Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Malaysia Busts 80+ Lovers in Valentine's Day Raids Muslims face up to two years in jail »

NEWS ABOUT: black women

Michelle Obama Has a Right to Be 'Angry'

Everyone should be over this slur: Kathleen Parker

(Newser) - The latest round of attempts to portray Michelle Obama as an "angry black woman" are enough to make any sensible person angry, writes Kathleen Parker in the Washington Post . Parker says the various political operatives and former staffers she has talked to, including Republicans, "without exception" have all... More »

Black Women Can Have Bigger Waists, Still Be Healthy

By two measures, black women could be bigger without raising health risk

(Newser) - Black women can have larger waistlines and be larger in general than white women and still be relatively healthy, according to new research.The study of 6,400 volunteers examined abdominal obesity and body-mass index and found that black women had higher thresholds than white women for both measures before... More »

Essence Hires White Editor; Uproar Ensues

But black women's magazine will not change course

(Newser) - Essence is a magazine “seen as the ultimate fashion and lifestyle title for black women,” writes Keith J. Kelly in the New York Post . So what is it doing hiring a white fashion director? That’s what the founding fashion director of Vibe wants to know, writing on... More »

White Actress Cast as African Queen—Again

Despite her 'full lips,' Angelina Jolie is no Cleopatra

(Newser) - Why is Angelina Jolie, a white woman, playing Cleopatra , an African queen? “Just when we thought there weren't enough leading roles for black women in Hollywood , they create one and give it to a white woman,” writes Shirea L. Carroll for Essence . “I don't care how full... More »

Interracial Marriage a Black Guy Thing

Black women less likely to marry another race

(Newser) - Black men are much bigger fans of interracial marriage than black women, according to a new study. About 22% of black men who got married in 2008 walked down the aisle with a woman of a different race, compared to just 9% of black women, the study found. “When... More »

Interracial Love Is the Answer for Black Women

Authors: Lonely, educated women should give white guys a look

(Newser) - "Black women are in market failure," says Karyn Langhorne Folan, a black woman married to a white man and the author of a new book urging others to follow her lead. "The new market is men of other races," explains Folan, who joins a growing chorus... More »

Good Hair Has a Few Knots

Chris Rock shines as interviewer, but social issues get lost in the weave

(Newser) - Chris Rock is a natural and hilarious interviewer, critics agree. But watchers are split on whether the substance of a rather complicated debate shines through in Big Hair, his documentary on black women and their coifs. A sampling:
  • Rock has helped craft a film with "much good feeling and
... More »

To Straighten or Not: Hair Politics Snags Black Women

Many feel pressure to go straight

(Newser) - For black women, it's near impossible to choose a hairstyle without society weighing in. Chemical relaxers help straighten hair, but "you’re pegged as selling out," a black studies professor tells the New York Times. But go natural and "you’re seen as not practicing appropriate grooming... More »

Breakthrough Black Model Naomi Sims Dead at 61

(Newser) - Naomi Sims, the first black model to grace the cover of Ladies Home Journal—and arguably the first black supermodel—has died at 61, the New York Times reports. Her family says the cause was cancer. Sims burst onto the scene in the late 1960s, but chose in the ‘... More »

Breast Cancer Death in Blacks Linked to Genes

Advocates now worry environmental, social factors will be ignored

(Newser) - The higher risk of death from breast cancer for black women may depend more on differences of biology than environmental factors, the Baltimore Sun reports. Research shows that black women are up to 49% more likely to die from the disease than white women, even when patients receive the same... More »

Few Blacks Followed Anderson's Lead

(Newser) - Marian Anderson shattered a racial barrier when she sang at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, 1939—70 years ago this week—yet despite planned tributes, the power of the moment has faded, Alex Ross writes in the New Yorker. Most young people know nothing of Anderson, and "black... More »

Obama White House Brings Black Women to Power

White House advisers and staff form strong support network

(Newser) - President Obama’s administration has brought a cohort of black women to power in Washington, in numbers and at levels never seen before, the Washington Post reports. While in the past, the appointment of a black woman to a senior White House position was met with fanfare, the seven on... More »

Black Women Getting Shorter: Study

They're the only group to lose height over recent generations

(Newser) - While most of the American population is slowly gaining in height after a recent plateau, one group actually seems to be shrinking over the decades. Black women have lost about a half-inch on average compared to the previous generation, the exact opposite of the national trend, the Chicago Tribune reports,... More »

Can Michelle Defy Stereotypes?

Why hasn't the 'Claire Huxtable' generation been accepted into the mainstream?

(Newser) - It's no wonder Michelle Obama is being criticized from all sides: She's an outspoken, successful black woman, writes Sophia A. Nelson in the Washington Post. "This society can't even see a woman like Michelle Obama. All it sees is a black woman and attaches stereotypes," a prominent female... More »

Where Are the Feminists for Michelle?

Their sense of outrage doesn't seem to apply to black women

(Newser) - Like strong women before her, Michelle Obama has been “demonized” in the press—so why aren’t feminists coming to her aid? asks Mary C. Curtis in the Washington Post. Feminists spoke out when Hillary Clinton faced sexism in her campaign—but the cause hasn’t embraced women of... More »

Only Black Is Beautiful in Italian Vogue

Thumbing nose at prejudice, mag uses only models of color

(Newser) - Black women spend $20 billion a year on clothes, but the fashion world still harbors a racial prejudice that keeps women of color out of the big glossies. Now noted photographer Steven Meisel has teamed with Italian Vogue to produce a special issue, in which all the models are black... More »

Breast Cancer Risk Seen for Latinos, Blacks

Scientists find higher prevalance of mutated gene in new study

(Newser) - A genetic mutation that increases the risk of breast cancer has been linked to Hispanic and young black women, according to a new study. The findings could lead to changes in screening, the San Jose Mercury News reports. In the survey of 3,181 women with breast cancer, 16.7%... More »

Breast Cancer Deadlier for Black Women

Doctors' formula has underestimated risk, study finds

(Newser) - In calculating a woman's risk of breast cancer, doctors have been using a formula that underestimates the risk the disease poses to black women, reports the Washington Post. A growing body of evidence shows that while black women are less likely to get breast cancer than their white counterparts, when... More »

Starchy Foods Increase Diabetes Risk

But adding whole grains to the diet improves the odds

(Newser) - African-American and Chinese women whose diets are high in starchy foods like white rice are at bigger risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, researchers have discovered. The good news is that eating whole-grain foods can help reduce the risk, according to two studies in the Archives of Internal Medicine. As... More »

Tumors More Resistant to Drugs in Black Women

Study explains why breast cancer is more fatal in black women

(Newser) - Doctors have long known that breast cancer is more deadly in black women; new research suggests why: They are more likely to suffer from treatment-resistant tumors, a major study at the University of Michigan concludes. Analysis of data from nearly 100,000 women with later-stage breast cancer shows that black... More »

20 Stories
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne