"The American legal system offers strikingly limited recourse for people who have been treated unfairly because of their size."
Weight gain is on the rise, but shaming people won’t reverse the trend
People who live in large bodies find themselves the target of fat-phobic and body shaming messages on a daily basis.
"This is a show about health, not weight loss."
"More than 40% of U.S. adults report experience weight-related stigma at some point in their lives."
Often, this shame gets brushed aside as just an unfortunate byproduct of our cultural norms, but when people are at war with their bodies it can impact their work, relationships, and self-worth, often leading to anxiety and depression.
Explores how body size shapes our opportunities and relationships
Willowdean grows up in a small town, comfortable in her own skin and the antithesis to her former beauty queen mother.
A young woman, dealing with anorexia, meets an unconventional doctor who challenges her to face her condition and embrace life.
"Taking us from Harvard to the halls of the Louvre Museum, from a cosmetic surgeon's office in Beirut to the heart of Tokyo's Electric Town, the film explores how these industries saturate our lives with narrow, Westernized, consumer-driven images of beauty that show little to no respect for biological realities or cultural differences."
Definition from the Oxford English Dictionary:
Definition from the American Psychological Association:
Why social workers need to know about sizeism and weight stigma?
Sizeism can contribute to significant mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, as well as harmful behaviors like disordered eating. Individuals who experience weight discrimination often face stigma in healthcare settings, leading to inadequate medical treatment, misdiagnoses, or avoidance of medical care altogether, which can result in worse health outcomes.
In employment and education, sizeism can limit opportunities for career advancement and academic success due to implicit bias, workplace discrimination, and bullying. At the community level, sizeist policies and cultural norms reinforce systemic oppression by promoting narrow definitions of health and beauty, often disproportionately affecting marginalized groups. Public health campaigns and policies that focus on weight loss rather than holistic well-being can perpetuate harm by stigmatizing larger bodies instead of addressing broader determinants of health, such as access to nutritious food, safe exercise spaces, and quality healthcare.
Social workers play a crucial role in challenging these biases by advocating for inclusive policies, educating others about the harmful effects of sizeism, and fostering environments that support body diversity. Understanding and addressing weight discrimination allows social workers to provide more holistic care, advocate effectively for clients, and work toward dismantling systems of oppression that affect individuals based on their body size.
When a brave high school student takes a stand against state-mandated BMI testing of her peers, she finds herself in the middle of a heated national debate, sparking a battle of wills between herself and high-ranking government officials.
"The statistics dealing with women, self-esteem, and body image paint a bleak picture: 80% of fourth-grade girls are on a diet at any given moment, and 20% of young American women have an eating disorder."
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