(Author's note: One thing that happens for me when I run or bike is that the repetition frees my mind to wander. The next 2 posts are a result of that wandering and thus a little away from the usual topics up to this point. Feel free to offer feedback or insight.)
Like it or not, for many people perception equals reality. What do I mean? Think about the first time you meet someone: Instantly you size them up, note small clues about them like if they are wearing too much perfume, if their clothes are neat and tidy or those clothes are ill-fitting. And of course you notice their physical build.
Maybe it is a selfish line of thinking or maybe it is lack of self-confidence on my part, but I am under the belief that if you are overweight people take you less seriously than if you are thin. I don't think I'm alone in this line of thinking. Thanks to advances in technology and media we have become an increasingly visually-based society. This makes sense if you look at the way our bodies are wired. We constantly use input from our senses to make judgment calls like if if a neighborhood is safe, if it is going to rain, if we should wear long or short sleeves or if the traffic is clear for us to turn. And things as digital media, smart phones and the like have increased our reliance on our visual sense. So it is only natural that we apply the same rules when we meet people. When we make assumptions based on that data is when things get problematic.
Now, I know that I'm painting in broad strokes on this topic, but bear with me for a little longer. Think about any overweight/obese people whom you might credit with a celebrity status of sorts. You might throw out some names like Kevin James, Kirstie Alley, Rosie O'Donnell, Gov. Chris Christie, Michael Moore, Roseanne Barr, Kevin Smith, or dare I mention her, Oprah (I'm preparing my legal team for the forth-coming libel lawsuit as we speak) . Now, certainly many of these folks have gained fame by being quite opinionated as well, but even so, the majority of them seem as notorious as they do famous. I'd even go so far as to wager that Oprah's rating were higher when she was thinner or openly struggling with her weight, simply because we more readily identify with people who admit that they have a problem, but there still is a certain notoriety attached to her because of that struggle. Why is this?
I believe it is because, for many of us, our eyes cause us to be dismissive of a person far before our ears do. We look at a person that we deem as overweight and start to make assumptions about them: they have little-to-no self-control, perhaps they have emotional issues, or maybe they are simply lazy. We have trouble viewing them as leaders and get caught up in viewing them as stereotypes.
And it doesn't end there: "Numerous studies have shown that the obese are less likely to be hired and promoted than their svelte peers are. Women in particular bear the brunt of that, earning about 11 percent less than women of healthy weight, health economist John Cawley of Cornell University found." Certainly, these are not ideals of which to be proud. And they are also not exclusive to weight. The truth is we'd all like to think we take the high road, but more often than not our perceptions, right or wrong, tend to stand in our way.
To be continued...
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