Job Discrimination Continues

Geez, this breaks my heart. I'm 50 lbs heavier than this woman and about the same height. A person who is 5'4" and 160lbs is *not* fat! -- she's just a little bit overweight. And customers were *uncomfortable* doing business with her because she carries a little extra poundage? What a sad reflection on American society.

That is insane. She is perfectly normal weight, unless she lives in Hollywood where they probably have a skewed perception of reality due to being star struck (no offense meant to anyone who lives there). I can't believe that people are so fat-phobic they can't deal with someone of normal, average weight. They themselves are probably overweight as well, since according to the BMI, you're overweight unless you're thin enough to blow away in the wind, and few people are that thin. The kind of thinking that a person is fat when they're really not is stupid, IMHO. I don't understand how someone could have such a skewed perception to not be able to "deal with" average-sized folks. If someone can't deal with normal sized people, they should move to Mars and start a colony, since they won't be able to get away from overweight folks on Earth, IMHO.

Sadly, weight based discrimination is perfectly legal in all but a few locations in the United States. If this woman, Pam, lives anywhere but SF, Santa Cruz, Washington DC and Michigan, she hasn't got a leg to stand on in taking legal action against her employer. If we as a culture could learn to accept our bodies we would in turn accept other people's bodies, and this type of discrimination would be far less likely to exist. It's people's feelings of inadequacy about their own physiques that lead them to say they're "uncomfortable" dealing with someone larger than they are. Eliminate these feelings of inadequacy and the problem is nearly solved.

P.S. I must question our tendency to declare people to be of "normal" or "over" weight simply because we know their height and weight numbers, and to assume that someone of any height is carrying "excess" weight based on their size. What might be truly excess differs by individual and it cannot be evaluated based on a number on the scale.

Good points. The BMI standard is discriminatory in itself, and is not even based on a person's current or past health. And does no one remember that about 10-15 years ago, the BMI was different? The numbers were changed by insurance companies, if I recall correctly. So if the insurance companies are ripping people off based on a discriminatory standard, why aren't more people doing anything about it?

P.S. The idea that a woman is "fat" if she's above a certain size strikes me as very sexist and is one of the few things that really make me mad. That's saying to all the women at or above that size that they won't ever be able to have that job either, regardless of how well they perform it. Not only that, but denying someone a promotion just because they're above a certain size is just as immoral as denying it to someone of a different gender, race, or religion. When the general public recognizes that, it will be a step forward.

What I think disturbs me most about this is that she's in *Buffalo*. I lived there until 4 years ago, and 160 seems to be fairly average for the place - my current theory is that it's a response to the cold winters, which is slightly facetious, but not as much as it might be. Granted, I'm basing my average on my family, and the families of my friends and my boyfriend, as well as the people I used to work with, go to school with, and see in clubs and other social activites. Not the broadest sample, obviously, but one that's reasonably random.

Well, I live in the Twin Cities area, and sizes 12-18 seem to be the norm for women here, judging not only by looking but by what clothes are frequently low on stock when I go to the local stores. I can hardly ever find clothes on the rack in a 14/16 petite (depending on the brand) because the size is so popular around here and they sell out very fast. The only thing that's left is either the small sizes or the larger sizes. So, if a size 14 is what most women wear these days, why is she being discriminated against based on her size? That is not logical to me. Even if the lady was larger, what happened to her would still be very wrong, but it makes no sense.

It makes me very sad that Americans could be so heartless. Some of the stories I have been reading have brought tears to my eyes. What would you do if someone looked at you and decided that they didn't like the mole on your face and that you wouldn't be able to work for them unless you had it removed. It would be ridiculous and no one would take it!!! That's exactly how I feel. Who gives them the right to judge how we should look?! No one and I'm tired of it!!