Interaction with “Fat People Memes” Among Users with Different Levels of Fat Acceptance

Abstract

Background As the use of internet memes as a form of communication has grown in recent years, it is important to understand their impact on society, particularly in relation to discrimination. This paper examines the impact of internet memes containing weight-stigmatizing content, called Fat People Memes (FPMs). The aim of the study was to examine whether individuals with lower levels of fat acceptance have a higher entertainability, higher shareability, and stronger emotions when viewing these types of memes.Methods A one-month (15 May–15 June, 2021) online questionnaire-based case-control study was conducted with a sample size of 147 participants aged 25–35 years. Participants were categorized into case (lower fat acceptance, AFA-Score < 55) and control (higher fat acceptance, AFA-Score ≥ 55) groups using a German Anti-Fat Attitudes Questionnaire, which had scores ranging from 13 to 117, and had to be fully answered. Participants were asked to assess the entertainability and shareability of selected FPMs, as well as their expression of emotions when viewing different FPMs.Results Subjects in the case group were significantly more likely to rate the seen FPMs as highly entertaining (77.6% vs. 59.6%; p = 0.023; x2(1) = 5.140, φ = 0.023); however, no significant difference was found in the shareability of FPMs between the two groups (36.2% vs. 27.0%; p = 0.235; x2(1) = 1.412, φ = 0.235). The case group expressed significantly greater emotions of disgust (p = 0.004), shame (p = 0.001), and surprise (p = 0.044) when viewing the FPMs. A two-sided significance level of 0.05 was set (95% confidence intervals).Conclusions Significant differences were observed in the entertainability of FPMs, but not in their shareability. The findings indicate that weight stigma persists, and is often justified, particularly as it is perceived as less severe due to its portrayal as humorous.