“…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.…”