Controlling Beauty Ideals: Caribbean Women, Thick Bodies, and White Supremacist Discourse

Gentles-Peart, Kamille

doi:10.1353/wsq.2018.0009

Cited by 22 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…As scholars highlight the expectation and celebration of thickness among Black women (Gentles-Peart, 2018; Overstreet et al, 2010; Poran, 2006), the thick body ideal engendered a source of body anxiety for those who coveted curves. A handful of respondents described themselves as thinner and aspired to embody a curvaceous figure ( n = 8).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While virtually all respondents praised thickness (Gentles-Peart, 2016, 2018), it became clear in these body narratives that not all curves were created equal. How women in this group experienced body discontent starkly contrasted with women in the previous group.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Central to controlling images are cultural expectations of Black women as naturally thick. More specifically, thickness describes a “voluptuous [B]lack female body with ample derriere, hips, and thighs,” emphasizing the distribution of weight in the lower portion of women’s bodies (Gentles-Peart, 2018, p. 200). This racialized-gendered body expectation emerged from American chattel slavery that stereotyped Black women as mammies (Collins, 2005).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While scholars have established Black women’s preference for thickness (Gentles-Peart, 2016, 2018; Hill, 2009; Overstreet et al, 2010; Patton, 2006; Poran, 2006), this study specifically focuses on how Black women act as “savvy cultural negotiators” to contend with body dissatisfaction (Gimlin, 2002). I ask, what discursive frameworks do women mobilize to alleviate their body dissatisfaction?…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, research on Black women’s body image largely concludes that “cultural buffers” equip women to defy white hegemonic ideals of thinness (Frisby, 2004; Poran, 2002; Sanderson et al, 2013) and instead, encourage them to value fuller body figures as “collective efforts to resist racism” (Craig, 2006, p. 159). Racial standards of thickness are constructed as a marker of Black femininity and attractiveness (Gentles-Peart, 2016, 2018; Hill, 2009) and the embodiment of “strength” (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2003, 2009; Townsend Gilkes, 2001), which neutralize women’s body dissatisfaction even at heavier weights (Lovejoy, 2001; Poran, 2002; Thompson, 1992). While prior studies have empirically established Black women’s preference for thickness (Antin & Hunt, 2013; Ford, 2008; Gentles-Peart, 2016; Overstreet et al, 2010; Patton, 2006), this study diverges to specifically examine body dissatisfaction that surfaced from the thick ideal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

“I’m Supposed To Be Thick”: Managing Body Image Anxieties Among Black American Women

Hughes

2020

Journal of Black Studies

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Prior literature on Black women’s body image heavily relies on comparative studies to confirm Black women’s greater body satisfaction relative to white women. Collectively, these studies argue that “cultural buffers” exempt Black women from the thin ideal and instead, encourage women to embrace thickness as a mark of racial pride. And while the literature largely establishes Black women’s preference for a curvaceous figure, I take a different approach by examining women who describe failing to embody thickness and how they reconcile this conflict. Thus, this article asks how women negotiate body dissatisfaction when violating racialized bodily ideals. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 31 Black American women of diverse body sizes and shapes, I demonstrate how women rely on discursive frameworks such as healthism and the “strong Black woman” ideology to reconcile their self-image. While these discourses enable women to defend criticisms of violating thickness, they also participate in stigmatizing other forms of embodiment in their attempts to assuage body dissatisfaction. Overall, these findings reveal Black women’s agency to challenge idealized–and essentialized–notions of thickness that weighed heavily on their body image. Lastly, I discuss the broader implications of my findings within the literature of body politics and offer suggestions for future research.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%