How
Weight Affects Perception Nonverbally.
America is obsessed with weight. There seems to be an endless supply of new
diets, new apps to help track eating habits, watches that tell if you have
exercised or not, and new subscriptions to at home workout videos. We are inundated with images of flat
stomachs, delicate hip curves, and told that our value is determined by the
size of our waist. We are told that we
need to be thin to be beautiful and sexy.
When someone enjoys their body without limits, it is seen as subversive,
against the grain, and even shameful. Americans
shun and put down the people struggling with their weight, often openly,
leading to an uptick in depression and poor body image among overweight
individuals. As stated on page 143 of
the fifth edition of our text, “obese people are among the few against whom it
remains socially acceptable to hold prejudices” (Moore, Hickson, & Stacks, 2010, p. 143) .
I’ve
been naturally skinny for most of my life, a combination of good genes, a bad
thyroid, and a previously undiagnosed case of Bipolar Disorder. My husband has not had the same experience,
as he has been overweight and chubby for most of his life. My husband (and many of my amazing friends)
call it “fat.” The book calls it
“Endomorphic” (2010, p. 140). Either
way, I have always been curious about the experience of an overweight person
from a social science perspective. What
are some of our judgements about size as it relates to our experience moving
through life? How is judgement about
body size, and indeed body shaming, to a large extent, transmitted
nonverbally? Until I read the text on
this, I was completely unaware of the subtleties of how people communicate
disapproval of body size nonverbally.
Obese
people are frequently seen as lazy, with lower IQs, than people with a more “mesomorphic”
body size (2010, p.140). They are frequently denied apartments, jobs,
and, a study by C. S. Crandall in our text, indicated that heavier students
received less financial support from their families than average sized students
(Crandall, 1991) .
Medical professionals are more likely to recommend weight loss for
symptoms of an illness when the patient is overweight, causing a disconnect
between patient and doctor when the patient’s BMI isn’t within “normal”
range. Clothing manufacturers don’t
typically support larger sizes outside of specialty stores. Overweight people are routinely treated to
backhanded compliments about how attractive they would be if only they lost a
few pounds.
Being
heavy (or fat, as my overweight friends call themselves) is viewed as a choice
in our society. “If only they had chosen
NOT to eat dessert, they wouldn’t be fat… If they went to the gym… If they only
cared about their health more.” Health
has become the standard narrative for criticism. But what about what people say with their
nonverbal communication? What about
sideways glances at overweight people eating out? Or whispers, laughing, and
pointing? “Body Shaming” happens even when
a fat person attempts to take control of their weight. When a fat person goes to the gym, they’re
shamed for not being in shape, as if they’re supposed to lose the weight before
joining the gym, rather than after joining, like everyone else. It is more socially acceptable to publicly
shame and degrade fat people as they walk through the world than it is to be
humble and recognize that perhaps there is a medical reason for their
weight. While there is also a stigma on
people seen as too thin, I am choosing to focus on overweight people and the
way we react to them nonverbally.
Efforts
to combat body shaming and include larger people into the national discussion
on health are slow going. Inclusivity,
regardless of size, is still considered a radical opinion. Gone are the days when only peasants were
thin. Now, an average build is seen as a
status symbol, one that indicates worthiness in the world, just by existing at
a certain weight. I plan to expand on
the idea that much of society views fat as bad, including our own family and
friends, and how that message is transmitted.
I plan to focus on the nonverbal ways that we tell fat people to be
ashamed of themselves. I have a lot of
thin privilege and I’m ready to break down those stereotypes to help understand
my loved ones and their experience in the world better.
Works Cited
Crandall, C. (1991). Do heavy-weight students have
more difficulty paying for college? Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin, 17, 606-611.
Moore, N.-J., Hickson, M., & Stacks, D. W.
(2010). Nonverbal Communication: Studies and Applications (Fifth ed.).
New York, New York, United States: Oxford University Press, Inc.
