Demonstrators Protest “Fat-ism” Outside London Mayor’s Office

Members of the “Size Acceptance Movement” reportedly protested outside the mayor of London’s office recently, urging him to ensure that employers are not prejudiced against overweight people. The group claims that surveys show 93 percent of employers would rather employ a thin person rather than an overweight one even if such individuals are equally qualified.

The group evidently wants to ban “fat-ism” in the UK by emulating a San Francisco ordinance that prohibits height and weight discrimination in housing and employment. Demonstrators said the overweight should be protected on the same grounds as race, age and religious discrimination, and that attacking someone for being fat should be a hate crime. “I have been punched, I have had beer thrown in
my face, I have had people attack me on the train,” one protestor said. See BBC News, October 19, 2009.