community education Search helpline

Support for Black community members

Let's Talk About Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders in the Black Communities

"This resource was created to acknowledge the untold stories and the lack of information provided to Black community members who experience challenges with eating disorders or disordered eating. Past research has provided a narrative that Black people are immune to experiencing these challenges and we hope to provide insight into the unique factors that may contribute to their development and maintenance. Cultural and societal barriers to healing sustain these behaviours for affected community members. Many may not feel safe to acknowledge or explore their journey with eating difficulties due to the lack of representation and knowledge of how to move forward. They may have questions, but no information sources to begin searching for understanding. We hope that this resource will amplify voices in the diaspora and disrupt the silence, shame, and stigma that have been passed down from previous generations."

Download the full resource here!

Consultants:  Filsan Abdiaman, Francesca Serwaa, and Grace Guillaume

Content writers:  Dominique Mortier and Meghan Watson, with contributions from Francesca Serwaa

Reviewers:  Stephanie Fearon and Syriah Bailey  

Edited by the NEDIC team, published 2023


Additional resources and support for Black community members


For Clinicians

Books and other reading materials

Websites

Resources that may be Helpful to Black Community Members

Books and other reading materials

  • The Body Joyful by Anne Poirier
  • The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook by Dr. Kristen Neff
  • The Body Image Workbook: An Eight-Step Program for Learning to Like Your Looks by Dr. Thomas F. Cash
  • In Search Of: BIPOC OP ED: a zine by BIPOC artists with lived experiences of eating disorders (https://sheenasplace.org/bipoc-zine/)

Websites

Resources Specific to Black Community Members

Books

  • Weightless: Making Space for My Resilient Body and Soul by Evette Dionne
  • Not All Black Girls Know How to Eat: A Story of Bulimia by Stephanie Covington Armstrong
  • The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor
  • The Body Is Not an Apology Workbook: Tools for Living Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor
  • Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings
  • Hunger: A Memoir of My Body by Roxane Gay
  • It's Always Been Ours Rewriting the Story of Black Women’s Bodies by Jessica Wilson
  • Decolonizing Wellness: A QTBIPOC-Centered Guide to Escape the Diet Trap, Heal Your Self-Image, and Achieve Body Liberation by Dalia Kinsey
  • The Pain We Carry: Healing from Complex PTSD for People of Color by Natalie Y. Gutiérrez

Websites

Toronto-based organizations

What did you think about this resource? 
NEDIC invites you to share your thoughts using this brief feedback form.