Today, I am going to have a "Beautiful Wednesday," post, although I am not sure if Blogger might recognize this as Thursday, instead. This is about body acceptance and image.
Did anyone read about that hospital in Texas that is refusing to hire fat people? Wow, talk about making overweight people feel like second class. I think it's horrendous, and what makes it even worse is all of the comments that people are leaving on various sites. People are actually agreeing with this.
I first read this on Digg, a social sharing site, and I felt violated just reading about it. Professionals who spent thousands of dollars on their education and years gaining relevant experience, can suddenly be excluded because of their appearance. And the reason given? It offends the older patients!
Wow. Didn't we go through this with women in the 60's, and decide it was illegal to discriminate because of appearance. Why is it illegal for visible minorities by colour, to be excluded, but not visible minorities by body type. I hope someone files a lawsuit, and but fast.
This was hurtful to me, too, because it made me aware, once again, of the invisible prejudice that really seems to exist out there towards heavier women. It's there and it's wrong.
What do you think? Did you hear about this incident? What was your reaction?
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I am testing this comment system again!
ReplyDeleteIt does sound a bit harsh. As a hiring policy it seems blatantly non-PC. However, is there a a pro-health type of reasoning behind this? For example, if a child went into hospital and the staff were all obese, wouldn't this say that it's good to eat too much and not exercise? Is this a bit like going to see the dentist, and having him great you while chomping on some candy with brown teeth? Or going to an aerobics class and seeing the instructor smoke while explaining the exercises? Just a thought...
ReplyDeleteI looked up the article...very interesting and while it does seem harsh I would like to know their reasoning behind this, because 35 is still 10 points over a healthy BMI. So, maybe they are trying to easily weed out applicants they don't feel could do the job? I'm still about 40 pounds over the high-end healthy weight for my age/height and I have a BMI of 30.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see how some discriminations are okay and others are not. You've given me something to think about.
Leah, I appreciate you taking the time to check this out. Yes, I am sure that this is their reasoning but they could miss out on some great people in the meantime. I think it's a real human rights issue and that's what bothers me. Thanks again! And I want to get over to your blog soon. Take care!
ReplyDeleteToby, yes, it could. However, I must object to your example. First of all, a dentist owns his own business, so people can choose if they want to go to him, or not. Hiring someone because of their appearance when you are not being hired for your appearance (like an actress) is plain discrimination. When you see a heavy person, you have no idea of how much effort they have put into losing weight, of how much they do exercise, of what they eat. People make far too many assumptions about someone overweight that are just that -- assumptions.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comment, Toby. Thanks so much for stopping by!