Educational centers are the spaces in which women have suffered the most discrimination for their bodies in the Canary Islands, according to the survey "Aesthetic violence and fatphobia suffered by women in the Canary Islands" carried out by the 'Canarian Institute of Equality' of the Government of the Canary Islands.
After the educational centers would be the public spaces, the family environments, medical consultations, couples, social networks and to a lesser extent, friendships or the social environment.
Regarding medical consultations, 38.9% responded that they were recommended to go on a slimming diet, 21.3% had suffered hurtful comments about the appearance of their body, 9.8% had received diagnostic errors due to weight, and 9% had experienced the denial of specific treatments and tests due to weight.
In addition, they confess to having had to listen to "hurtful comments from medical personnel about their weight during pregnancy periods", the association of doctors to numerous ailments to weight (even those that had nothing to do with it), as well as the existence of "lack of furniture and machinery adapted to all body sizes".
Also in the workplace
The workplace is also another area in which there is discrimination, and in the survey, a total of 1,030 women report "having experienced or witnessed discrimination due to physical appearance". On the other hand, 1,445 women state "not having suffered themselves or witnessed discrimination due to physical appearance."
Some 580 women responded that they have witnessed this discrimination, even if they have not suffered it, while 450 women indicated "having suffered discrimination in employment due to their physical appearance", both in the workplace and in "interviews and hiring."
Discrimination for their body
A 58.4% of the total women surveyed affirm to have "suffered discrimination for their physical appearance", of the 2,475 answers, 1,445 women would have responded with that affirmation.
In relation to the types of discrimination, 1,022 women have highlighted that "they suffered fatphobia", 121 have recognized having experienced discrimination for "their skin color, origin or race". Regarding discrimination by age, 21 of 204 women over 60 years have affirmed to suffer it or to have suffered it. And in terms of their way of dressing, 19.2% of the total women surveyed responded that they were discriminated against for it.
Other discrimination factors, although to a lesser extent, are disability, body and facial hair, the appearance of teeth, nose and height, the respondents point out.
Survey data
The survey was carried out in 30 days, from February 9 to March 10 and received a total of 2,475 responses from women. A study that was carried out on women under 18 years (4.9%), 553 in the range of between 18 and 30 years (22.3%), 1002 people between 31 and 45 years (40.5%), 618 of 46 and 60 years (25%) and 180 of 64 years (2.6%) of Lanzarote.
During the study, many questions related to the body vision that women have of their weight, the social pressure that exists on their bodies, the Eating Behavior Disorders that may arise and the discrimination for their weight in the labor and health field, among others, were collected.
Testimony of discrimination by weight at work
In the different testimonies collected by the survey to the various women who have participated in the study, one of the cases that has been repeated the most has been discrimination in the workplace. One of the respondents had to suffer the unpleasant and untimely comments from her boss in one of the jobs in which she worked. "When my contract was renewed in a company, my boss told me that she was renewing it even though I had extra kilos."
"When my contract was renewed in a company, my boss told me that she was renewing it even though I had extra kilos."
In addition, specifically in the world of television, weight has become a determining factor to appear or not on screen, as a journalist who tells her case in the survey. They told me that "fat journalists do not present or go out as reporters on television." The surprising thing is that "I weighed 70 kilos and measured 1, 69". Although "that was my dream", I always ended up behind the cameras "they put me as a writer or producer."
"Fat journalists do not present or go out as reporters on television"
