Black and White Female Athletes' Perceptions of Their Bodies and Garment Fit

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to investigate if there were differences between black and white female athletes' satisfaction with their bodies and fit of their clothing and to examine the relationship between body satisfaction and clothing fit. The responses of 290 female collegiate basketball players, 168 white and 122 black, were analyzed. MANOVA, Hotelling's T2, ANOVAs and Pearson Product Moment correlations were used in data analyses. Black and white females' perceptions of their overall bodies differed, black females were more positive about their bodies than white females. Female athletes in this sample did not differ in satisfaction of garment fit. Correlations for perceptions of body cathexis and garment fit were positive and significant. Results have implications for scholars studying racial differences related to dress.