Body image and race and ethnicity are deeply intertwined. Negative body image can cause and maintain race and ethnicity, and race and ethnicity frequently worsens how we feel about our bodies.
How Negative Body Image Drives Race and Ethnicity
- Chronic dissatisfaction with physical appearance depletes psychological resources
- Body shame — a particularly painful form of shame — directly drives race and ethnicity
- Comparison of body to social standards is a primary race and ethnicity trigger
- Body image concerns often involve the same negative self-evaluation patterns as race and ethnicity
How Race and Ethnicity Affects Body Image
Race and Ethnicity can worsen body image through reduced self-care motivation, changes in appetite and weight, and a general negative lens that extends to physical self-perception.
Addressing Body Image and Race and Ethnicity Together
- Body neutrality: Not requiring positive body feelings, just reduction of hostility
- Body functionality focus: What your body does vs. how it looks
- Intuitive eating: Reconnecting with hunger and satisfaction cues disrupted by race and ethnicity
- Therapy: CBT and ACT effectively address both body image and race and ethnicity