Black Folk Don't: Have Eating Disorders

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What is the danger in assuming that black folk don't have issues with their body? What happens when there is no room for discussion for black folk to discuss eating disorders? Or maybe black folk don't actually have any eating disorders? Where does stereotype end and truth begin?

[@Etherealdream234]

I suffer from anorexia and I am black. People have to remember that the mind set of not being able to eat and that food is bad is the disease and that being super skinny is a symptom. It took so long for my family to know I was anorexic because of who we are, because we are black, and the last thing that came to their mind is that I had a eating disorder they thought it was anaemia or cancer, anything but a mental illness, but than again who would of guess that.

[@ItsOnlyKaren]

I'm black and I have restrictive and bulimic tendencies which led me to lose 40lbs in 6 months. It's things like this that make me feel like what's going on with me is fake.

[@Diamond-xl1vs]

ItsOnlyKaren did you watch the whole video

[@smo0chi3]

You obviously didn't watch the video.

[@ajwriter5699]

Black people do suffer with eating disorders. I struggle with binging.

[@Cloud-rz7ke]

Thats an eating disorder

[@KagendaK]

I have an eating disorder. I hate having a fat ass and I've been starving myself to get a thigh gap. I swear I'm too old for this crap but I can't help it.

[@ajwriter5699]

No such thing as too old. Any mental health problem can affect you at any age. Eating disorders are no exception. I hope you get well.

[@yjadalyn1]

I do too. Believe me, I wish I didn't & I hate that I do (especially knowing full well how convoluted it(the media and represntation/woc appropriation) all is) but I do. I hope you get better girl.

[@sguardian870]

+Jasmine Wills trying to get in shape for a white guy is not healthy either. That is the source of your problem.

[@tamarab7375]

i have an eating disorder (anorexia with bulimic tendencies) and i'm FULL black its not about wanting to be white,black people are the minorities that aren't recognized for an eating disorder and no one bothers to stop and think what if black people do have the same problems as white people.most black people are scared to admit they have problems because apparently black girls all wanna be chunky thats not the case

[@kynelson73]

Eating disorders doesn't have to be anorexia and bulimia it can also be over eating and eating our feelings which I find a lot of people when I coach culture are guilty of doing

[@maggierobbins6800]

eating disorders don't discriminate

[@jmwill78]

In reading some of the comments, it seems that many of us on here may be missing the point of the video series. From my perspective, the purpose of "Black Folk Don't" is to present stereotypes that exist within and about the black community and then allow people who fit, adhere to, believe, and/or undermine those stereotypes to share their views and experiences. It's designed to show that while stereotypes may have some kernel of truth to them for some, the black community is a community of individuals who have their own experiences. For me, it's refreshing to watch some of these videos and see people who struggle with the same stereotypically "non-black" issues that I do...and I think that's the point of the series. For every way that we as black folk are similar, we are also different. So, at no point are we ever really alone in our struggles, whatever those struggles may be.

[@aidenmcfev8043]

Yes this is probably the 6th video I've watched and based on the comments below them its very clear that the message and point of these videos is clearly going over peoples heads.

[@demonstration3662]

Finally

[@Animefreak242]

So they are just going to ignore the fact that black people bash thin black girls and tell them that they need to gain weight, have curves, and not look white?

[@truly_ellelulu2480]

Right. I'm Somali, but people call me black and whatever. But I'm really skinny and people say crap about it everyday. Saying your shapes lie a white girl. And why don't you eat

[@iluminati]

It was specifically mentioned about thin Black girls needing to gain weight and not look White.

[@ZizYoubizHERE]

they can't talk for all black people. i'm black and have one, so am i rare or something? ugh

[@Moonewitch]

Exactly!!!! We are not a different species or something.

[@MasteryOfTheSoul555]

You're definitely not rare or alone. Most black people just don't really say anything because of all the stereotypes.

[@EgyptNile]

+ZizYoubizHERE its really not rare trust me several research shows that African-Americans have as much eating disorders do as whites and Hispanics are the highest but only whites tend to get professional help more.

[@beckster003]

I completely disagree. Speaking as a black woman who has struggled with eating disorders I can personally attest that its a mixture of both. The idea that black people aren't affected by eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia is a social construct and it's completely false because we are.

[@Eri_111]

Eating disorders can involve starvation or overeating/binging, etc.. Any type if eating disorder can happen to anyone. It's definitely not a one dimensional "disease."

[@EDParentCoach]

Thank you all for making this important video! It's so sad to see the misconceptions and lack of awareness. No one can tell if someone has an eating disorder by looking at them. It blows me away that many folks think that all people with anorexia are stick thin - that simply isn't true. I hope your next video will mention Binge Eating Disorder which is affecting many more people than anorexia does. People need to get treatment - including black people. Thank you for raising awareness.

[@ruffey1748]

Did anyone watch the full video?

[@benjiyoung1196]

It's not a class thing, either. I'm poor (below the poverty line) and I have an eating disorder. Nor is it a media thing. That is an oversimplification that only satisfies people who have never experienced it first hand.

[@travelingnubian9293]

I dont think you understand the concepts of these video. They are meant to discuss stereotypical issues amongst the black community. These are issue that the black community has shun away from and need to be discussed. If you dont like that then dont watch and please dont add your negativity to such a beautiful series. Thanks

[@lovelyrose2741]

I dealt with anorexia and bulimia from the ages of 14 - 35 due to traumatic events at the age of 14. I nearly died from it many times. It IS NOT something you think, "oh I'm going to do this now". It took a miracle to heal from it.

[@EyrtheFyre]

I like this "black folk don't" series. Watching it reminds me of my own culture- I'm Sicilian and our culture is very similar- especially when it comes to food!

[@mysticanna5545]

Im black and i deeply struggle with restrictive eating and binging i hate gaining weight i hate being fat i have a deep fear of becoming obese.

[@goldenazucar3726]

I too am fully black and used to be very bulimic when I was in 6th to 7th grade. I went from 117 to 98Ibs at 5 foot 7. I think it depends on the environment of the person and what people are exposed to. Honestly, I learned about bulimia from that HBO special with Calista Flockhart and took it from there.

[@thewatcher33]

In the Black Community Obesity is very high and that is a major issue in terms of our health and mental wellness...

[@themr3487]

My best friend had an eating disorder for 8 years & she's black. She also has a shallow & narcissistic father that drove her to it

[@jrmetmoi]

Obesity IS an eating disorder. Eating disorders are usually found on either side of the extremes.

[@Kikuye]

Obesity is not an eating disorder. Binge eating can be an eating disorder. Obese does not equal binge eating disorder. Obesity can be caused by other reasons, it is not necessarily because of an eating disorder. The pathologies as to why someone may "over eat" or "binge" can be different, even if they may look the same on the outside.

[@benjiyoung1196]

No it's not. Binge eating is, and emotional eating should be (IMHO), but obesity itself is not indicative of an eating disorder. What defines an eating disorder is not weight, but the person's feelings and thought patterns regarding food. Now, if the obese person experiences anxiety around food, after eating, and is literally obsessed with it (thinking about it every minute of their waking life), they might have an eating disorder. However, most obese people do not have eating disorders, as most of them simply eat more than they burn.. and don't spend every waking hour obsessed with food. Likewise, most of them simply love food. Those with eating disorders do, too. But when you have an eating disorder, it's a kind of love/hate... abusive relationship with food.

[@jrmetmoi]

Obesity is an eating disorder because something is truly WRONG with eating that much and ending up so fat. What are people on here feeling like they must protect the feelings of the fat people yet they don't feel like protecting the feelings of the very skinny people? Everything about obesity shows that is disorderly only that it appears on the other dude of the spectrum of course but there is no normality and no discipline at all at this side of the spectrum. Comfort eating can lead to over-eating which leads to obesity because the person isn't tackling the real issue and keeps turning to food to feel better leading to a lack of discipline with food as well. Sadly, some childhood sexual abuse victims have been known to turn to over-eating in order to cope with their harrowing and devastating ordeal which leads to obesity. Missy Elliot is one celebrity who had experienced that until she started seeing a therapist.

[@Kikuye]

What did you not understand about different pathologies? Take prader willi syndrome as just one example. Take Cushings Disease as another. Just because you think there is something "truly wrong" and say there is something wrong with their satiety signals, it does not make it morally "wrong" as you seem to think it is. The risk for BED is about 3 to 45 percent in the population. It can either start in childhood or as an adult usually as a result of restrictive dieting. A binge can be considered anywhere over 2000 to 20000 calories. It is a COMPULSION. It is not just over eating or eating a big dinner or eating some extra dessert or "comfort eating". It is not the same as just "over eating" past the point of satiety and fullness. It's not something pleasant, it can make one extremely uncomfortable and even change ones schedule, eating/getting up late at night, hiding to be able to eat, driving somewhere late at night to get food, etc. Before you make claims actually look into the science of things versus going off what you think you "know". Eating disorders in general seem to be terribly misunderstood by the general public.

[@jrmetmoi]

Listen carefully OK?....that COMPULSION...is what makes the whole obesity thing...a.....DISORDER!

[@KahL1One]

Unfortunately it's become more of the norm to find fat/obese Black folks throughout the country in comparison to others nowadays. Even in NYC, literally out of every 10 Black people, you'll see at least 6 or 7 being fat. It's an unfortunate part of both the environment and mental programming passed down from generation to generation in Black American culture. And even worse when denial is an acceptable part of the cultural upbringing as well.

[@Cervantesbracetty]

How about black and Latino guys with eating disorders who want to be thin. I spent the last two years of HS starving and jogging and vomiting. I continued the starving and jogging for a few more years. I'm 23 now and I'm thin and I look great much better then before. But the issue is still in my mind. I still obsess over my body I'm terrified of gaining weight. I work out and go jogging and watch what I'm eating and sometimes I feel like I can feel the fat growing on me while I'm eating. I have zero confidence and idk lots of issues. I don't think the eating disorder is gone. It's still here /:

[@BethKnox32]

Jesus loves you

[@xxMariaAthenaxx]

I really liked the speaker at 1:13. Because of the rigid definition of eating disorders that is held be the general public, individual problems can go undiagnosed or unrecognized when an eating disordered individual's body type does not "fit" into the stereotypical eating disordered body that everyone envisions. Would you happen to have any resources for further information on eating disorders in the Black community?

I was a skinny kid and was told I was too skinny and anorexic. Because of this I started eating a lot more. I don't have an eating disorder but I feel that it's because of what other black folks said to me that made me start changing my eating habits.

[@samanthatodd3378]

I sort of have a eating disorder and I'm black it's weird because every time I eat something I feel bad for it and I think a lot of how fat I'm am

[@SleepyJho]

This is such an amazing series!

[@jessedocsfilms]

Amazing & honest. Thanks for producing this!

[@AbiolaAbrams]

Well done - thanks for including me in this much-needed exploration. xoxo

[@berenicelosey7277]

that was informative. thank you for all.

[@demonstration3662]

Bulimic for years. Just saw a Vietnamese girl that was size 1, total trigger. I just wanted to say to her you don’t eat at all do you? I know what it takes to be that small and anyone that small cannot eat anything.

[@ebonyhart5390]

Thank u blossom! Someone with reason....it is ignorant to say that one whole group is a certain way...you can't possibly know the entire world

[@AbiolaAbrams]

Thank you. I will post resources soon on my site. xoxo

[@ashleyb2586]

I feel like some people are basing their comments solely on the title. They're not dismissing eating disorders like anorexia in the black community, they're just saying its less common because being stick thin isn't really the general image of beauty in the black community. But they heavily mention bingeing which is an eating disorder, meaning anorexia isn't the only eating disorder you can have. And if you pay attention to the message, the video isn't here to straight up say black people don't get eating disorders or upset about their weight, its here to get the opinion of black people and how this subject is thought about in the black community. ❌ ✌

[@demonstration3662]

A handful of people is not the whole black community

[@AbiolaAbrams]

Wonderful!

[@lordblazer]

actually there are many places in this world that prefer curvy women. There is also a difference between being curvy (having hips and a chest) and being obese. Most curvy women usually aren't overweight. Though you will find obese women trying to say they're curvy. Anyway in most of the world.Curvy is a desired look for women. Only in Europe and a few east asian countries(Korea, Japan, China) do they prefer skinny. Also Japan takes it a bit far by saying curvy women are obese(when they aren't)

[@jamesabrown8776]

anorexia was definitely an issue for me in middle school. I was just so sick of my father's mother poking at my stomach.

[@jrmetmoi]

My mother grew up in Jamaica and then in London back in the 60s and she and all of my godmothers are all a bunch of dark skinned black women who were toothpick-skinny back in the 60s and 70s and I can tell this from all of their old photos! My mother said she remembered looking through the clothes at shops like Mary Quant and Biba back then and it's like which girl would waste time looking through their clothes, which were modeled on and modeled by Twiggy, if they couldn't fit into them because of their curves? It's because my mother and her friends were tiny as hell back then and could jump straight into Mary Quant clothes.

[@BlakeBawss]

i wouldnt say that. im black and have been battling anorexia for 14 years.no , its not normal but its not binge eating either.

[@seporahmyles1304]

So I don't have an eating disorder?

[@AbiolaAbrams]

You're welcome!

[@VLM123]

Great video!

[@nenugwu]

Who is the woman @3:26 ?!

[@joleenkiser9414]

Thank you ballerina lady for including all women.

[@BOICRAZYTV]

Hmmmm..

[@KMELIZ21]

i hate when i hear black people say we are naturally curvaceous...this is not TRUE at all. I am a petite black woman..112 pounds and 5"4, and I am happy with my body, and I have no desire at all to want a big ass or big breast...all i want to be is healthy...and that i am, i am a vegetarian and semi vegan...and i workout every single day! i in no way want to be white...i am human

[@demonstration3662]

The first thing people need to do is stop speaking for others. You have no idea what someone else does behind closed doors. A lot of people won’t tell you what they really think, you don’t know what is in someone else’s mind. Stop speaking for your “community “ and just speak for yourself. Most of the statements on this doc are false 😣

[@FlaymeGoddess21]

as do i. :(

[@gorgeouslady5612]

When you compare images of Black women from 1960 and 1970 to images of Black women in 2020 they are very different!.

[@25luqman]

was that brother drinking a hiney in front of a grave site?

[@lordblazer]

but also in a few european countries curvy is pretty much in. Anyway just my two cents there.

[@HoustonR6ryda]

Thank GOD I am a black woodsman/mariner.

[@nicxy3182]

3:29 “I attempted bulimia” 😬😬😬

[@AbiolaAbrams]

Well said -- disordered eating comes in many forms.

[@happysnark]

Black people have the same types of eating disorders as others. Binge/purge, bulimia and binge. Eating disorders aren't about food. It's about what's what's underneath. While the black community may encourage curvy, the rest of the world does not. And if you're told by the world that you're fat, you start to believe you're fat and that you're wrong, you start to try to model yourself after the people on television. Tyra may be curvy but she ain't fat. Watch the video again.

[@biancalord488]

We always eat the wrong stuff... too much grease & pork

[@TheOfficialMG]

I'm Black. I have bulimia with anorexic tendencies.

[@freeman8759]

Eating disorder? I'm bout to eat dis order of hot wings!!! But seriously, eat to live guys. Come on.

[@petrmej]

I think this is peculiar to American black people and untrue for black people in general. African black people are skinny (no, I don't mean just those that are starving).

[@daltonssegirinya8241]

The challenge u mix black Americans and African people, maybe black have such but I will speak as full African 100% no mix we don’t have such eating disorders 😂😂😂😂

[@StardollForEva]

I have an eating disorder (anorexia) and I'm black hmm, not that it's a good thing though.

[@BklynWho]

Melissa Perry Harris addressed the fact that aa girls are becoming increasingly more prone to the eating disorders as a result of integration. I hope you are getting help, my love. This is doing incredible damage to your body, which I'm sure you are aware of. Ask for help. Please.

[@StardollForEva]

Thank you. I'm in the middle of recovering and hopefully I turn out good at the end. Thank you once again.

[@yjadalyn1]

I've had it too, for years. Yeah, it's crazy to think that somehow we're exempt from emotionally and mentally being the same as everyone else, even though we are all held "equally" accountable for negative things like everyone else-we are seen as exempt from human internal struggles. If anyone should be considered having mental health issues it should definitely be us after all we've been through.

[@opiumjamm]

An unhealthy diet =/= an ED.

[@petrmej]

There's a lot of fat black people in America so they say here that it's somehow natural and a part of the culture for blacks to be fat as opposed to whites. Except the contemporary US, I've always thought that to be rather the other way around.

[@KahL1One]

With Black folks, eating disorders are the complete opposite. Instead of not eating enough and vomiting, it's a case of either eating too much or eating poorly on a regular basis. It's just as bad and serves to be worse. Unfortunately it's difficult to de-program toward healthier diets that consist of better foods. It also gets worse when deniability comes into play. Curvy is very different from being fat and in the Black community it's encourages to make the terms interchangeable.

[@ebonyhart5390]

Stereotypes come from some shred of truth so theres alot of validity in this video but to speak for every sinlge blk person is wrong

[@benjiyoung1196]

You did watch all the way through, right? As it gets closer and closer to the end, it does show that they can have eating disorders. So the stereotype is wrong.

[@ebonyhart5390]

Did u not read my full comment? I was responding to alot of what preceded the end...just because it shows reason in the end doesn't mean all those opinions are now changed..I was merely responding to them

[@BklynWho]

Ebony Hart Well, how can each person be speaking for "every single blk person" when they are offering their own opinion and their account of their experiences? It deliberately offers diverging opinions. I think this illustrates that not only do black people do these things that they're perceived to not do but they also have different opinions of them.

[@ebonyhart5390]

Again...I was addressing only the people that were globalizing for christ sakes geez why do u people assume so much to the extreme?

[@ressivVEVO]

Its not a woman thing tho I know a lot of men that suffer the same

[@alishahines92]

Wow, ignorance

[@jrmetmoi]

Stereotypes such as 'black women are usually curvy' or anything that suggests that black women are prone to being 'bigger' than other women are just plain annoying and silly. It's as if black people have forgotten that life existed before 1995. On KZbin, a lot of cute vids have been uploaded of Soul Train from back in the 70s not just the star appearances but also of the 'Soul Train Line' dances where they danced for the camera in between everybody else and EVERYBODY in those old clips are black AND toothpick-skinny! Yes! Yes! Both the women AND the men back in the 70s on Soul Train all disappeared whenever they turned to the side. No chests and no rears, nothing and I have heard that back then they put everyday, young dancing people on that show back in the 70s. So when did obesity become so genetic or 'glandular' for black people in that case?