Thread by @FOMNZ

Today in #FatStudyGroup, we are reading Chs 7-8 of Solovay, S. (2000). Tipping the scales of justice. Amherst, New York, USA: Prometheus Books.

In chapter seven, Solovay asserts the importance of (and right to) being judged by one’s peers; and yet, fat people can be dismissed from serving on a jury because of their weight in the US.

She argues, "Excluding fat people from juries because of weight is inequitable. It denies fat defendants the Constitution’s guarantee of an impartial jury...It prevents fat people from contributing to the important mechanism of justice because of stereotypes & prejudice” (p. 97).

She notes that the Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals upheld that the equal protection analysis from Batson did not prohibit the use of strikes against potential jurors based on fatness.

In Ch8 (the most compelling of the chapters for me), Solovay explores weight-based employment discrimination. She notes that while we have incidents of weight-based employment discrimination, it is hard to tell the scope of the problem because the numbers are hard to gather.

She highlights the first weight-discrimination case brought against the city of New York in 1967 by a woman who was denied a substitute teaching license because of her weight (Application of Nancy Parolisi v Board of Examiners of the City of New York);

in her case, an upper court overturned the lower court’s decision to deny her a license. Solovay outlines the current legislation that protects groups on the basis such as race, age, etc (like Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act).

Anti-discrimination laws that regulate employment may be found at the federal level, state level, and local level (in the US).

She writes, “If and when fat is covered under the ADA is a complicated question; as it stands now, the ADA provides protection for some, but not all, fat people depending on their particular physical situation and on the federal district in which they are located” (p. 111).

And because no federal law protects fat people from discrimination, protection in the workplace varies (as it does in healthcare, education, housing, etc).

Solovay argues that fat people, as a group, share many characteristics of other protected groups that fall under “heightened scrutiny” analysis. For example, stereotypes about fat people affect ALL fat people and are not based on the abilities of any given fat individual.

She recognizes that some courts only consider a heightened scrutiny analysis for characteristics are considered unchangeable, and this is a barrier for fat people; Solovay suggests that permanent weight loss is less attainable for fat people than switching religious affiliation.

She concludes the chapter by arguing that “until federal legislation is created or expanded to completely prohibit weight discrimination in employment when it is unjustified and unnecessary, fat people will continue to receive a patchwork of protection” (p. 117-118).

More tomorrow! #FatStudyGroup