Fat phobia
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Prejudice and hostile attitudes towards fat people are at the root of a great deal of discrimination that is prohibited by Belgian law and international treaties.
Fat phobia is considered to be a type of structural discrimination. Fat people suffer systemic unequal treatment in various areas of life, such as healthcare, public places and cultural settings, employment, education, etc. It is a form of discrimination that is particularly normalised in our society and is given little consideration by public authorities.
Disclaimer: In this section, we use the word 'fat'. We realise that this word has a negative connotation for many. However, organisations fighting against weight stigma and discrimination want to reclaim the word 'fat' as a neutral way of describing a person. We adopt the same word choice here and thus use 'fat' as a neutral term.
What is fat phobia?
Fat phobia is the discrimination and stigmatisation of fat people. It can be linked to several protected criteria, depending on the situation:
- Physical characteristic or appearance: when fat people are discriminated against on the basis of their appearance (for example, because of negative social prejudice or stereotypes about their state of health), this may be discrimination on the basis of a physical characteristic.
- Disability criteria: when inappropriate environments (such as seats that are too small) create barriers for participation, this may be discrimination on the grounds of disability.
It is important not to equate discrimination on the grounds of being fat with discrimination on the grounds of health status. It is recommended that the terms "overweight" and "obesity" be avoided in the context of fat phobia, as they medicalise being fat and are not neutral. To find out more, see chapter (4.2) of our Report "Improving Equality Data Collection in Belgium" II, explains more in details the difference between fat phobia and obesity-related discrimination.
Example of fat phobia
A man applied for a job as an instructor for a driving school. After an initial interview, he received an e-mail explaining that his physical profile was unsuitable and asking if he had ever thought about losing weight (Liège Labour Court, Dinant Division, 20 June 2016 - only FR version).
How does fat phobia manifest itself?
Normalised discrimination
Throughout their lives, fat people are the target of negative comments, stigmatisation, unfair treatment, insults and even aggression in various areas of their lives:
- At school: bullying and aggression towards them from an early age...
- At work: prejudice encountered during hiring, bullying by colleagues...
- In public spaces: microaggressions in the street, non-adapted seats in cinemas or restaurants, etc.
- In the media: notable lack of representation of fat people and the perpetuation of stereotypes about them...
- In the private sphere: domestic violence, inappropriate comments, etc.
- In the medical world: refusal of treatment, medical negligence, medical violence, humiliation, etc.
When we look at fat phobia from a structural point of view a normalised form of discrimination is revealed, that is given very little consideration in our society.
Fat phobia has repercussions that are not only social and structural, but also psychological. Stereotypes linked to being fat cause major psychological distress. By internalising society's negative judgements, fat people are under constant pressure to conform to unattainable standards, which can lead to eating disorders, depression and a loss of self-confidence. This stigma reinforces their isolation and exacerbates social inequalities.
Inadequate healthcare
It should be noted that there is a systematic discrimination against fat people in the medical world.
- Medical equipment is not always adapted, which can lead to incorrect measurements (for example, a blood pressure monitor with an unsuitable cuff size can lead to incorrect blood pressure readings).
- Some treatments are also less effective (for example, the morning-after pill).
- The importance attached by doctors to weight can lead to misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. These different situations experienced by fat people lead to delayed treatment, with dramatic consequences for their health.
Barriers to equality in employment
A woman applied for a job as a shop assistant. The manager explained that she didn't fit with their "brand image" because of her weight. This type of situation is a good illustration of discrimination against fat people in the workplace.
Employment is the area in which Unia receives the most reports of fat phobia. Over the last 10 years, 43 reports have been made. The majority concerned discrimination during the hiring process, followed by cases of discriminatory harassment in the workplace. This discrimination is rooted in persistent prejudices: fat people are often perceived as less competent, less motivated or in poor health.
Beyond the economic impact, access to employment is essential for social participation and personal fulfilment. By remaining invisible, fat phobia is a major obstacle to equal opportunities in the world of work.
Difficulties of access and getting around
As they go about their daily lives, fat people also have to cope with difficulties in accessing both public and private places and services:
- Lack of seating for all body types on public transport, on planes, in public toilets, in cultural settings, etc.
- lack of facilities for larger people in sports facilities and other leisure services...
- etc.
The Fat Friendly association has developed a map of the accessibility of spaces for fat people (FR only), which provides information on the actual accessibility conditions of all places.
Fat phobia and intersectionality
As is often the case, people who are the victim of fat phobia experience the intersection of various other potential discrimination criteria. This intersection of different criteria can help explain specific discrimination situations.
To understand discrimination against a fat person, you need to be able to look at the intersections affecting that person:
- Are they a disabled person?
- Are they a woman?
- Are they a victim of racism?
- Are they someone living in poverty?
The intersection of different criteria creates situations specific to each individual. A black woman who experiences fat phobia will not find herself in the same situation as a white woman who encounters fat phobia. For example, doctors may have different stereotypes about the weight of black women than about the weight of white women, and fat phobia towards black women may therefore take a different form.
The intersectionality of each person must therefore be taken into account in order to understand the situation as a whole.
Why have so few reports regarding fat phobia been received by Unia?
Although fat phobia is a widespread phenomenon, it remains too normalised in our society. This invisibility contributes to the low rate of reports received by Unia. The injustices suffered by fat people are often perceived as unavoidable realities, or even as a personal responsibility, such is the extent to which stigmatisation is ingrained in people's minds.
As a result, the people concerned do not always realise that such discrimination is illegal and that it can be reported. Many are still unaware that being fat can be protected by criteria such as physical appearance or, in some cases, disability. This lack of knowledge, combined with the guilt and shame engendered by negative stereotypes, is a major obstacle to reporting this kind of discrimination.
To combat this invisibility, it is essential to recognise fat phobia as structural discrimination and to inform the people concerned of their rights.
Related articles
Report ‘Improving Equality Data Collection in Belgium II‘ - disability, health status, physical characteristics
Unia has conducted a second study on equality data collection in Belgium. This time the project focused on the criteria disability, health status, and physical characteristics.
Discrimination and intersectionality
Some people are discriminated against more than others because they belong to multiple identity groups. This is known as multiple discrimination. Intersectional discrimination is one of them.
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