Editing Body image (section)

=== Race ===
The association of light skin with moral virtue dates back at least to the [[medieval era]], and was reinforced during the [[Atlantic slave trade]]. The medieval theory that all races originated from the white race was an early source of the longstanding association of white bodies and beauty ideals with "normality" and other racial phenotypes as aberrant.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Camp|first1=Stephanie|title=Black Is Beautiful: An American History|journal=Journal of Southern History|date=April 2015|volume=3|page=678}}</ref> The 1960s [[Black is Beautiful]] movement attempted to end that mindset.

A lack of black women in the [[fashion industry]] contributes to body image issues among [[African-American]] women.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = http://cswr.columbia.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Bryant.-The-beauty-ideal-The-effects-of-European-standards-of-beauty-on-Black-women..pdf|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131210214658/http://cswr.columbia.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Bryant.-The-beauty-ideal-The-effects-of-European-standards-of-beauty-on-Black-women..pdf|url-status = dead|archive-date = December 10, 2013|title = The Beauty Ideal: The Effects of European Standards of Beauty on Black Women|last = Bryant|first = Susan L|date = n.d.|journal = Columbia Social Work Review|access-date = October 25, 2015}}</ref> However, a 2003 experiment presented three photographs of attractive [[white people|white]], [[black people|black]] and [[Asian people|Asian]] women to white, black and Asian students. The study concluded that Asian women and white women both reported similar levels of body dissatisfaction, while black women were less dissatisfied with their own appearances.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = http://www.allenmcconnell.net/pdfs/racialminorities-SAI-2003.pdf|title = Do Racial Minorities Respond in the Same Way to Mainstream Beauty Standards? Social Comparison Processes in Asian, Black, and White Women|last = McConnell|first = Allen|date = 2003|journal = Self and Identity| volume = 2|access-date = October 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|McConnell|2003|p=161|ps=: "As shown in Table 1, Asian targets were perceived to be equally attractive by Asian women and White women, but they were perceived as less attractive by Black women. Similarly, White targets were perceived to be equally attractive by Asian women and White women, but they were perceived as less attractive by Black women. Black targets, however, were perceived to be equally attractive by all participants. Thus, Asian women and White
women reacted equivalently to the target Asian, White, and Black women. However, Black women viewed outgroup targets as less attractive than did Asian and White participants, suggesting that Black women only viewed other Black target women as relevant social comparisons, consistent with our hypotheses."}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|McConnell|2003|p=161|ps=: ""As shown by participants’ attractiveness ratings of the mainstream standards of beauty and their ratings of the yearbook photographs, Black women were less likely
than Asian women or White women to report mainstream standards as attractive or
to perceive mainstream standards as relevant social comparisons. Accordingly, Black
women reported greater Overall Self-Attractiveness scores, as well as more positive
Self-BES scores than did Asian or White women, whose scores on these measures did
not differ from each other. Thus, Black women should also be less likely than Asian
women or White women to experience a drop in overall feelings of self-worth following exposure to mainstream standards of beauty. To assess the possibility that exposure to mainstream beauty standards affected self-esteem, a mixed-design
ANOVA was conducted to test whether there were racial differences (betweensubjects variable) between Time 1 and Time 2 Self-Esteem, which was a repeated measure. As Table 1 reveals, a significant main effect of race was found, F(2,167) ¼ 10.93, p < .001, indicating that Asian women’s (M ¼ 19.5) and White women’s (M ¼ 19.8) Self-Esteem were significantly lower than Black women’s Self-Esteem
(M ¼ 21.9). These results are consistent with past findings showing that Black selfesteem is as high as, or greater than, White self-esteem (Crocker & Major, 1989;Rosenberg, 1979; Wylie, 1979)."}}</ref> These findings are consistent with previous research showing that black women generally have higher self-esteem than white or Asian women in America.<ref>{{harvnb|McConnell|2003|p=161|ps=: "The current work indicates that Asian women resemble White women in their desire to strive for mainstream beauty ideals. However, both Asian women and White women differ from Black women, who apparently rejected mainstream standards for their comparisons. This is consistent with other research that shows
that Black women do not subscribe to the thinness ideals that are prescribed in mainstream culture (Hebl & Heatherton, 1998; Quinn & Crocker, 1998)."}}</ref>

One study found that, among women, East Asian women are more satisfied with their bodies than white women. East Asian men reported more body dissatisfaction than white males did.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barnett |first1=Heather L. |last2=Keel |first2=Pamela K. |last3=Conoscenti |first3=Lauren M. |title=Body Type Preferences in Asian and Caucasian College Students |journal=Sex Roles |date=2001 |volume=45 |issue=11 |pages=867–878 |doi=10.1023/A:1015600705749 |s2cid=141429057 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1015600705749 |language=en |issn=1573-2762|url-access=subscription }} "Post hoc tests revealed that among Caucasian students, women reported
greater body dissatisfaction compared to men, t(267) = −6.92, p <
.001. However, among Asian students, men reported more body
dissatisfaction than women, t(83) = −5.92, p < .001."</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Barnett|Keel|Conoscenti|2001|ps=: "In this study, we examined body type preferences in females and
males of different ethnic groups. Similar to previous findings for
females, both Caucasian and Asian women rated their current
figure as larger than their ideal figure, repre- senting a desire to
be thinner. However, Asian women reported a current figure that was
similar to the ideal figure reported by Caucasian women. Thus, while
Caucasian and Asian women show the same patterns, Asian women in our
culture select a more extreme ideal of thinness. Similar to ethnic
differences in body size reported by women, Asian men were smaller
than Caucasian men. However, there was no difference in the ideal
figures selected by Caucasian and Asian men, resulting in a
discrepancy between current and ideal figures in only Asian males.
Specifically, Asian males re- ported an ideal figure that was larger
than their current figure. An interaction between gender and
ethnicity revealed that Caucasian females and Asian males reported
the largest degree of body dissatisfaction"}}</ref> Western men desire as much as 30 pounds more muscle mass than do Asian men.<ref name="Simon and Schuster" />