Sizeism

Sizeism is defined as ‘Prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's size’. This doesn’t just refer to weight but covers height discrimination as well. It is a very real issue and I feel it should be talked about more. As an overweight person I have been subject to Sizeism many times throughout my life. The discrimination began when I was a child, I was very tall for my age and that didn’t go unnoticed in the playground. I am obviously not the only child to experience bullying, so this isn’t a sob story, this is an account of how Sizeism has affected me and people I know.

Here is a picture of me aged six (I’m on the left if you couldn’t have guessed that).

Each chapter of my life has been met with Sizeism. At secondary school I was put into a mixed gender PE class and was encouraged to take part in sports such as rugby and shotput because I was ‘butch’ and ‘heavy-set’ so ‘I’d probably be good at it’. Using your body shape to an advantage in things like sports isn’t wrong and isn’t Sizeism. However, putting a teenage girl in a heavily male PE class without consent and with no regard for ability (or lack of) is. A similar thing happened to a tall person I know (who wants to remain anonymous). They were put into their school’s basketball team solely based on their height, despite the fact they were hopeless at basketball and had no desire to be a member. They were told ‘but you’ll be good at it, you’re so tall’. Yes I agree it helps, but basketball ability shouldn't be measured in height. If people were stereotyping a race or gender they would be picked up on it immediately (and rightly so) but it seems that stereotyping a person based on their body type happens constantly and no one ever talks about it.

Here’s a picture of me aged 14 stood next to people of the same and similar ages to me.

I came to university thinking this would end, or lessen at least. However, it only became more apparent. My degree involves a lot of appearance-based decisions which I fully appreciate and anticipated before embarking on the course. What I was not expecting was my weight to be how people defined me and my abilities. For example, my ability in Yoga (one of our modules) was often questioned because of my size. I was met with remarks such as ‘how are you able to do that?’ and ‘wow that’s impressive for you to do’. Why is it? Yes, I am an overweight person but I am not an invalid. My extra weight doesn’t prevent me from touching my toes, but thank you for your concern. I fully understand that weight has to be taken into account for casting reasons, as do other parts of your appearance, but it should not be taken into account regarding my abilities elsewhere. 

I do feel that my weight has held me back from opportunities available to me and I am trying to do something about that. But you shouldn’t make remarks on someone’s weight because you do not know what that person is going through or doing about it and there may be medical or psychological reasons which are delaying that process. It's also important to realise this doesn't just happen to overweight/underweight people...

Here’s a picture of me and my sister as children (there’s two years between us).

My sister Betty has Crohn’s disease which has affected her growth. This means she is 4ft11 at 19 years old and is consistently discriminated because of it. Yes, when we were younger there were perks; she was able to ride the bus for free, she got a children’s ticket on the train well into her teen years and was always told how cute she was. However, this has developed into her being refused entry into rated 15 films because ‘she’s too small to be 19’, mollycoddled by strangers and humoured when she is driving. It’s so frustrating because it really isn’t her fault. Only a few people know that Betty injects herself with growth hormone every single day in an attempt to rid her life of discrimination such as this. 

I urge you, if you are a witness to Sizeism of any form SAY SOMETHING. And if you are a person who has made judgement on people’s size; be it height or weight, really consider what that person might be going through. Thank you for taking the time to read this. 

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Rebecca x