Kahn Andrea D. Powell, B.A. is a graduate student at Old Dominion University. Arnold S. Kahn is Professor of Psychology, James Madison University. This research was conducted by the first author as an honor's thesis under the supervision of the second author. We wish to thank Virginia Andreoli Mathie and Esther Rothblum for their comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. Address reprint requests to Dr. Kahn at Department of Psychology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807. Abstract The goal of this research was to attempt to understand why White women are more prone to develop eating disorders than Black women. Using self-reports, we found that White women chose a significantly thinner ideal body size than did Black women, and expressed more concern than Black women with weight and dieting. White women also experienced greater social pressure to be thin than did Black women. White men indicated less desire than Black men to date a woman with a heavier than ideal body size, and White men felt they would more likely be ridiculed than did Black men if they did date a woman who was larger than the ideal. The results suggest that Black women experience eating disorders less than White women at least in part because they experience less pressure to be thin. Racial Differences in Women's Desires to Be Thin The ideal woman's body size in the U. S. has become considerably thinner over the past thirty years. Many White women currently feel they must be very thin to be attractive to men (Rozin & Fallon, 1985). Indeed, Cohn and Adler (1992) suggested a well-established norm of thinness exists for women, one so extreme that many White women resort to eating disorders in an attempt to match it (Silverstein, Peterson, & Perdue, 1986). In support of this relationship, a number of studies have found that White women with eating disorders report a greater discrepancy between their actual body size and their perception of their body size than White women without eating disorders (Bell, Kirkpatrick, & Rinn, 1986; Fraenkel & Leichner, 1989). In contrast to the White women in the U.S., few Black women seem to have eating disorders (Dolan, 1991; Root, 1990). Gray, Ford, and Kelly (1987) found a significantly lower rate of bulimia, and less emphasis on eating and weight in general among Black college students compared to White students. They, along with others (Bhadrinath, 1990; Root, 1990) proposed that the Black culture may be more accepting of larger women, and that both Black men and women may place less emphasis on thinness when assessing beauty than Whites. Blacks more than Whites may thus be able to ignore the predominantly White media message that extreme thinness is essential for a happy, successful life (Root, 1990). This study explored the effects of race and cultural identification on women's perceived body images, ideal body image, and perceived pressures to be thin. This study is the first to incorporate both Black and White women's and men's perceptions of the ideal woman's body image and their evaluations of thinness. We predicted that, compared to White women, Black women would: a) choose a larger body size as their ideal, b) have less discrepancy between their perceived current body size and their ideal, c) report perceiving less pressure from society to be thin, and d) express less concern about weight and dieting. We also predicted that Black men would choose a larger ideal body size, be less likely to prefer thinness in a dating partner, and be more accepting of larger women than would White men. Method A survey was given to 202 James Madison University students. The responses from those participants who indicated a race other than either Black or White (N = 11) or who were older than 26 (N = 1) were omitted from further analysis. The final sample consisted of 38 Black women, 33 Black men, 59 White women, and 60 White men. Procedure and Measures Participants were randomly approached in the student union near the campus post office. Participants were asked to complete a survey on attitudes about weight. Those who agreed first signed an informed consent form and then completed the measures described below. Female participants. Female participants were presented with nine silhouettes of a female body which ranged from extremely underweight to extremely overweight (Williamson, Davis, Bennet, Goreczny, & Gleaves, 1989). They were asked to indicate which silhouette they considered the ideal body size, which most closely resembled their current body size, and which they thought most attractive to a man. An additional 11 questions (some modified from Cooper, Taylor, Cooper, & Fairburn (1987), with responses on 6-point scales from "never" to "always," assessed how concerned the women were with weight and dieting, and how much social pressure they felt to be thin. The final six items assessed exposure to the White and Black cultures, the extent to which participants felt a part of the White and Black cultures, and their self-designated race. Male participants. Using the same silhouettes, male participants chose the silhouette they found most attractive, and then rated each silhouette, on 5-point scales ranging from "never" to "definitely," on how likely they would be to ask out that woman and how likely they would be ridiculed by friends if they dated a woman of that size. An additional question assessed, on a 6-point scale from "never" to "always," how much they preferred women they dated to be thin. The final 6 items were identical to items given to female participants. Results As predicted in our first hypothesis, from silhouettes ranging from extremely underweight, 1, to extremely overweight, 9, White women chose a significantly thinner ideal body size (M = 3.56, SD = 1.24) than did Black women (M = 4.71, 1.54), t (93) = -4.01, p < .0005. No race difference was found for perception of current body size, t (93) = -0.82. Hypothesis two predicted that Black women would indicate a smaller discrepancy between their current and ideal body-sizes than would White women. Although the means were in the predicted direction (M = 0.58 for Black women and M = 1.36 for White women) they fell just short of statistical significance, t (92) = 1.81, p < .074. Responses to the six items on the questionnaire that dealt with pressure to be thin ("Models ... make me feel inadequate ...," "I feel pressured to diet ...," "I ... felt ... self- conscious about my body-shape ...," "I feel pressure from my family to be thin," "I feel pressure from my friends to be thin," and "I feel pressure from the media ... to be thin") were summed, with higher scores indicating greater felt pressure. As predicted, White women reported feeling significantly more pressure to be thin (M = 18.03, SD = 5.23) than did Black women (M = 14.38, SD = 5.14), t (93) = 3.23, p < .005. Concern with weight and dieting was measured by summing responses to five questions that assessed how often women avoided wearing certain types of clothing, avoided social occasions because of body appearance, felt less attractive if they gained ten pounds, believed controlling weight was important, and worried about their body shape. As predicted, White women reported more weight and dieting concerns (M = 18.32, SD = 4.35) than Black women (M = 15.81, SD = 4.69), t (94) = 2.67, p < .01. Pearson correlations among the items measuring felt pressure to be thin, concern with weight and dieting, two items which assessed perceived pressure from males for thinness ("I diet to be more attractive to men" and "I believe men would find me more attractive if I lost weight"), and discrepancy between current and ideal body sizes were all statistically significant, with all p-values <.0005. No race differences were found in the silhouette. Black and White men reported most attractive, M (Black) = 4.64, SD = 1.58, M (White) = 4.31, SD = 1.25, t (90) = -1.11, p = .271. However, in response to the question, "I prefer the women I date to be thin," Black men indicated less desire for thinness (M = 3.21, SD = 1.19) than did White men (M = 4.34, SD = .88), t (90) = 5.16, p < .0005. The men rated each of the silhouettes on 6-point scales in terms of their willingness to ask a woman of that size for a date, and extent to which they felt they would be ridiculed by friends if they dated a woman of that size. Since the hypotheses were in terms of larger women, we analyzed the data for silhouettes 5 through 9. A 2 (Race) by 5 (Silhouette) ANOVA revealed strong effects for Silhouette, FDate (4, 360) = 141.87, FRidicule (4, 356) = 155.44), p's < .0005. The men expressed increasingly less willingness to date and greater fear of ridicule as the silhouette size became larger than 5. For both dependent measures there was a significant Race effect, F (Date) (1, 90) = 3.88, p < .05, F (Ridicule) (1, 89) = 4.02, p < .05. Black men said they would be more willing to date women with a larger silhouette than White men, and felt they would be less ridiculed than White men if they did date such a woman. The Silhouette by Race interaction was not significant for either analysis. For Black participants, we expected the more they identified with White culture the more concern they would express about weight. Unfortunately, this prediction could not be adequately examined because there was little variance on these measures almost all Black participants felt "very much" a part of Black culture, "not at all" a part of White culture, and interacted predominantly with other Black people. Discussion Past research has documented a racial difference in the frequency of eating disorders, with White women showing a greater incidence than Black women (Dolan, 1991; Gray, Ford, & Kelley, 1987; Root, 1990). The present research suggests that the racial difference is related to differences in the perceived social pressure to be thin. As expected, we found that White women chose a significantly thinner ideal body size than did Black women. As well, we found a nearly significant difference in the discrepancy between current and ideal body-sizes, with White women feeling heavier, in relation to their ideals, than Black women. We also found that White women reported significantly greater social pressure to be thin and greater concern with weight and dieting when compared to Black women. Further evidence that this racial difference in eating disorders is due to social pressure to be thin is found in the responses of the male participants. Although both groups of men chose a moderate body-size as ideal, White men reported thinness being more important in the women they date than did Black men. Further, Black men expressed more willingness to date larger- than-ideal women and expected less ridicule for dating a larger woman than did White men. Our attempt to measure identification with the Black culture in an attempt to confirm a relationship between cultural identification and emphasis on thinness proved unsuccessful. However, we did support the speculations of Bhadrinath (1990) and Root (1990) that the Black culture is more accepting than White culture of women larger than society's extremely thin ideal, and place less emphasis on thinness when assessing social desirability. Black culture appears to "protect" Black women from eating disorders by providing an environment in which extreme thinness is less valued. These findings suggests that eating disorders and the desire for extreme thinness stem, at least in part, from a variety of social pressures that relate extreme thinness to social desirability and beauty. Belonging to a subgroup that places less emphasis on thinness will likely lead to less concern with weight and fewer eating disorders. References Bhadrinath, B. R. (1990). Anorexia nervosa in adolescents of Asian extraction. British Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 565- 568. Bell, C., Kirkpatrick, S., & Rinn, R. (1986). Body image of anorexic, obese, and normal females. 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