In class readings and discussions we’ve talked a lot
about femininity and how beauty can lead to power and success in our culture
(see Eki’s post on the power of an Image). An example from our readings comes from the article First Impressions of Sarah Palin: Pitt
Bulls, Politics, Gender Performance, and a Discursive Media where Palin’s
attractiveness as a candidate is due in part to her “physical traits” and “how
great she looks” (Harp, Loke & Bachmann 301). The article The Gendered Face of Latinidad examined
how Latina women go through a “crossover process” where women’s trek towards
fame includes “blonding the hair, shedding some weight” (Valdivia 62). But in our
American culture where body image and being at the “perfect” weight is such a
priority, our class discussion hasn't touched that much upon prejudices against people based on
weight. I began to wonder how overweight
people were discriminated against in our culture, and I came across a two interesting articles that I would like to share.
The article ExtraWeight, Higher Costs explains that being overweight (even just 30-40 lbs overweight) costs
“tens of thousands of dollars over a lifetime” and is particularly costly for
women. From the article:
Heavy people do not spend more than
normal-size people on food, but their life insurance premiums are two to four
times as large. They can expect higher medical expenses, and they tend to make
less money and accumulate less wealth in their shortened lifetimes. They can have
a harder time being hired, and then a harder time winning plum assignments and
promotions.
I suppose it
makes sense to me that medical costs would be higher for someone that was
overweight, and even that they might have shorter lifespans if they are overweight. But I guess I was shocked at
the discrimination towards money that individuals, particularly women, received
in the work place for being overweight. See this astonishing fact:
The typical female baby boomer, he said,
earned $313.70 less annually for every one-point increase in her B.M.I., while
the typical male earned $161.30 less for every point.
While in theory
it seems ridiculous that someone could be discriminated against in the
workplace for their weight, in reality there are actually a number of professions where body type and size is considered a part of the job requirements. Take a look Lauren Warnecke’s story, I Was a Fat Ballerina. Lauren struggled
with an eating disorder throughout her experience as a professional ballerina,
and eventually was fired for "not looking good in the costume."
The wording in the article isn't just coincidence, and brought me back to our discussion of the “It’s a Culture Not a Costume”
campaign. It just makes me
wonder… is being thin, svelte, blonde, tall, etc the “costume” that Americans
need to conform to in our culture in order to be successful?
I've often thought about this and am glad that you wrote a blog about it, especially making the distinction between overweight men and women. Not only do they seem to be doing better financially, but socially it seems more acceptable for men to be overweight. I know that some men do have body issues and low self-esteem, but as a societal whole I would argue that we are less critical of overweight men.
ReplyDeleteIt would also be interesting to look at the racial differences of overweight women. As Eki talked about, there's an expectation for Asian women to be extremely petite, but on the other side of the spectrum, African-American women are often complimented and wooed for their plus-size bodies.
Unfortunately we live in a society where physical appearance is constantly scrutinized and judged. You're either to fat or too thin. Too tall or too short. We condemn other cultures for using whitening beauty products, but we alter hair color, skin conditions (tanning/Botox/acne treatments/makeup), and our smiles (straightening, whitening). Here's a really interesting article looking at American culture through an outsider's perspective: http://www.ohio.edu/people/thompsoc/body.html
Applying financial burden as a unit of analysis in the obesity debate also applies another dimension which I find disturbing: the commodification of the human body as part of its social dimension, which the nature of its narrative, for some reason, renders imperative.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Lauren's story Brittany! I love how she said, "it's about fit vs. unfit, not fat vs. thin." Growing up in a society where overweight is seen as a stigma made me really upset when I gained 25 pounds the first year I was in the US. As I mentioned in class, most Asian women are expected to be petite. I remember how my friends would told me that I needed to shred some pounds when I was not even considered as overweight according to my health checkup. I started to lose my confident and started on a strict diet. But I finally realized it was not what I wanted. As Lauren put it in the article, "it's not about altering your bodies to fit dance, it's about altering dance to fit your bodies." I cannot agree more. It is not about altering my body to fit society standard, it is about altering society view to fit our true identity.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought it was interesting how America is known across the world as a country of fat, slothful people, while also being the land of Hollywood and glamour. It's certainly true that childhood obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are occurring at an alarming rate in America, but there are are also more eating disorder- related deaths here than anywhere else in the world. There is a marked hypocrisy in the way young women receive constant pressure to be thin from each and every media source, while also being bombarded by media messages that promote high-sugar diets. This is especially troubling because of the abundance of long-term effects that bulimia and anorexia-nervosa may impart. The following list of statistics regarding eating disorders came from http://www.state.sc.us/dmh/anorexia/statistics.htm:
ReplyDeleteIt is estimated that 8 million Americans have an eating disorder – seven million women and one million men
One in 200 American women suffers from anorexia
Two to three in 100 American women suffers from bulimia
Nearly half of all Americans personally know someone with an eating disorder (Note: One in five Americans suffers from mental illnesses.)
An estimated 10 – 15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are males
MORTALITY RATES
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness
A study by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders reported that 5 – 10% of anorexics die within 10 years after contracting the disease; 18-20% of anorexics will be dead after 20 years and only 30 – 40% ever fully recover
The mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate of ALL causes of death for females 15 – 24 years old.
20% of people suffering from anorexia will prematurely die from complications related to their eating disorder, including suicide and heart problems
ACCESS TO TREATMENT
Only 1 in 10 people with eating disorders receive treatment
About 80% of the girls/women who have accessed care for their eating disorders do not get the intensity of treatment they need to stay in recovery – they are often sent home weeks earlier than the recommended stay
Treatment of an eating disorder in the US ranges from $500 per day to $2,000 per day. The average cost for a month of inpatient treatment is $30,000. It is estimated that individuals with eating disorders need anywhere from 3 – 6 months of inpatient care. Health insurance companies for several reasons do not typically cover the cost of treating eating disorders
The cost of outpatient treatment, including therapy and medical monitoring, can extend to $100,000 or more
ADOLESCENTS
Anorexia is the 3rd most common chronic illness among adolescents
95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25
50% of girls between the ages of 11 and 13 see themselves as overweight
80% of 13-year-olds have attempted to lose weight
RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIES
Rates of minorities with eating disorders are similar to those of white women
74% of American Indian girls reported dieting and purging with diet pills
Essence magazine, in 1994, reported that 53.5% of their respondents, African-American females were at risk of an eating disorder
Eating disorders are one of the most common psychological problems facing young women in Japan
http://www.state.sc.us/dmh/anorexia/statistics.htm
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ReplyDeleteWow, these are some shocking statistics, Trevor. And I liked your post, Brittany. I have known at least three close women in my life who suffered from an eating disorder. Maybe even more than that. I do not know why women do the things that they do to stay thin, but then I think back to my elementary school days when kids used to tease their classmates for being fat. Thus, I've watched how an eating disorder consumed someone close to me from a very young age, due to what I believe was teasing at a young age and growing up in a home where weight was a familiar topic of discussion. It appears to me that most people in our culture strive to stay thin, because fat means outcast.
ReplyDeleteI would like to play devil's advocate for a second and ask what people think about the fact that weight is something that can be controlled in most cases. When we talked about disability in class, someone asked if obesity was a disability, and I still struggle with the answer to that question. But then I think that some people can certainly become overweight due to no fault of their own. Nonetheless, it's true and concerning that what is fed to the average American about weight is often times a gimmick--the weight loss industry is a billion dollar industry. But hardly ever are our discussions about what a healthy BMI is or fruit and vegetable intake. Maybe as a culture, we could shift that conversation to be more about living a long, sustainable life rather than be one extreme or the other--slothful or wasting away.