This paper talks about how prejudice through obesity in the Australian media influences the job foreground for women and the reason why people hate fat people in the society. The paper deeply discusses the problem of unemployment while highlighting the prejudice and othering in the society through media. For the purpose of this assignment, the ‘foreign other’ refers not only to different nationalities, but also to any group of people which is perceived as different. According to this definition, the differences could be perceived in relation to religion, ethnicity, class or caste, political alignment, or gender. Prejudice, which is a constituent of othering, refers to the making of judgment on the bias of interest rather than the emergent evidence.
Obesity Affects Job Prospects for Women
This article majorly addresses the issue of othering where obese women are more likely to be discriminated against when applying for jobs. Additionally, this article recognizes the fact that even if they get these jobs, they would receive lower starting salaries than their non-overweight colleagues would. The main aim of the study was to examine the relevance of a recently developed measure of anti-fat prejudice to the obesity job discrimination. Additionally, the study also assessed the relationships between people’s body image, dimensions of personality, for instance social dominance orientation and authoritarianism, and the issue of obesity discrimination. According to the lead researcher, in order to avoid achieving biased results, they initially concealed the purpose and nature of the study from the participants.
In their method of research, they attached small photos of the supposed job applicants to their resumes and asked the participants to rate these resumes according to their suitability for the jobs, employability and possible starting salary. In their findings, it was evident that obesity discrimination against women was evidenced across all selection criteria such as salary, likelihood of selection for the job and leadership potential. The study also discovered that the higher the participants scored on the universal measure of bias, the higher their chances of discriminating against obese candidates. In these findings, participants own body image had a close association with obesity discrimination, where individuals who rated themselves highly according to physical attractiveness and appearance were more likely to discriminate against obese people.
According to this study, and in relation to othering and prejudice, people who consider their own image as superior also consider fatter people as ‘others’ therefore; they discriminate against them as deserving fewer opportunities and privileges than their non-fat counterparts. This prejudice is commonly biased on obese women.
"I Hate Fat People"
This article was written in an attempt to indicate how the society views people who are overweight. There are several credible surveys cited in the article that discus this phenomenon. The article particularly talks about how men think and their view on the issue of being overweight. According to this article’s findings, a higher percentage of the American men would rather divorce their wives than have them gain 100 pounds in weight. In my opinion, the prejudice in this article begins with the author himself. He gives much attention to the men. Additionally, in mentioning the regulations on food, I believe people have the conscience of whether or not they would wish to cause harm to their bodies, and that they are ready to deal with the consequences of their actions.
Even though the author accepts his hatred for fat people, he advises that hating fat people is unethical, just like hating any other social group in the society. He also accepts that being fat is not an indicator of incompetence and refers to the obese doctors, who are aware of the consequences of obesity. He also reminds the audience that with the increasing number of overweight or obese American population, hating fat people would imply hating our friends, and family. In this article, the author highlights some of the unwelcoming words people have used to refer to fat people such as lazy, unattractive, self-indulgent, and shapeless. He considers these as prejudice against the fat population.
Conclusion
People who perceive their own physical appearance or personal attractiveness usually ‘other’ the fat women. They especially consider the latter incompetent especially in job opportunities. Fat women are also discriminated upon in remuneration. Additionally, skinny men also discriminate against obese or overweight women. Other studies reveal that American men would rather marry a woman on a wheelchair than an obese woman. Other men even describe these women as shapeless. Generally, the skinny population usually have prejudice on the obese or overweight population.
Bibliography:
Conniff Richard. Obesity and Prejudice: "I Hate Fat People". Men’s Health. October 19, 2010. http://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/i-hate-fat-people
Holliday Adrian, Hyde Martin, & Kullman John. Intercultural Communication: An Advanced Resource Book for Students. (London: Routledge, 2010), 25-26.
O’Brien Kerry. Obesity Affects Job Prospects for Women. Pro Bono Australia. May 21, 2012. http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2012/05/obesity-affects-job-prospects-women#
Australian Bureau of Statistics. Accessed May 19, 2013. http://www.abs.gov.au/
