The Role of Body Size in Mate Selection among African American Young Adults

Abstract

A profusion of studies have demonstrated that body size is a major factor in mate selection for both men and women. The particular role played by weight, however, has been subject to some debate, particularly with respect to the types of body sizes deemed most attractive, and scholars have questioned the degree to which body size preferences are constant across groups. In this paper, we drew from two perspectives on this issue, Sexual Strategies Theory and what we termed the cultural variability perspective, and used survey data to examine how body size was associated with both casual dating and serious romantic relationships. We used a United States sample of 386 African American adolescents and young adults between ages 16 and 21, living in the Midwest and Southeast, and who were enrolled in either high school or college. Results showed that overweight women were more likely to report casually dating than women in the thinnest weight category. Body size was not related to dating status among men. Among women, the results suggest stronger support for the cultural variability argument than for Sexual Strategies Theory. Potential explanations for these findings are discussed.

Income or educational attainment: which is more effective in the fight against overweight? Evidence from Spain and Andalusia

“…Perhaps, this relationship lies in the need for singles to take care of their physical appearance in order to be able to find a serious partner in the future. This reasoning is consistent with those works that have evidenced the relationship between overweight and casual sexual encounters to the detriment of serious romantic relationships (more common among those with normal weight) that end up leading to a change in the marital status of individuals (Frederick and Jenkins, 2015;Granberg et al, 2015). Besides, our findings on the implications that residing in urban areas has on BMI≥25 contribute to reduce the controversy about the direction of urbanrural gaps in overweight (Sjoberg et al, 2012;Emamian et al, 2017;Rood y Sharma, 2017;Thapa et al, 2021).…”

Gender Differences in the Dating Experiences of African American Young Adults: The Challenge of Forming Romantic Relationships Within the Context of Power Imbalance

“…Participants viewed nine figures and chose which figure most accurately depicted their own body. Although these figures are not explicitly African American in appearance, they have been widely used in studies with African American respondents and have demonstrated validity as a measure of weight (Bulik et al, 2001; Granberg, Simons & Simons, 2015).…”

“…We use self-assessments of physique rather than a measure such as BMI because the latter does not necessarily capture a person’s overall physique, muscle tone, distribution of fat, or appearance (Deurenberg & Deurenberg-Yap, 2003; Granberg, Simons & Simons, 2015). For instance, an individual could have a wide frame or more muscle, resulting in a high BMI, when they are not overweight or carrying too much fat.…”

“…For instance, an individual could have a wide frame or more muscle, resulting in a high BMI, when they are not overweight or carrying too much fat. Thus, BMI may be of less use than body size/shape when physique is being assessed as an element of physical attractiveness (Granberg et al, 2015; Nuttall, 2015).…”

“…Several studies have assessed the FRS against other standards, including BMI (Bhuiyan, Gustat, Srinivasan, & Berenson, 2003; Bulik et al, 2001). We relied on this literature as well as past research on African American male and female body ideals (Granberg, Simons, & Simons, 2015) to create the body size categories for this measure. This process yielded categories: “ thin ” (Figures 1, 2, or 3), “ healthy ” (Figure 4), “ overweight ” (Figures 5 or 6), and “ obese ” (Figures 7, 8, or 9).…”