Spreading Fat Stigma Around the Globe

The New York Times recently published an article chronicling the reactions that people around the world have to obesity. In America, there has been a stigma on being overweight for some time. Just turn on Disney channel and you’ll see all thin stars with overweight goofball friends. Overweight people are always construed as a joke in American media which perpetuates an ongoing discrimination of obese individuals. But now the stigma is going further than just the United States. With the incorporation of American media into countries around the globe, the same perceptions of beauty that are held in the United States, those of being skinny and tanned, are common in other countries.

These outrageous perceptions of beauty have created a stigma on being overweight that is completely over the top. Nisha Somaia, an Indian plus-size designer, said, “I had a highly educated friend confess that she would prefer for her children to be anorexic rather than overweight.” Sergio Miranda, an owner of a shoeshine stand in Mexico City, when questioned about his feelings towards overweight people said, "The fatties take up a lot of space. People are annoyed. It’s uncomfortable.”

Statements like Mr. Miranda’s and Mrs. Somaia’s are not anomalies in their societies. These quotes are just two of many cycling around the globe that reflect a negative attitude toward overweight individuals. Rhetoric used in this way is a prime example of words being used for evil purposes that make others feel small.