Weight Stereotyping

 A study was done at  Yale which showed that discrimination against heavier individuals had increased to about 66%. 

Glamour magazine then conducted a study about weight stereotyping:

"We asked respondents to imagine a woman whom they had never met and knew nothing about except that she was “overweight” or “thin”; they then had to choose from pairs of words, like ambitious or lazy, to describe her. They could select neither, but fewer than half did—a telling statistic"

Basically our weight has a lot to do with how we are judged and cause people to make a lot of assumptions about us, our personalities, our work ethic, ect.

Weight Stereotyping: The Secret Way People Are Judging You Based on Your Body

 “Sloppy.” “Lazy.” “Slow.” Franki Northern-King gets the message loud constantly. and clear, and “I’ve been called all those things—and let’s not forget ‘stinky,’” says the 32-year-old business-management student from Huntington, West Virginia. “At 5'3" and 250 pounds, I’m reminded of my weight 50 times a day by store clerks, coworkers, family, boyfriends, you name it,” says Northern-King, who goes to school full-time and works 20 hours a week to earn tuition money. “I feel like people have forgotten how to see the human being.”

Shocking? Maybe. But the judging wouldn’t surprise Elise Maggioncalda, 24, who works at a neuroscience lab in Charleston, South Carolina. She’s experienced it too, even though she’s eight inches taller and 120 pounds lighter. “I’m really aware of being stereotyped as an uptight, controlling, unwomanly, bitchy person,” she says, “and all kinds of people do it, from waitresses commenting on my order to shoppers at the supermarket. I’m not walking around with a scowl on my face, but it’s completely obvious they’re hating on me.” 

Images like the one above send a clear message. 

Books are Judged By Their Covers

"Many view their fellow man through the lens of “skinny, sneaky bitches/bastards” and “big, fat, lazy pigs.” While that perception is far from reality, it unfortunately is what it is. If you are obese many are going to judge you as sloppy, lacking self-control and weak. This includes employers, who studies show pay fat workers less based on the negative perceptions noted … if they hire them at all."

I personally find these finding kind of disturbing but not necessarily shocking. I have always thought these things, but about myself. I'll look at myself and think that others will think i'm lazy, stupid, and undisciplined because of my weight, and that they would be more inclined to think I am smart, ambitious and competent if i am thin and fit. I find these finding unsettling because it confirms that those beliefs I have about weight influencing others evaluation of who I am. 

Sources

Glamour Article: http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/2012/05/weight-stereotyping-the-secret-way-people-are-judging-you-based-on-your-body-glamour-june-2012

Review Article: http://heyfatassguide.com/tag/skinny-bitches/