Uh-oh — Are You a Victim of Fat Discrimination?
You’ve probably thought there was weight discrimination, and a new study shows that you were right! A study conducted by Yale University confirms what we’re suspected — being overweight hurts more than just your health.
Rebecca Puhl, research scientist and lead author of this study said, "This is a form of bias that remains very socially acceptable in our
culture."
(Read the rest of the ABC News story.)
Now this is strange — although being overweight is more and more common these days, the discrimination was found to be increasing, not decreasing. You’d think that because we’re all in the same boat that we’d be cut some slack. Nope.
I guess it’s a form of denial — we’re overweight ourselves, but tend to downplay exactly how much. So when we see someone even more overweight, we project onto them. I guess that’s simplifying it, but think about it — what do you feel when you see someone more overweight than you?
Fat discrimination is real, and if you read the article you’ll see that women tend to be more vulnerable to that bias than do men. Unfair, but true.
Well, aside from losing weight there are a few things we can do. Being well-groomed is one; it sends a positive message. Wearing clothes that fit you well and are flattering also helps — far too many women wear clothes either too baggy or too tight, and both send the wrong message. Not to mention making you look even more overweight.
You’ve seen some overweight actresses, and you see how wonderful they can look despite their weight. There are plus size models who are lovely. Maybe we’re not actress or model material, but we can look our best while we lose that weight.