Definition

Noun: - Discrimination or prejudice against people who are overweight: Fatism refers to the unfair treatment, negative stereotyping, or bias directed at individuals based on their body size or weight, particularly against those who are considered fat or obese.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The company's hiring practices were criticized for clear fatism, as they consistently rejected qualified candidates who were overweight.
  • She experienced fatism at the doctor's office, where her symptoms were dismissed as simply being a result of her weight.
  • The film challenged societal fatism by portraying its plus-sized protagonist as intelligent, capable, and desirable.

Advanced Usage

• Institutional fatism: Refers to discrimination that is embedded within the policies, practices, or culture of an organization or society.
  • The airline's policy of charging extra for a second seat is often cited as an example of institutional fatism.
• Internalized fatism: When an individual who is overweight accepts and applies negative societal stereotypes about weight to themselves.
  • Her reluctance to wear a swimsuit at the beach was a sign of internalized fatism.

Variants and Related Words

• Fatphobia (noun): An irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against fat people or fatness. Often used synonymously with fatism.
• Sizeism (noun): Prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's size, which can include both height and weight. Fatism is a specific form of sizeism.
• Anti-fat bias (noun phrase): A synonym for fatism, explicitly describing negative attitudes and beliefs about people with higher body weight.

Synonyms

• Weight discrimination: Unfair treatment based on a person's weight.
• Size discrimination: Unfair treatment based on a person's physical size.

Related Phrases

• "To experience fatism": To be subjected to weight-based prejudice.
  • Many people are afraid to speak up when they experience fatism in the workplace.
• "To combat fatism": To take action against weight-based discrimination.
  • The activist group works to combat fatism through education and policy change.

Noun

1. discrimination against people who are overweight