The article that I found was on The New York Times website, entitled “Fat Bias Worse for Women.” In this article the author, Jodi Hilton, discusses how society is less tolerant of weight gain in women than in men. According to a study at Yale University, “…weight discrimination, particularly against women, is as common as racial discrimination.” The article noted that women begin to experience weight bias after gaining much less weight than men. Not only that, but the study also revealed that women are two times as likely as men to report weight discrimination. Weight discrimination is even more prevalent than discrimination as a result of sexual orientation, nationality or ethnicity, physical disability and religious beliefs. Basically, this article shows one of the many pressures that are put on women when it comes to physical appearance.
The article is a perfect example of a defined norm, one of the Seven Elements of Oppression. A defined norm is “a standard of rightness and often righteousness wherein all others are judged in relation to it.” In this particular case, I would define the norm as being the expected weight of the people in question. This weight would be their “normal” weight or the way others expect them to look. Those that are in line with the defined norm judge those who are not. Once someone has gotten noticeably over that “normal” weight, they then are judged or not accepted. Those who are not of “normal” weight and size according to society are looked at differently and, in some cases, discriminated against. According to the article, “…weight-related work place bias…due to obesity are common.” This is because of this element of oppression, defined norm. Because some may not fit the physical description of what is expected in their line of work, they are then judged by those that do.
Weight discrimination is an issue faced by women on a daily basis. This is only one of the many pressures that women have to battle with. This issue even has an effect on our female adolescents today, not just older women. It affects their confidence and self-esteem in a negative way, and people need to make a conscious effort not to be the cause of this.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/fat-bias-worse-for-women/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
That is really depressing.... I can't remember where, but someone was telling me about a study where thin women and overwieght women would interview for jobs and even if the overweight women had better qualifications, the thin women won most of the time... i dont know how this was controlled or anything, but definitely interesting.
Post a Comment