Cultural Competency Lecture Series
January 11, 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. in Esch Hurvis Room (225)
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology Mark R. Jenike
Fat Stigma: Why All of Us Are Stakeholders in Obesity
Fat stigma is real; it is worldwide; and it has real consequences, including worsening health outcomes and exacerbating obesity. Americans’ understanding of the causes of bodyweight variation is dominated by a personal responsibility frame. This session will draw on research, as well as personal experience, to provide a more complex and nuanced exploration of the causes of bodyweight variation in the contemporary world. Preliminary results from a recent focus group study with large-bodied individuals in the Fox Valley will be presented and discussed. The purpose of the session is to help us develop more productive ways to understand this element of diversity so that we can engage in less counterproductive stigmatizing and blaming in order to show more respect and inclusion for people of all sizes.
Please RSVP to div-inclusion@lawrence.edu by January 9!