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An Increase Of Eating Disorders Among African American Women Essay

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In 1980, the first African American Barbie was introduced to the world , 21 years after the original Barbie was created. The African American doll had a small waist and skinny legs, which is similar to the original Caucasian Barbie. (Reel & Soohoo, 2008) Many say that the creation of the first African American Barbie doll was the start of negative body image within the African American community. People say this because the new Barbie promoted certain societal views that are very much still present today. When people think of body image, they automatically relate it to upper class Caucasian women. This association causes people to believe that African American women are happy with the way they look because they do not go the extra mile to look like other ethnic groups. (Reel & Soohoo, 2008) Just because African American women do not always openly talk about their bodies, does not mean they are satisfied with the way they look. Today there has been an increase of eating disorders among the African American female population. Research has found that African American girls as young as nine years old have been showing early signs of eating disorders. Some African American women struggle with anorexia but the majority suffer from bulimia and binge eating disorder. (Talleyrand, 2010) The African American women who suffer from eating disorders usually come from households that struggle with obesity. While there is not a significant amount of research about eating disorders among

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