Recently in Weight Category

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/23/bill-oreilly-lane-bryant_n_550279.html

So I was perusing Huffington Post as I do from time to time and I came across this segment from Papa Bear Bill O'Reilly about the Lane Bryant Plus-size lingerie ad controversy. I had no idea what this was all about, but I was intrigued (and not just by the provocative picture they had above the story). Evidently ABC would not air this ad during the 8pm family hour because they felt it was too riskay for the youth to be seeing. They were going to air it at 9 after the kiddies had gone to bed, though. Two pundits agreed with decision on O'Reilly factor, which is fair enough. But wait second...you know who gets to air their ads during that time slot? Victoria Secret. When asked why it was okay for Victoria Secret to air their ads, Fox & Friends Anchor, Gretchen Carlson said, ""Here's the thing--with plus-size models, you're going to get more cleavage. They're plus-size!...It's going to appear to be a little bit more over the line because you're getting more."I literally said wtf to my computer (the full thing not just the letters).

I'm going to break this down for you. Has anyone ever seen a Victoria's Secret catalog or a store, or a commercial  I'm pretty sure that there is plenty of cleavage in all of those things. In fact, I'm pretty sure they don't hire models who don't have cleavage. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure, though I'm surely not an expert, that Victoria Secret makes bras that accentuate cleavage. Gretchen your complaining about the plus-size woman's natural cleavage when Victoria secret is selling products, as modeled by women in their commercials, specifically designed to mimic the exact same thing. Yes, that's right, your points are not logical.

There is obviously a double standard here beyond Gretchen's logic. We're okay with showing children Victoria secret commercials because they are consistent with society's view of what women in this country should be like. Airbrushed in angel wings and underwear with long legs, perfect skin, and perky boobs. Sure we can show that to our children because they already see it everywhere. The TV shows that are on during prime time play to the same theme (Desperate Housewives 8pm Sunday anyone?). Commercials, music videos, billboards, movies, etc all are in accord with this. It is our duty to socialize our children to have this image of beauty in their heads as they grow up. It is a message that Victoria Secret can convey, but Lane Bryant cannot. Just as it is a message that Megan Fox can convey but Gabourey Sidibe cannot.

Too much cleavage is not the reason. Cleavage is just fine when it is on a skinny woman. In my estimation, this ad punctured some schemas held by the executives at ABC. 'Wow, here are ladies who are not super thin models, but yet they are sexy underwear? Gee whiz, we got so used to looking at the exact same thing in a smaller size, it is as if we are taking note for the first time that this is somewhat provocative. Have we been objectifying the women in the Victoria Secret ads to the point where we've become desensitized to their actual personhood? This lingerie ad is making us restructure our schemas about lingerie models and it is dreadfully uncomfortable. We are becoming conscious of their womanhood. Sexuality, femininity and self-confidence, oh my! Darn it all, this is much too scandalous for the family hour. The masses don't want to be troubled with such personalization of woman sexuality. How will parents explain this to their children!? Give them Victoria Secret. It's much easier for mommy and daddy to say to their little girls and boys 'oh those aren't really women, they're just objects of America's lust for beauty'.

So yes, I actually think it was a matter of too much cleavage. No, not the cleavage accentuated by sexy lingerie, but rather the cleavage of a worldview, from comfortable objectification into uncomfortable personalization.   

In talking about stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination, I think it is very important to include the stigmatization of obesity in the conversation. This article captures well the complexity of the issue and a suggestion for a way forward. Katz makes the point that the stigmatization of individuals with obesity remains socially acceptable, a luxury which very few other stigmas enjoy. The reason for this is the automatic attribution of personal responsibility associated with persons who are obese. Labels of lazy and lacking will power clash wholly with the American values of individualism and work ethic, so it stands to reason that obesity is on the front line of stigmatizing conditions in this country. 

On the other hand, Katz makes the argument that obesity as a condition should not be fought for with the same tolerance as other stigmatizing conditions. The fact of the matter is, obesity is a problem when it comes to health. Risks for heart disease and diabetes increase significantly when one is overweight, so it is costly for the individual as well as the larger society in terms of medical costs.

The thing I liked about this article the most was that Katz argued against the customary practice of blaming the individual for their obesity. Instead he implicated the way society has become an enabler for such a condition. Modern conveniences, availability of food (not the healthy kind), and entertainment sources enjoyed passively all interact with individual body types and genetics to create the problem. The take home message is that anti-fat biases should be discouraged, but obesity as an issue should be treated as a public health emergency.

Do you think that such obesity is a condition that should be stigmatized like it is? How is obesity as a stigmatized condition different from other stigmatizing conditions? Should anti-fat bias be reigned in with regard to its widespread social acceptability?
     
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-katz-md/do-we-need-a-fattitude-ad_b_509572.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/09/howard-stern-gabourey-sid_n_492102.html

Howard Stern unleashed a vicious attack on Gabourey Sidibe on his Sirius satellite show on Monday.

"There's the most enormous, fat black chick I've ever seen. She is enormous. Everyone's pretending she's a part of show business and she's never going to be in another movie," he said. "She should have gotten the Best Actress award because she's never going to have another shot. What movie is she gonna be in?"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/18/victoria-beckham-defends_n_467137.html

"Beckham also had some kind words for the skinniest of models, saying, "I think that some of these girls, most of these girls are naturally thin and I don't think we should be discriminating against someone because they're too thin, too curvy or too large.""

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1192482_the_stigma_of_a_size_20

This article doesn't take place in the United States, but I found it interesting because in the US we always talk about obesity and stigmatize against it or discriminate the people who are obese.  saying that its their fault and if people see them eating out in the malls, or shopping, or even going to work out, people give them glares about eating or surprised looks when they are at the gym. 

The lady who wrote the article isn't obese, but for two days, she wore a fat suit, so she went from a size 10 to a size 20.  She then went out to the mall with a man who used to be obese, but recently lost a lot of weight.  They said that there was only one word to describe the way that they felt. Shame. 

I have never been obese.  But I liked this article, and I have seen other tmes when people have put on fat suits to understand what it feels like and the looks that people get.  In this class we talk a lot about race and how we discriminate against each other based on our features, but there is also some overlap with how we think about obese people.  The article quotes that when people see someone who is obese, they think of them as unintelligent, lazy, and out of control.  The article also quotes the man as saying that he wouldn't eat in public, in fear of being stared at and people yelling things, but then once he got home he would not stop eating and that would further his obesity.  So obesity, like related to an article I had read for class, can be a self-fulfilling profecy.

Another article on body image/weight:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/fashion/16DIARY.html


This is report on a runway model that has lost work because of her weight, despite the fact that she is a size 4, which is still considered skinny to most people. What kind of message does something like this send not only to aspiring models, but young women in general? Also, why is it that an issue like this exists when it would seem that most people understand that runway models don't look like most people? I know there are some modeling agencies that support healthier, fuller bodies, but why isn't there more of a push for average looking models when most people (I'd assume, anyway) would accept them just the same if not more than "super"models?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/14/director-kevin-smith-too_n_461803.html

Some of you may have already heard about this, but recently film director Kevin Smith was removed from a Southwestern Airlines flight because the airline personnel claimed he was "too fat" to fit into the seat. Southwestern Airlines has a policy that states that if you cannot fit between the armrests of seat, you must get another ticket for the seat next to you in order to fly. Smith claims that he comfortably fit between the armrests, but was removed from the flight anyway.

I find it interesting that the resolution airlines have for overweight individuals that cannot fit into standard seats is to order another seat. Doesn't this seem wrong to a certain extent? Shouldn't there be better alternatives available for people that cannot fit into the standard seat (which usually are not all that big in the first place)? Doesn't this appear to be discriminatory towards overweight people even though it is part of the airline's policy? Any ideas for a better way to go about situations like this? I also thought it was strange that both Smith and the Airline are communicating via twitter....but that's a whole different issue...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/14/director-kevin-smith-too_n_461803.html

"Kevin Smith was delayed getting from Oakland to Burbank Saturday night because he was "too wide for the sky." According to the 'Clerks' and 'Jay & Silent Bob' director's Twitter, Southwest Airlines removed him from a flight after deeming him a safety risk."

These are two articles regarding the movie "Precious" that is out at select theaters now. It actually won the Sundance Film Festival and has been nominated for several Oscars. The story which is based on the novel PUSH by Sapphire is about a 15 year old girl from Harlem who is overweight, has an abusive mother, and is pregnant with her second child by her father. Stigmas are an important part of this movie, as are poverty, education, and welfare.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120176695

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/magazine/25precious-t.html?pagewanted=6&_r=1

I came across this article from yahoo:  http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/vanity-fairs-quot-new-hollywood-quot-issue-completely-lacks-diversity-578862/

To give a quick overview, the writer of this article criticized the editors at Vanity Fair magazine for their most recent "Young Hollywood" issue. The cover shows several young, up-and-coming actresses who have recently found great success in their careers in the entertainment industry. However all of them are white and skinny. By now, most people are aware of how the media's portrayal of "beauty", i.e. being a size 2, is detrimental to millions of women around the world. But what about the lack of diversity being added to that issue? What message does that send to minority women in this country? 

The following activity is from Rusty Juban's Management of Organizations class.

 

Weight Discrimination: A New Type of Corporate Downsizing?

During the late 1980's and early 1990's most of us were aware that many firms were downsizing"getting leaner and meaner"in order to compete more effectively with their local, national, and global rivals. Today, however, the terms "leaner and meaner" and even "downsizing" are taking on entirely new meanings, as more and more overweight executive-level applicants are experiencing rejection because they don't fit the "trim and slim" mold that some firms prefer. In fact, even the most casual of observers will notice that top managers who are overweight, out of shape, or sluggish, by today's corporate standards, tend to be the exception, not the rule.

For those overweight applicants hoping to someday secure a management position, some experts contend that their chances of being rejected simply because they don't "look the part" are pretty strong. Findings from a study conducted by the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) indicate that only 9% of top male executives are overweight. In addition, overweight people typically are hired for less prestigious positions and generally receive less pay. Although some executive recruiters don't believe that a person's weight plays a part in career advancement, many other experts believe otherwise.

Sharon Voros, president of Voros Communications, a management and career consulting firm in Ft. Worth Texas, has written a provocative two-article series about weight discrimination in the workplace. The articles, which are located at The Wall Street Journal's online career journal Web site, are:

• "Weight Discrimination Runs Rampart In Hiring"
• "How To Overcome Weight Discrimination"

After reading these two articles, please answer the following questions:

1. According to the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), why do companies have a hard time hiring overweight candidates?
2. One NAAFA study found what type of disparity between overweight employees' pay and their thinner counterparts?
3. Explain the female-oriented standard called "the size-eight straightjacket".
4. According to the articles, under what conditions are overweight employees protected against size-related discrimination?
5. What strategies does the author suggest to help overweight executives secure employment with other firms?