#BlackGirlMagic: Impact of the social media movement on Black women's self esteem

Dear Editors,

In a society that highly values physical appearance and conventional attractiveness, it is imperative for physicians and surgeons to be aware of the psychosocial impact of mainstream beauty standards that are imposed on our patients via multiple avenues, including television and the Internet. Psychology studies have confirmed the association between internalization of social media beauty standards and unhappiness with one's appearance (Fardouly et al., 2015). The dermatologic literature has established relationships between visible dermatologic conditions and decreased self-esteem (Rumsey, 2017). How then is the self-esteem of individuals affected when skin color, rather than skin condition, is the contributing factor?

For American women of African ancestry, the lasting effects of American slavery add a complex layer to the societal burden. Black women's attributes are traditionally rejected by mainstream beauty industries, often deemed masculine and undesirable, while European esthetics are set as America's standard of beauty (Banks, 2000). Even within the Black race, proximity to whiteness offers societal advantages: Lighter-complected individuals attain higher levels of educational and occupational success (Ryabov, 2019). Black women's hair is policed: Looser curls and straightened hair are celebrated (Craig, 2006), whereas Afros and traditionally Black hairstyles have resulted in academic and professional dismissals.

D.C. blogger Cashawn Thompson started #BlackGirlMagic as a Tweet in response to a now-deleted Psychology Today article in which psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa declared that Black women were “objectively less physically attractive than other women.” The hashtag sparked a nationwide empowerment movement that serves to celebrate Black women's achievements while affirming their beauty in a world that rarely does so. This letter explores the effect of this hashtag on Black women’s self-esteem.

A survey was administered to 134 young Black women on Instagram (Table 1). The majority of participants identified as having Fitzpatrick skin type IV or V and/or classified their hair texture type as 4C or 4B (kinky/coily curls). Users were asked about their perceived impact of the hashtag on their self-esteem (Fig. 1). Eighty-two percent of participants reported experiencing discrimination because of their race. Many participants reported at one point wishing that they did not have features attributable to their race: 78% had thought this about their hair texture, 64% about their skin complexion, and 60% about their facial features (wishes for smaller lips and noses were a resounding response to this question). In addition, 82% believed that the #BlackGirlMagic social media movement has had an impact on their self-esteem, with 69% of those participants reporting improved self-esteem after hashtag interaction.

Table 1.

Demographic and physical characteristics of survey respondents.

Characteristics	N = 134 (%)
Age, years
<18	39 (29.1)
18–24	77 (57.5)
25–34	17 (12.7)
35–44	1 (0.7)
45–54	0 (0.0)
55–64	0 (0.0)
≥65	0 (0.0)
Sex
Female	133 (99.3)
Male	0 (0.0)
Transgender female	0 (0.0)
Transgender male	0 (0.0)
Nonbinary	1 (0.7)
Race
Black/African-American	126 (94.0)
Mixed race	8 (6.0)
Fitzpatrick skin type
I	0 (0.0)
II	1 (0.7)
III	10 (7.5)
IV	41 (30.6)
V	68 (50.7)
VI	14 (10.4)
Natural hair texture type
2A	0 (0.0)
2B	2 (1.5)
2C	1 (0.7)
3A	0 (0.0)
3B	4 (3.0)
3C	19 (14.2)
4A	13 (9.7)
4B	28 (20.9)
4C	67 (50)

Fig. 1.

Survey responses. One hundred thirty-four Black women were recruited through Instagram advertisements, targeting an audience of Instagram users in the United States up to age 35 years. The audience was targeted by Instagram analytics through user interactions with culturally relevant content on the application. The advertisement consisted of a picture with text that read, “Do you identify as a Black girl? Fill out this two-minute survey exploring the impact of social media empowerment movements!” Those who opted to respond were directed to the survey link. Respondents were provided with pictures and descriptions of the Fitzpatrick skin types and hair curl types (Type 2A [wavy] to 4C [kinky/coily]) to aid with their self-identification in the survey answers. The survey asked respondents about their current self-esteem, self-perceptions of features that are attributable to their race, and if/how they believe the #BlackGirlMagic hashtag and movement has impacted their self-esteem and self-perceptions. This figure shows some of the responses to the survey questions.

Black women are increasingly embracing their natural hair, reflected by declining relaxer sales according to Mintel’s Black Consumers and Haircare executive summary. The Crown Act, legislation that deems it illegal to discriminate against Black hair in the workplace and at school, has been passed by seven states and was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in September 2020. Awareness of these developments and their impact is conducive to better care for our Black patients. Understanding representation importance and cultural influences on the self-esteem and perception of beauty among our patients will result in improved patient engagement, satisfaction, and overall care.

Conflicts of interest

None.

Funding

None.

Study approval

N/A.