In our conversations about the importance of Black lives and futures, as well as our efforts to end white supremacy, we can’t forget to talk about one deadly disorder Black people are more likely to have than their white counterparts: eating disorders.
And “Solace,” a 2019 film, does just that.
“Solace” portrays a 17-year-old Black girl named Sole who struggles with an eating disorder. She recently lost her father — her only parent — to sickness, and had to move across the country to live with a grandmother she’s never met.
To cope with her father’s passing and her lack of control and feelings of rejection, she binge eats, weighs herself and takes diet pills. Her grandmother constantly talks about weight and keeps diet pills in her pantry, which exacerbates Sole’s eating disorder.
Sole doesn’t want to talk about what she’s struggling with; she tries to push her emotions away through hooking up with her boyfriend and binge eating. These behaviors and physical feelings of fullness can numb and distract people from their emotions and release a feel-good chemical in the brain.
They can bring temporary solace from overwhelming feelings.
This is the eating disorder movie we as a society need.
I’m tired of seeing the typical movie or depiction of eating disorders, which never fails to entail a white, emaciated girl with anorexia. As a society, we’ve seen these portrayals repeatedly, and we hardly learn anything new. Think “To the Bone,” “Starving in Suburbia” and “Feed,” which are all eating disorder movies with thin, white, female actresses.
What’s worse is these movies further the stigma that eating disorders are a “white girl disease” and people of other identities can’t also struggle with eating disorders, mental health and body image.
And that stigma is dangerous. When people in marginalized groups, such as Black people, don’t believe they can have an eating disorder or that others will believe them when they reach out, their eating disorder will get worse because of the lack of treatment. Eating disorders are grave illnesses: They have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.
Black people and people of color are subject to various forms of oppression that can play a role in the development of an eating disorder. For example, they’re exposed to racism and its effects, which can include poverty.
While I’m a white person and will never understand what it’s like to be Black, I imagine living in a Black body is hard when it’s constantly under attack. I believe feeling a need to take control of your body somehow and believing an eating disorder can do that is understandable.
Research shows Black and Hispanic teenagers have higher rates of eating disorders than white teenagers, but doctors are less likely to ask them about eating disorder symptoms. Further, when health care providers received a list of eating disorder symptoms in white, Hispanic and Black women, 44 percent found the behaviors problematic in white women, 41 percent found them problematic in Hispanic women and only 17 percent found them problematic in Black women. In addition, the health care providers were less likely to suggest treatment for those Black women.
When discrimination reaches health care — like it does — the need for the system to change becomes more dire. If we don’t raise awareness about Black people’s struggles with eating disorders and mental health, we’re neglecting important lives and how we can play a part in saving them.
Eating disorder treatment centers need more professionals of color so patients of color will feel more comfortable and understood when sharing their experiences. Many highly-esteemed centers have very few if any Black staff. Further, nutritionists must know they can’t use white American foods to structure meal plans, when people of color — especially ones who are international — are likely eating and being served other foods.
Eating disorders have roots not only in diet culture, but also in white supremacy. Fatphobia, especially as it pertains to Black women, was not a result of medical science; Enlightenment era thinkers believed Black women were larger than white women and decided fatness was a sign of racial inferiority and savagery.
Fatphobia and diet culture say people must constantly focus on eating less, exercising more and losing weight, leaving no time for focusing on actual issues, like racism and white supremacy. Dieting is the biggest predictor of an eating disorder and people with eating disorders think about food up to 85 percent of the time.
To fight for Black lives and Black futures, we have to educate ourselves on the signs, myths and treatment options for eating disorders. We have to ask ourselves what our specific role as an ally is.
For example, doctors must constantly remind themselves that Black people definitely can have eating disorders, then look for the signs and suggest treatment. Treatment centers must make sure they have adequate representation on staff. We all can go to training to learn about racism and how to help someone who’s struggling with an eating disorder so they can live a more fulfilling and healthy life.
Embody Carolina is an organization that focuses on eating disorder education, body positivity and inclusion. It hosts training in which you can learn how to be an effective and compassionate ally to all kinds of people with eating disorders. These trainings are interactive, up-to-date and social justice-focused with information from leaders in the field. Consider attending one of these trainings in addition to watching “Solace.”
Black lives matter. Inclusive eating disorder treatment matters. It’s up to us to realize our fight for Black lives includes our fight for mental health; it’s up to us — especially us white people — to take the necessary steps to ensure successful futures for Black people who are struggling.
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Previously published on “Equality Includes You”, a Medium publication.
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Photo credit: Audrey M Jackson on Unsplash
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