Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting Weight Based Discrimination (Paperback)

~ (Author) "NOBODY WILL EVER KNOW WHY Christina Corrigan died..." (more)
Key Phrases: fat discrimination, fat prejudice, thin counterparts, New York, United States, San Francisco (more...)

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

Product Description

"In recent years, there have been an increasing number of good books for big people on the subject of plus-size fashions, health, and self-esteem at any size, and how to survive as a larger person in our fatphobic culture. But not until now has anyone documented so well the legal and ethical factors that place drastic limitations on the lives of so many of our citizens every day - as well as some of the remedies."----William J. Fabrey, Director, Council on Size & Weight Discrimination

Weight is a hot topic. It arouses fear, disgust, and discrimination. This long-neglected area of legal concern affects the rights of a growing number of Americans on a daily basis.

What rights do fat people have? Are parents open to legal attack if their child is fat? Can employers discriminate? Should disability laws apply to fat people? Sondra Solovay documents cases of illegal hiring practices, workplace bias, harassment, unfair treatment, medical malpractice, and denial of public access resulting from weight-related prejudice. Telling the fascinating human stories behind precedent-setting cases and international headlines, she concludes with hopeful profiles of everyday people successfully fighting weight-based discrimination.

A landmark piece of research, TIPPING THE SCALES OF JUSTICE meets an urgent need for a text for libraries and college and graduate courses. It also provides a vital tool of legal scholarship regarding this important civil rights issue. Solovay argues that fighting weight-based discrimination is not just a concern for the courts or a problem for fat people, but a necessary goal of any just society.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 261 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: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,146,857 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

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

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

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scales Tipped, July 31, 2006

By	Sabrina J. Robinson "Sabrina" (Tampa, Fl USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is very helpful and has been cited by numerous authors.Great book!