Prejudice Towards Overweight People example essay topic
350 words
The article I am going to evaluate throughout this essay, fundamentally regards a mother whom lost over nine stone in weight so that, she claims, her four-year-old and her two-year-old daughters would not be embarrassed anymore. I believe this article, though brief, incorporates numerous psychological issues, which are present in daily life. The concerns are primarily socio-psychological in origin, however, they cover a wide range of psychological issues such as self-esteem, peer pressure, social judge ability, eating disorders, and parental-child relationships, to name but a few. Leann Betts, the women in question, stated that's he had to do it for her daughters. ' This statement alone may provide a certain amount of insight into the character of Mrs. Betts. The attitude may seem to many to be selfless and benevolent, however if the mother's self-esteem is of a high level, surely this would convey onto her children. The message being put forward by the media of the present day is one that many perceive to be intolerant and offensive towards overweight people. It is a source of a great deal of comedic jokes and controversy, however, the medias perception is a direct mirror of societies perception, and therefore if the attitude of the media is going to change, then societies attitudes have to transform first. Overweight people, or to be less politically correct 'fat' people are portrayed as 'ugly' and 'undesirable', however the American obesity association states that almost one-third of adults and one in five children in the states is clinically obese. It has come to the stage where the word 'fat' is not merely an adjective, it is rather an insult or 'swear' word, a word which many adolescents believe has its origins in 'your mama' jokes. However, obesity is a problem that has arisen in recent years, prejudice towards overweight people can be traced back to corset wearing days.
However, this is not to say that obesity is a purely female related problem; the prejudice and 'taboo' relating to obesity is the same regardless of gender.
