Black Girls Have Eating Disorders, Too.

I've struggled with bulimia since 7th grade. I'm all too familiar with the secrecy and shame that comes along with binging and purging, but what I don't understand is why my struggle with this eating disorder is cast aside as a silly phase because "black girls don't do that."

Whenever I've found the courage to open up with my battle with this disorder, the first reaction is almost always a dismissive eye roll. People don't take me seriously because apparently, eating disorders are only for white girls. I find that belief ridiculous for a number of reasons, but two really stick out:

1. I've been raised around white girls my entire life, so small figures have been a prevailing feature everywhere I turned. 
2. Very few TV shows and movies feature black girls and women, and in the rare occasions that they are portrayed, they're petite and slim.

However, it shouldn't matter whether or not I was raised around white girls, or if I only saw skinny girls on TV. My parents constantly made offhanded comments about the way my clothes clung to my stomach and thighs. My four older sisters are all perfect size 2's and had parades of boys chasing after them. My personal experiences drove me to find comfort in emptying the contents of my stomach right after every family dinner. The fact that I am Black should not be a deciding factor.

What hurts the most about this lack of support is that I now find it hard to admit when I relapse for fear that I'll get another lecture about "loving my curves." There are probably Black girls out there right now who struggle with some type of eating disorder, but choose to hide it because it isn't "natural" for them to engage in that type of behavior. 

And that's sad, y'all. Really sad.