If you thought that women weren’t judged on their looks anymore, here’s a nice smack down for you:
An increase in a woman's body mass results in a decrease in her family income and a decline in her occupational prestige, according to research conducted by New York University sociologist Dalton Conley and Rebecca Glauber, an NYU graduate student. The study was sponsored by the Cambridge, MA-based National Bureau of Economic Research.
The study's authors also found that a women's body mass is associated with a reduction in a woman's likelihood of marriage, her spouse's occupational prestige, and her spouse's earnings.
In addition, the researchers found that the association between body mass and occupational outcomes was more pronounced among younger women, suggesting that it is body mass that affects occupational prestige rather than the reverse. By contrast, and consistent with past research, men experience no negative effects of body mass on their economic situation.
Huh.
I never put too much stock in studies like these, but I’m not really surprised by this one. Fat discrimination is insanely pervasive, not to mention accepted, particularly when it comes to women. (Clearly discrimination could be just one factor behind the study’s results, but you can’t discount it entirely.)
Shit, even celebs now say out loud that they don’t like the fatties.
Horrible.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: When women gain weight, they lose income.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/2073
Weekly Feministing Newsletter
Feministing RSS Feed
Can't say I'm surprised, either.
But on a semi-unrelated note, I had Dalton Conley for Intro to Sociology at NYU, and he is one of the most fantastic professors ever. I interviewed him for a column I wrote last year, and I have to admit, he's the only professor I've ever had a crush on -- and that is simply because I'm so blinded by his intelligence. He's written three (I think) books, all of which are fantastic. Next time you're at Barnes & Noble, check him out.