I have made this realization multiple times,
but the way this was presented made a big impact on me.
(there are a few swear words in this post by the way-fair warning)
It spoke about how women view each other... and in return how they end up viewing themselves.
In other words, weight stereotyping.
"Discrimination against heavier people is well documented—and, sadly, rising: a full 66 percent in the past decade, according to a Yale University study. But could this kind of bias extend to women of all sizes? And are people looking at your body and making assumptions about your life—and your personality?"
How often do we do this?
The people who wrote this article, put together a survey.
They asked each person to picture an overweight person, and a slender person
(whom they didn't know)
They were then given 2 words and had to associate them with the person.
I hope that made sense.
And the results make me scared for this world, and my future kids.
Here they are.
What our poll shows about the assumptions women hold
Heavy women are pegged as…
“lazy” 11 times as often as thin women; “sloppy” nine times; “undisciplined” seven times; “slow” six times as often.
While thin women are seen as…
“conceited” or “superficial” about eight times as often as heavy women; “vain” or “self-centered” four times as often; and “bitchy,” “mean,” or “controlling” more than twice as often
I feel like we too often get caught up in this nasty world and do this to our fellow sisters.
BUT not only that how many times I have I looked in the mirror and said "I'm lazy" "I'm sloppy"
"If only I were more disciplined I wouldn't have eaten that" ect.
How many times have I looked at another one of God's children and thought those awful things?
How many times have I looked at a beautiful slender girl and thought
‘Oh, I bet she eats only three spinach leaves a day and spends all her time on the treadmill, staring at herself in the mirror, and is mean to kittens….’
How ridiculous is that!!!!
How is it that in this world we have 2 classifications for women? Skinny or Fat.
And with skinny or fat comes way to many negative stereotypes
We rarely look beyond that, and if we do it takes a while for us to do so.
“You’re either a self-centered bitch who is starving herself, or a slob with no willpower who’s eating everything in sight.”
I know that for me I've been put in both categories. I've been classified as the skinny girl with too nice of clothes, who is "intimidating" "rude" "bratty" "full of herself" ect. and when I gained 30 lbs all of the sudden I was "lazy" "careless" "not beautiful" or my favorite was when I gave a girl a complitment on the way she looked and she said "Well I work extremely hard to look this way, maybe if you tried to you wouldn't look the way you do." ect. But most of the people saying these things had no idea of anything in my life! They have no idea that I have a bad Thyroid problem, and so I am constantly taking medication to regulate it, I go to the gym at least 4 nights a week for an hour or two a night, I watch what I eat, and count calories. I work hard! And even then sometimes because of my thyroid, I still gain weight. I agree completely that you should work hard, exercise and I want to be in shape, because I feel it improves my overall quality of life.. but there is a line between doing it to help your life and judging others rudely because of it. It's sad that children at a young age are starting to feel self concious about this. I distinctly remember being embarrassed to wear shorts in 8th grade because I thougth I was too fat to wear them. I thought that because what people had told me. I was 5'8" and weighed 104 pounds. I was a twig.
The images that this world has created as "ideal" for women, is out of control. They are unrealistic, and have created stereotypes in our minds. Even as far as a heavier person is more giving than a slender person. This is our time. It is our time to STOP IT! I do not want my children growing up in a world where they are judged so heavily upon their personal appearance. One that you can only help shape so much before its no longer in your hands.
We need to learn to put these stereotypes aside. We need to learn to see everyone through God's eyes. We need to strap on our spiritual goggles and learn that size, color, height, ect. don't matter. The challenge between racism and weightstereotyping will not end until we decide it no longer matters.
That's my soap box.
If you want to read the article, I have attached it.
http://living.msn.com/life-inspired/weight-stereotyping-the-secret-way-people-are-judging-you-based-on-your-body
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