Prejudice Against Obesity

2019 Words9 Pages
Prejudice against obesity There have been different prejudices in America for many years. Americans have fought endless wars to eliminate prejudice. Whether the prejudice occurred due to color, race, or gender, prejudice has become unacceptable in today’s society. There is however, one form of prejudice that exists in America today that is completely acceptable. Prejudice against obesity is expressed in many different ways by people in society today. It has become normal for people to express their malicious points of view and discrimination against obesity. Examples of how people express their prejudices against obesity include verbal discrimination, through books that people write and the media. Although obese people have begun to fight back, the discrimination has not ended. Prejudice against obesity has acceptable in today’s society, and is accurately portrayed in Kay Sexton’s short story “Starving Making It Fat.” There was a time where people were afraid to express their opinions. Prejudice against obesity has become acceptable in America, allowing people to openly express their malicious points of view. In the short story “Starving Making It Fat”, author Kay Sexton describes the main characters Matthew and Liz as a couple who discriminate against women who are obese. Throughout the short story, Matthew and Liz openly express how simply looking at obese people disgust them. Describing an obese woman as hideous, with clothes that hung over vile curves. “Their skin so swollen and clammy, that it resembles a peeled banana but less appealing” (Sexton). Unfortunately, expressions such as Matthew and Liz’s do not only occur in books, but are also conveyed verbally. In today’s society obese people must endure negative expressions from others on a daily basis. According to a study conducted by Sahale Flanagan, for the International Federation for the
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