"When you're slim, you're more pleasant on the eye. When you're big, people think: slow and lazy." I quoted this from The Straits Times (29 March 08) on 'the BIG issue' that talks about the stigma of obese people faced.
How many a times do we cast a second look on people who look 'humongous' yet normal? How many of us were guilty of downward counterfactual thoughts or took a secret glimpse of your own figure whenever you came across these group of people?
Stereotypes qualify as one kind of schema that is a mental representation for us to organise information about the world. Society tend to view these people as slow, lazy and even to the extent of unkempt. Such prejudice is probably uncalled for especially when one enters a lift or take a bus ride home, people either 'shun' them or 'snigger' at them all the time.
Whether their plight is due to dispositional factors or situational factors, having prejudice against these people will only impact their emotion negatively and further demoralize their confidence. Their challenge of not to be seen as lazy or slow could only be overcome if such schemas/prejudices were non-existence. Their ability to secure a job is also dependent on how society views them. If owners or employees of companies do hold on to such prejudice against obese people, the latter would forever remain jobless and eventually, prove that the schemas people held all these while were true.
3 comments:
Hey man, actually i agree with this point because of stereotyping but one perspective i can provide is that one of the factor of becoming fat is that people are lazy to exercise and keep themself in shape and this is really bad for the image. You can be fat but i believe that slef-packaging is very important and it really shows whether you really care about your life. Being healthy is also talking about keeping fit. As what i learn about attitude determines your altitude, i believed that if one has the desire to keep slim even though he may born fat, he can do it. Its just a matter of time....
but some of these fat people are due to genetics... so you cannot predispose them as well... but not all fat people are bad also... i've know some fat people who are real nice and good to me... they are those people who have less discrimination and prejudice against others, they tend to be very kind hearted and takes things lighter as well...
as always, there's always the other side of the coin.
My opinion, we should not add sterotype against people who are not physical attractive. H..mmm, should say this, we shouldn't have any sterotype!
Although we expect being slim and beauty, must find some ways to improve, of course have to consider about money and time. I think people realise a fact that if physical changes can be improved, they must do something to improve it. Changes depend on what your attitude about life is. Just think that you can make it better, and then, act on it.
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