Tipping the Scales of Justice [Paperback]

Sondra Solovay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2000

What rights, if any, do fat people have? If a child is obese, are the parents legally responsible? Can employers treat overweight employees as different, or disabled? Should fat people be protected by disability laws? Cases of illegal hiring practices, workplace prejudice, harassment, unfair treatment, medical malpractice, and denial of public access are being filed in increasing numbers as the nation continues to obsess over, and misunderstand, weight. Two events in 1998 - the controversial felony prosecution of a mother whose child died of obesity-related complications, and the National Institutes of Health declaration of a national weight standard-forced the weight debate to a new level of public awareness. Very little literature on the law and weight exists, so each new case is a potential precedent-setter. "Tipping the Scales of Justice" presents actual cases and the stories behind the legal arguments, showing for the first time the varied and surprising ways that fat has become a courtroom topic. An attorney who focuses on weight-related cases, Sondra Solovay details court attitudes toward weight in relation to employment and discrimination law, child/family law, disability law, civil rights, minorities, public policy, diets and exercise, and much more, while intermingling a personal narrative on major cases and their outcomes. This fascinating book will be essential for law courses and libraries, as well as a one-of-a-kind perspective for anyone concerned about weight as a legal issue.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...an outstanding book...a valuable tool for anyone who fights for human rights..." -- Off Our Backs, December 2000

"...outstanding! It's a must-read for those who want a comprehensive understanding of civil rights!" -- Michael Adams, Attorney, American Civil Liberties Union

"I believe this book will be a valuable tool for anyone who fights for human rights." -- Rump Parliament Magazine, May/June 2000

"When flight attendants can be fired for gaining 5 or 10 pounds, we're all at risk from weight-related discrimination." -- Marilyn Wann, editor, Fat!So? magazine

About the Author

SONDRA SOLOVAY is the nation's leading researcher on weight-based legal issues, and is an educator and legal consultant to attorneys whose clients experience unequal treatment due to their size. A columnist and commentator on fat bias and the legal system, she has advised media from all over the world and has appeared on CNN's "Burden of Proof."

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (January 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573927643
• ISBN-13: 978-1573927642
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #983,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > Law > Specialties > Disability
  • #99 in Books > Law > English Law > Social Security & Welfare

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular ! Revolutionary! Excellent!, February 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Tipping the Scales of Justice (Paperback)

Tipping The Scales of Justice is a very well written examination of the legal and personal issues surrounding weight based discrimination. Ms. Solovay touches on all the relevant issues with clarity and insight, born out of a devotion to Justice and the desire to make this issue understood to all who read about it. She is a passionate activist and a marvelous writer. Without a doubt this book will stand the test of time as a solidly researched, superbly written book. Congratulations, Ms. Solovay!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simultaneously heartbreaking, infuriating, & hope-provoking, June 20, 2005

By 

Melody Moskowitz (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tipping the Scales of Justice (Paperback)

The quiet, measured, dignified prose style of the author, a sort of removed reportage, makes the horrors of discrimination in education, health-care, social life, employment, the world of entertainment, and so forth all the more starkly ugly, cruel, dangerous, and damaging. The damage, however, is not confined to those fat people who are so viciously discriminated against. It extends to almost everyone who is infected with fear and hatred of fat, everyone who would rather be blind or deaf or lose a limb than be fat, everyone who succombs to the blandishments of a greedy, fear-mongering, prejudice-supporing bariatric industry. In other words, we're all in this together and we've all got to get out of it together. And the legal considerations Solovay brings to our attention, the suggestions she makes about extending legal coverages against discrimination already in place, and the compassion she displays for victims make this book one of the important beginnings for recovery from anti-fat hysteria. Thank you for this book.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, but Thin on Authority, November 10, 2000

By 

Lucy Terry (Sun Prairie, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tipping the Scales of Justice (Paperback)

In perhaps the first and only authoritative book on fat prejudice, attorney Sondra Solovay paints a disturbing picture of widespread mistreatment of the obese and urges extension of current law to remedy these problems. Proclaiming "fat discrimination" as the civil rights issue of the millennium, she calls for increased legal protection, detailing a litany of abuse afflicted on fat people by peers, teachers, employers, and even judges. She disputes the prevailing notion that fat people's size is their own fault, saying scientific evidence shows that obesity is not within the individual's control. Because body size may be immutable and not reflective of a person's abilities, she argues that anti-discrimination law should apply. She touts progress against fat discrimination, including laws passed in Michigan and California that specifically prohibit discrimination on the basis of weight in employment and housing.

The author recommends applying disability laws to the obese, a controversial stance which puts her at odds with other so-called fat-rights advocates who resist using the disabled label. After examining several cases involving the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, she concludes that the courts' treatment of larger-sized people under these laws too often is inconsistent, confused, and tainted by fat prejudice. She proposes a clearer, more logical way of categorizing and analyzing these cases, and reiterates how de-stigmatizing obesity helps correct pervasive misperceptions of fat people's abilities.

The book's strength lies in its focus on education and reform and the human face put on the problem of fat prejudice. However, even the author's extensive use of footnotes can't compensate for the dearth of legal materials involving weight discrimination. The appendices list organizations devoted to fat-rights advocacy, recommended readings, samples of anti-discrimination laws and excerpts from the ADA. But the paucity of published opinions reflects the reason why the book is a "tool of legal scholarship" as opposed to a "handbook" -- the still novel issue remains largely confined to academia and talks shows, not the actual practice of law. In our progressively heavier society, fat people may be closer to tipping the scales as the majority, but one wonders whether protection against fat prejudice will ever become the prevailing legal norm.