Gendered racial microaggressions, self-silencing, and disordered eating in Black women

Abstract

Gendered racial microaggressions are defined as the nuanced expressions of oppression that Black women can encounter at the intersection of their racial and gender identities. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that greater frequency of gendered racial microaggressions will be associated with higher body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and binge eating and examined whether self-silencing mediated this association. Participants were 570 U.S.-based Black women (age M = 37.51 years) who completed an online survey on Prolific. Women completed self-reported measures of disordered eating, self-silencing, and the frequency of four specific dimensions of gendered racial microaggressions: (a) Assumptions of Beauty and Sexual Objectification, (b) Silenced and Marginalized, (c) Strong Black Woman stereotype, and (d) Angry Black Woman stereotype. Results indicated that greater frequency of gendered racial microaggressions in all four domains were associated with greater disordered eating. Self-silencing mediated this association across all domains except the Angry Black Woman stereotype. The results of the study not only highlight associations between gendered racial microaggressions and disordered eating, but additionally elucidate a potential mechanism through which this occurs—self-silencing—offering a promising avenue for future research oriented toward intervention among Black women, a population at elevated risk for disordered eating.