Weight Discrimination
In a society that claims to be making leaps and bounds in its "political correctness" there is one area where we have taken major steps backwards-- weight discrimination. In fact weight bigotry has risen 66 % according to recent studies. Our culture has not only openly accepted this practice but perpetuates it with the billions of dollars that goes into the weight loss industry. Television, magazines, movies and other forms of media are more concerned about how much a person weighs then anything that they do in their life.
While people will shun someone for commenting on a person's race, sexual orientation, gender or religion, a person's weight seems fair game. Approximately 28% of severely obese men and 45% of severely obese women have felt discriminated against because of their weight.
The International Journal of Obesity says weight discrimination is rampant in both institutional and interpersonal situations. Institutional discrimination referred to health care, education or workplace situations where people say they were denied a job, promotion or even were fired because of their weight. Interpersonal discrimination was in reference to the insults and harassment that obese people have faced at the hands of others throughout their lives.
Weight discrimination will remain a problem and be seen as acceptable by the general population as long as attitudes and laws stay unchanged. There are no federal laws that even address weight discrimination, though there are a few cities that have banned all discrimination.
Even children as young as three are put down by their peers and face unkind treatment from parents and teachers because of being overweight. Youngsters who reported bullying, teasing and other forms of bigotry are two to three times more likely to become suicidal or develop eating disorders and high blood pressure later in life.
BMI has an error of 8% from fat percent so about one in 20 people are falsely discriminated against for being stocky; short limbs and long, wide trunk which kept their ancestors warm in a cold climate.
As grown ups larger sized people are subject to harassment from all areas of society. They are held back in jobs, receive substandard health care, cannot get health or life insurance, turned down for apartments, colleges, and other opportunities all because of the stigma attached to being over weight.
When visiting doctors for any reason they are often dismissed without being provided with the same care that a thinner person would have. Some tests are not accessible to them and serious, non weight related illnesses are over looked or missed because they are not taken seriously.
Larger sized couples have been turned down as adoptive parents and biological parents have had their skills questioned simply because of their size.
Public transportation authorities and other general public facilities have made it as much as impossible for large people to be able to sit comfortably or even enter these places due to narrow chairs, doorways, small bathrooms or even create policies that blatantly perpetuate the stereotype and bigotry that they face.
You cannot turn on your television, open a magazine or even read your email without seeing some advertisement telling society that you must lose weight and be thin. It is more socially acceptable for a woman to suffer from an eating disorder such as anorexia then to be overweight. By today's standards Marilyn Munroe would be considered overweight and yet she is considered an icon of beauty.
Weight discrimination is leading to an unhealthy society- mentally and physically. While comments are made constantly in today's world about fat being ugly-- it is the one's who make those comments that are ugliest of all.
There are incredibly talented, smart, beautiful, amazing large people all over the world and their potential, their true beauty and their ability to lead the world in all industries is missed because the rest of society is filled with the ugliness of discrimination and bigotry.