Fatism

Today in the U.S., millions of people who are larger than average will encounter significant discrimination, suffer unfair treatment and humiliation, and be denied equal opportunities in all areas of life.

Weight discrimination, sometimes called “fatism”, is a serious problem with devastating consequences both for the individuals who are discriminated against and for society as a whole. In America, 33% of the adult population is considered morbidly obese (Kristen, 2000: 60). That is 58 million people.

“A survey of college students found that they would prefer to marry an embezzler, drug user, shoplifter, or a blind person than someone who is fat” (Maine 2000:21).

In America, overweight women suffer the preponderance of weight-based discrimination. They are not viewed as “normal human being[s] with normal needs, desires, virtues and vices” (Goodman 1995: 2) but as failures, examples of what not to be—or become. They are continuously scrutinized, criticized, ostracized, and subjected to a constant stream of social prejudice, stereotypes, and double standards.

Employment Discrimination

Numerous academic studies verify that heavy people in general, and heavy women in particular are discriminated against in employment. In one survey, 40% of heavy men and 60% of heavy women reported having experienced employment discrimination. (Kristen, 2000, p.63).

Barriers to getting hired

One study indicated that 16% of employers refuse to hire “obese women” no matter how qualified (Kristen 2000: 62).

And 44% of employers admitted they would use an applicant’s obesity as “conditional medical grounds” for not hiring-- especially if the applicant was female (Kristen 2000: 62).

“Weightism affects people of all sizes who are plagued by fear of becoming fat and hence stigmatized” (Maine 2000: 18 ).

In another study, overweight job candidates were viewed by potential employers as “less competent, less productive, not industrious, disorganized, indecisive, inactive, and less successful”(Kristen 2000:63). Such negative stereotypes are pervasive in society today.

On the job

Large size people are often denied jobs which require interaction with the public. (http://www.cswd.org/docs/discrimination.html) When heavy workers do secure employment, they are kept in jobs which are beneath their abilities, are less likely to be promoted and are often demoted or fired because of weight prejudice (Kristen 2000: 64). Heavy workers are frequently subject to workplace harassment by employers and coworkers alike (Kristen 2000: 64).

Earnings

Studies show that among white women, heavy women earn significantly less than thin women. Those who were considered moderately obese earned 6% less while those who were considered to be highly obese earned 24% less than thin women. Not surprisingly, then, the household incomes of heavy women are $6,710 lower than women who are thin (Kristen 2000: 64). Heavy women have a 10% higher poverty rate. The earnings of heavy men are not significantly affected. This reflects the greater importance placed on women’s appearance in our society.

In most of America, weight is NOT a protected factor in fair-employment law. This means that legally, employers may deny job interviews to obese people or dismiss obese employees on grounds of weight alone. The only means by which an obese person may be afforded limited legal protection is through the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This Act states that “it is illegal to discriminate against someone who has a physical or mental disability that substantially limits one or more…major life activities of the individual.” This Act rarely protects the obese.

THE SKINNY ON FAT

“Millions of women in America wear a size 14 or over. Each is a unique individual with experiences to match; yet for many, every day is a silent uphill struggle for visibility, acceptance, and simple dignity” (Goodman 1995: 8).

There are two commonly held assumptions about fat. One is that it is unhealthy to be heavy. The other is that if they tried, heavy people could lose weight. These assumptions help to reinforce stereotypes of heavy people as being lazy, undisciplined, unhealthy and gluttonous.

In general, weight loss methods prove to be ineffective for most people, and may in fact pose serious health risks making the cure for obesity worse than the condition itself.

The Truth About Fat and Health

The New England Journal of Medicine reports that “the data linking fat with death and the data showing losing weight to be healthy are limited, fragmentary, and often ambiguous” (Kristen 2000: 67).
Chronic dieting causes weight gain and may eventually make weight loss a physical impossibility.
Studies have found an association between weight loss and weight fluctuations and an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Significant health problems and fatalities sometimes result from weight loss surgeries.
Many obesity “cures” have been found to cause harm.
Studies have found that when heavy people were fit, their death rates were nearly the same as people who were considered lean and fit.
Risks of diabetes and heart disease were reduced for heavy people who engaged in regular exercise and practiced sound eating EVEN IF THEY DID NOT LOSE WEIGHT.
Studies have identified over 100 genes that contribute to the etiology of obesity (Kristen 2000: 69).

Another inaccurate assumption that is commonly made about heavy people is that they must have poor dietary habits and do not engage in physical activity. People who are thin are not automatically healthy because they are thin. Nor is their thinness an automatic indication of good nutrition and adequate exercise. Moreover, with good nutrition and exercise one may be heavy and still be fit and enjoy good health. A growing number of scientists agree that weight is not the determining factor for poor health, poor nutrition and lack of physical activity are. This is true whether an individual is heavy or thin. Nevertheless, health insurance is denied to many large people because of their size. If health coverage is granted, they are often forced to pay higher premiums compared to those of average weight.

Weight Prejudice and Medical Practice

Many heavy patients report distressing experiences with health care providers. (http://www.fwhc.org/health/fatfem.htm) Physicians and health care providers frequently focus solely on an individual’s body size rather than their actual health problem.

Heavy patients are commonly advised to lose weight regardless of their state of health. And while a thin person is given medication or other appropriate treatments, a heavy person with the same symptoms may simply be told to lose weight.

Even though the U.S. Department of Health and the World Health Organization agree that dieting and weight lose surgery can be dangerous to human health, patients healthfulness continues to be determined by their body mass index regardless of the lack of scientific evidence supporting its use.

Current medical technology has only a 10% success rate in treating obesity.

FAT ACCEPTANCE

Fat acceptance advocates work toward goals which promote size diversity. After all, humans come in all shapes and sizes! Part of this acceptance is the preferred use of the term “fat”. Activists hope that this word can be de-stigmatized and embraced in our culture.

Activists propose that the concept of an “ideal” body size or weight be abandoned entirely. Height and weight tables delineating “ideal” body proportions are based on Caucasian body types. The genetically distinct body types of people of color are not considered in the formulation of “ideal proportions”.

Fat acceptance means that large people love and accept themselves the way they are. Advances in the fat acceptance movement has meant the creation of support groups, magazines, exercise classes and regional conferences which empower large people and give them strength to be who they are in a society that isn’t nearly large enough for them. The sense of self-confidence, well-being, and better health that comes from loving and accepting their bodies frees them to live and enjoy life to the full. In the words of fat acceptance advocate Monica Persson, “when we reclaim the right to eat, focus on our lives, and stop giving our money to the diet industry, anything is possible.”

Body Affirming Websites

NAAFA- National Association to Advance Fat acceptance ( www.naafa.org)

Fat and Feminist: Large Women’s Health Experiences (http://www.fwhc.org/health/fatfem.htm)

The Body Positive ( www.thebodypositive.org)

Sources:

Council on Size and Weight Discrimination

http://www.cswd.org/docs/discrimination.html

http://www.cswd.org/docs/impactact.html

Goodman, W. (1995) The Invisible Woman: Confronting Weight Prejudice in America, Carlsbad: Gurze Books.

Kristen, E. (2000). Addressing the Problem of Weight discrimination in Employment. California Law Review, Vol. 90, no. 1, pp. 57-109.

Maine, M. (2000) Body Wars: Making Peace With Women’s Bodies, Carlsbad: Gurze Books.

Reading Picks:

Brownell, K., Puhl, R., Schwartz, M., & Rudd, L. (eds.)(2005) Weight Bias: Nature, Consequences, and Remedies, New York: The Guilford Press.

Glassner, B. (2007) The Gospel of Food: Everything You Think You Know About Food Is Wrong, NY: HarperCollins.

Goodman, W. (1995) The Invisible Woman: Confronting Weight Prejudice in America, Carlsbad: Gurze Books.

Maine, M. (2000) Body Wars: Making Peace With Women’s Bodies, Carlsbad: Gurze Books.