Stigma and Social Power: Expecting to Interact with an Obese Person Activates Power in the Self-concept

Obesity as a status cue: perceived social status and the stereotypes of obese individuals

“…Another important avenue for future research would be to examine the impact that the perceptions of social status have on people's behavioral reactions toward—and interpersonal interactions with—obese individuals. Klein, Snyder, and Gonzalez () found that normal‐weight individuals have a greater sense of personal empowerment when they anticipate interacting with an obese individual. Would such feelings of empowerment then lead to different treatment of obese individuals, relative to lean individuals, such as with respect to their position or role in a team or organization?…”

Leaks, Lumps, and Lines

“…Stigmatization legitimates the status hierarchy (Zebrowitz & Montepare, 2000) because it allows the nonstigmatized to justify the status quo and their place in it (Dovidio et al, 2000). Stigmatizing others also enhances the self-esteem (Dovidio et al, 2000) and personal empowerment (Klein, Snyder, & Gonzalez, 2009) of the stigmatizers because it promotes favorable social comparisons with outgroups. Powerful people can also protect themselves from the types of threats discussed earlier by distancing themselves from stigmatized individuals, bodily substances, and biological processes; by objectifying the stigmatized groups and thinking of them less as individuals and more as objects to be derided, admired, or manipulated; by discriminating against stigmatized individuals in social and employment settings in order to minimize their contact with those individuals; and by setting and enforcing cultural rules that require individuals to control, eliminate, or hide their stigmatized marks from public view.…”