Body Image: Cultural pressures keep some black women from working out

[Doondoo]

Andrea Riggs was ready to take on the competition when she opened her personal training studio in Black Jack. The niche for Body Beautiful was to help black women get into shape, be healthy and look good. The competition she ran into, however, wasn't Bally or Gold's or 24 Hour Fitness. Instead, her greatest competition came from attitudes about exercise and diet from the people she wanted for her clients: black women.

"They told me they didn't want to lose weight," Riggs said, recalling her efforts to recruit clients. "It's cultural expectations and pressures. African-American women seem to say, 'We want meat on our bones, and we all want to be bootylicious and appeal to African-American men.'"

People who battle health disparities in African-Americans agree with Riggs. But they admit the topic rarely is broached because of fear of political incorrectness. Still, that well-meaning sensitivity may contribute to killing people.


http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/lifestyle/stories.nsf/healthfitness/story/878F299E0553FE6D8625728B007AC85D?OpenDocument

[itsmesgd]

1. Oh my god, Becky, look at her butt, it's so big. She looks like one of those rap guy's girlfriends

[ecstatic]

7. a flat butt around here is the kiss of death

unless you have a very pretty face.

I find myself trying to stay in shape while not becoming too skinny or too big. It's true that a lot of black men aren't into the bony look, but they (like most men) aren't generally chasing obese women either. I'm comfortable at a 5 or 6, and I think the majority of the more attractive black men tend to avert their gazes from women larger than a size 8 to 10 (although many larger women hate to admit it).

[LostinVA]

2. I also think it's a white society overlap, too

For example, on American Idol: there have been quite a few overweight African American women who have made the finals, even an obese contestant who got very far last year until her anti-gay remarks sunk her. However, there has never, and I bet never will be, an overweight white contestant. Why? Because overweightness is socially acceptable for black women but not white. IMO.

[zalinda]

3. That's very true

Simon has commented on white girls weight, but never on a black girls weight. But then we white girls don't have someone like Queen Latifah saying it's okay to not be skinny. Instead we have women like Teri Hatcher, Paris Hilton and who can forget Gloria Vanderbilt, who said "you can never be too rich or too thin".

zalinda

[ecstatic]

5. True. I hate Simon's glaring double standards nt

[Clark2008]

6. Oh - I doubt it's double standards.

Simon's such a wimp, he's probably scare one of those sisters will kick his ass if he says anything about their weight.

We skinny white women need to learn from our black sisters about attitude and standing up for ourselves. We'd get further, if you ask me.

[LostinVA]

4. kick, because I think this is interesting

[Karenina]

8. White women obsess about their weight...

Black women obsess anoit their HAIR. :evilgrin: