Discriminating against women because of their weight is a very real problem and it goes all the way to the jury box. A new study at Yale University observed 471 adults in mock court cases for four individuals, of whom they were presented pictures: a skinny man, a skinny woman, an obese man, and an obese women. As reported by Yale, “Male participants rated the obese female defendant guiltier than the lean female defendant, whereas female respondents judged the two female defendants equally regardless of weight.” Skinny male participants were more likely than their heftier brothers to negatively judge an obese female defendant. Yet there was absolutely no difference in how guilty the skinny and obese men were judged. Keep reading »
