 | Fat chicks and the OPEN discrimination
Current mood:  enraged This article really cuts to my heart.. You all know im overweight and I see this on a daily basis .. this truely makes me feel more secure knowing that this information is known.... I know it is long, but it really shows MY side of life.. which sucks sometimes.. eventhough Im comfortable with my weight :) Love you all ... Mary Marie Claire Investigation: Why America Hates Fat Women
For years, Americans have spoken out against racism, sexism, and homophobia, but it seems fat is the final frontier: the only thing it’s still acceptable to be openly prejudiced about. Employers pay overweight workers less, insurance companies deny health coverage, and some airlines won’t fly “extra-large” patrons unless they pay for two seats. Fat-bashing runs rampant, and it’s women who are bearing the brunt. But why is it OK to treat anyone who weighs more as less than human? Marie Claire investigates.
By Dana Hudepohl
Where Are Fat Women Feeling The Prejudice?
On Shopping Sprees
A Rice University study found that retail salesclerks do discriminate against obese shoppers. When 10 women wore a prosthesis that made them appear to be a size 22 instead of their normal size, they reported less eye contact, more rudeness, and overt hostility. The only time they faced less discrimination? When the clerks thought the women were trying to lose weight, since they were carrying a diet cola as opposed to an ice cream drink.
On The Job
Researchers at Memphis State University have found that employers are less likely to hire a fat person. And once she lands a job, she will face more discrimination: A recent study in the American Journal of Public Health found that fat women are paid 30 percent less than average-size women – and that’s on top of women already getting paid less than men.
At The Doctor
A Yale University study showed that family doctors and nurses, and even health professionals who specialize in treating obesity, have an anti-fat bias. The researchers also found that obese women often delay breast-cancer screenings, Pap smears, and gynecological exams – and 12 percent of women delay or cancel doctor’s appointments – due to weight concerns.
In Magazines
A recent issue of England’s Maxim magazine ran an article called “How To Pleasure A Fattie – And Live.” Instructions include: “Regularly check she isn’t having trouble breathing under her own weight. Afterward, towel yourself off and make her a snack.”
On A Date
According to a study at the University of Liverpool in England, a man photographed with a fat date is rated 22 percent more negatively (described as miserable, passive, depressed, weak, unattractive, and insecure) than when the same man is pictured with a thin woman by his side.
The Cult of Sweathogging
“Sweathogging,” a dating trend popular on college campuses from Minnesota to Maryland, involves a group of male buddies who head to the bars to zero in on fat girls, whom they call “pigs” or “hogs.” Their thinking: Fat women are so desperate, they guys will be able to score easy one-night stands. The bigger the target, the more “respect” the guys get from friends. “They don’t see fat people as people at all, but as the bottom of the barrel,” says Paul McAleer, creator of Big Fat Blog (www.bigfatblog.com), an online community that advances fat acceptance. One sweathogging frat rat reported to Cleveland Scene, a weekly newspaper, that he and his pals had created a $1400 pot. At the end of the year, the guy who’d scored with the fattest girl won. And we call these institutions of higher education?
The Bridget Jones Paradox
Renee Zellweger shot to fame playing the beloved everywoman. Yet, when she plumped up to play Bridget Jones, columnists mocked her physique. One high-fashion magazine (not Marie Claire) booker her for its cover then refused to run the “fat” photos, only to apologize afterward. Why do we obsess over Zellweger’s yo-yoing? In short, it makes us nervous. “There’s an idea that fatness is something we can change,” says Eric Oliver, author of Fat Politics: The Real Story Behind America’s Obesity Epidemic.” But evidence suggests our bodies hover within a particular, genetically predetermined range.
The “Cute” Fat Suit
Hollywood trots out the fat suit for laughs at least once a year. Monica donned it on Friends, Gwyneth shimmied into it for Shallow Hal, and recently, supermodel Tyra Banks packed on 350 pounds of fat suit on her self-titled talk show. Her goal? To discover how obese people are treated. “Within 10 seconds, a trio of people looked at me … and started pointing and laughing in my face,” she told the AP. Banks, for one, was convinced: Obesity “seemed like the last form of open discrimination,” she said. However, not all fat people appreciated Banks’ efforts to further their cause. “If you wear a fat suit, you don’t know how fat people are treated. You know how people in fat suits are treated,” read one post on bigfatblog.com in reaction to the stunt. “I wonder whether people will accept her report of ‘how fat people are treated.’ She’s not truly fat; she just plays one on TV!” countered another. But the awareness itself is a start, says Paul Campos, a law professor at the University of Colorado and author of The Obesity Myth. “Hollywood in the 1930s focused on the black face,” he says. “The popularity of the fat suit is proof that Americans are starting to realize there’s something deeply problematic with our obsession with weight.”
Fat For Fun And Profit?
In 2004, NBC launched The Biggest Loser, bringing obesity into the reality-TV spotlight, as overweight contestants competed to drop pounds. The ratings were so high – 9.9 million people tuned in to the premiere – that a second season was quickly green-lighted. “Viewers haven’t seen characters like this before,” one of the executive producers has said. “We went for the heart,” added another. Or was it the gut – and belly laughs at the characters’ expense? “When fat people appear on the screen at all, we’re not the hero,
we’re not the romantic lead; we’re the joke or sidekick,” says Marilyn Wann, a civil-rights activist and author of Fat!So? “People ‘learn’ that that’s OK.”
Fat Stats You Need To Know: Recent Studies Reveal Harsh Realities
3% of the major female characters on TV were obese, compared to one in four real American women.
Seven times as many women as men have had gastric-bypass surgery, although woman are only an eighth more likely to be obese.
One third of the women on television are dangerously underweight.
Fat women on TV are twice as likely to be the target of jokes and are less likely to interact with romantic partners or display physical affection.
24% of nurses have said they are repulsed by obese people.
Parents provide less college support for their overweight children than their thin children.
28% of teachers in a Yale University survey said yes when asked whether becoming obese was one of the worst things that could happen to a person.
What YOU Can Do
The biggest reason fat people are still targets of prejudice is that Americans are taught to believe that being overweight is purely lack of discipline. You can change that. Speak up: Say something the next time you witness something that reinforces fat prejudice – be it a joke, an advertisement, or anything else. When a sportswear store in Los Angeles ran an offensive billboard, a concerned citizen contacted the International Size Acceptance Association. “We posted a picture on our Web page, and the billboard was down in three days,” says Allen Steadham, the organization’s founder and director. “Where you get the most mobilization is from the average person.”
The Anti-Fat Backlash
Here, how the overweight are getting seen – and heard
F.A.T.A.S.S.
The Fat Action Troupe AllStar Spirit Squad is a group of fat cheerleaders who cheer, dance, laugh, and have fun – all while getting across a message of loving your body and fighting body-image prejudice. (www.fatasspdx.com)
Padded Lilies
A troupe of fat synchronized swimmers promoting a message of body acceptance, fat empowerment, and fitness at any size. (www.paddedlilies.com)
Big Burlesque
Known as The Original Fat-Bottomed Revue, this group of fat artists and activists performs around the country to show the sexy side of fat. (www.bigburlesque.com)
Targeting Children: A Fat Report Card?
Everyone knows a fat kid who was teased in school; Bill Clinton and Isaac Mizrahi were two. Now, new laws passed in Arkansas and Texas (and proposed in New York and Georgia) require schools to print a child’s weight on his or her report card. By doing that, says Campos, “[You’re telling a 10-year-old girl] that the most important thing about her is not whether she’s doing well in science, math, or history, but whether she can conform to a repressive body ideal.”
A Pregnant Pause?
So deep is our fear of being perceived as fat, even weight gained naturally during pregnancy is contentious. Now, the nine months when we should be celebrating our curves can become the battle of the bulge. Scared of packing on too many pounds, some expecting moms exercise so often they endanger their babies. “The fear of weight gain during pregnancy is rampant,” says Saguy. “People might not say anything about what a great mother you are, but if they see you’ve lost your pregnancy weight quickly, that draws compliments.” Hollywood doesn’t help: Images of celebrity moms further distort the idea of how quickly baby weight should be shed. “As an actress, your job is your body, and you can put in eight hours a day into looking a certain way,” says Sandy Shaffer, president of the New York City chapter of NAAFA, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. “This is not reality.”
Fat Chance!
Even though the overweight and obese outnumber thin Americans, our courts do little to cushion them from prejudice. No federal laws prohibit discrimination against obese people. In fact, only laws in a handful of places around the country – those below – make it illegal to discriminate based on appearance at all:
Michigan
San Francisco, CA
Santa Cruz, CA
Washington, D.C.
Can Women Ever Win?
Fat prejudice is rampant, but thin prejudice occurs, too, as a new lawsuit by actress Kate Hudson brings to light. She’s suing tabloids for publishing photos that she says make her look dangerously thin, a state that she claims could endanger her chance of scoring future movie roles.
Poll: Are You Prejudiced Against Fat People?
Maybe more than you think, according to nearly 400 readers on www.marieclaire.com
68% would like to see a fat person on the cover of a magazine
73% would rather earn 20% less in salary than gain 20 pounds
57% say fat people shouldn’t have to pay for two airplane tickets if they’re too big for the seat
77% have seen a fat girl walk by with an average weight guy and thought, How’d she get him?
52% would go to an obese doctor, but only 13% would see an obese personal trainer
73% have been secretly disgusted when they saw a fat person eating junk food
71% have been secretly satisfied when someone they don’t like gained weight
When given a list of adjectives and asked to choose which described overweight people, respondents said undisciplined, unhappy, and lazy, but sensual, intelligent, and funny also made the cut. I wonder how many of you, have done any of the things listed in this article.. to ME...the fat chick, cute and fun none the less, FAT If you have I forgive you, just dont do it anymore.. Please send this fat acceptance letter to all you know and sign below, saying you wont talk smack about fat chicks.... - Mary Ellen - 6:05 PM - 1 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove
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