Join the discussion: is fat a prejudice issue?

Have your say about this month's big question

In the first of our new ‘discussion’ series, we look at the negative social stigma attached to being overweight, and the implications this might have for an individual’s personal and professional life. In May 2012, Susie Orbach, psychotherapist author of the widely-acclaimed book “Fat is a Feminist Issue”, wrote a column in the Guardian entitled Fat is a Prejudice Issue, highlighting the discrimination overweight and obese people receive in everyday life. From a psychological point of view, people who are considerably overweight do tend to be judged by others unfavourably simply by virtue of their size – this is known as the ‘horns effect’ (as opposed to the converse ‘halo effect’, whereby someone slim and attractive is deemed more sociable and capable, fitter and healthier).

Generally, the more overweight a person is, the less favourable the judgements made about aspects of their personality and individual traits. The fact is that all of us, subconsciously at least, make such snap judgements, inferences and assumptions every day about people we meet, based on nothing more substantial than the way they look, walk, talk and dress.

This means that unfortunately, we are all disposed to - and exposed to - a certain amount of prejudice. Clearly of course, it is not always the case that these judgements are in any way fair or accurate, but nevertheless, there is no escaping them.  As Susie Orbach states, “we live in a fat-phobic world” and “...our idea of fat is imbued with disease, indulgence, poverty, disregard for personal dignity, and sloppiness...Fat people are regarded as less successful at restraint.” The fashion industry and the media, and indeed any type of profession that relies substantially on superficial presentation, are populated almost exclusively with good-looking, sleek and super-slim bodies. Magazine covers are consistently polished and airbrushed: already-skinny waists and flat stomachs are reduced yet further, skin tone is smoothed to impossible perfection and slender legs elongated, while the only body parts that might ever be artificially plumped up or enhanced on Photoshopped celebrities are breasts and lips. It has long been the anguished war cry of feminists that the media’s portrayal of how we should look has created a skewed, pernicious culture of deeply-instilled dissatisfaction, unhappiness and – inevitably perhaps - prevalent eating disorders in girls (and even boys) as young as six.

The facts and figures speak for themselves. In the UK, the diet industry is worth over £10 billion and an estimated 60% of adults (and over 30% of children) in the UK are classified as overweight (using the standards of BMI and waist measurement, or waist-to-hip ratio, although there remains some controversy over the use of BMI as a diagnostic tool). At least a third of this proportion (around one in five men and one in four women) would actually be classified as obese. In a recent survey, employers admitted that they would be more inclined to offer a job to a slim candidate than to an equally well-qualified, smart and experienced overweight candidate. Such an attitude is sadly borne out by the experiences of many.

It is because, as an astonishing 70% of the employers surveyed were honest enough to confess, obesity is frequently associated with “laziness” and a number of other undesirable character traits. It is well known that obesity is indeed linked to all kinds of health problems and costs the NHS billions every year, but there are indisputably plenty of energised, hale and hearty overweight people to demonstrably discredit the “fat equals unfit” bias, just as there are many unhealthy, bone-idle thin people. If the invariably prejudiced outcomes of employer’s ‘horns effect’ judgements are  going to negatively influence an overweight person’s employability, this will only result in exacerbating the related problems that many overweight people suffer from, particularly those who fall into the ‘obese’ category – including low self-esteem and demotivation. Have your say What are your thoughts? Do you think children should be given ‘body image lessons’, and that the word ‘fat’ is offensive and should be banned – even the word ‘overweight’? Do overweight and obese people really face a terrible social stigma because of their size? Or is ‘fatness’ – for want of a more acceptable word – actually becoming increasingly normalised? (Changes in body size are reflected by the fact that a size 10 today measures more like a size 14 from around 20 years ago). Perhaps you have personal experience from both sides – did you spend many years battling with your weight and are now slimmer (and happier)? Or do you emphatically disagree that being slim always and inevitably means you are healthier and happier and more successful and confident? Do you feel that you have you experienced prejudice because of your size? Please feel free to comment with your own opinions and experiences – the debate is open to all.