Body shape and size depictions of African American women in JET magazine, 1953–2006

Depictions of Caucasian women in the mainstream media have become increasingly thinner in size and straighter in shape. These changes may be inconsistent with the growing influence of African American beauty ideals, which research has established as more accepting of larger body sizes and more curvaceous body types than Caucasians. The present study looked at trends in the portrayal of African American women featured in JET magazine from 1953 to 2006. Beauty of the Week (BOW) images were collected and analyzed to examine body size (estimated by independent judges) and body shape (estimated by waist-to-hip ratio). We expected body sizes to increase and body shapes to become more curvaceous. Results revealed a rise in models’ body size consistent with expectations, but an increase in waist-to-hip ratio, contrary to prediction. Our findings suggest that the African American feminine beauty ideal reflects both consistencies with and departures from mainstream cultural ideals.

Research highlights▶ The body sizes of Beauty of the Week models showed an increase over 26 years. ▶ The waist-to-hip ratios of Beauty of the Week models rose over the 53 years examined. ▶ These findings provide evidence of both a convergence with and a divergence from mainstream Caucasian media in the portrayals of feminine beauty ideals.