An Autoethnographic Exploration of Fatness in Law Librarianship

Abstract

Fat people are judged based on their appearance and face prejudice and discrimination in every aspect of professional life. While the library profession tends to be more welcoming than the legal profession, it still has its problems. Using autoethnographic methods, this article will explore what it means to be fat in the law library world and propose some initial thoughts on practices that individuals, libraries, and professional organizations can adopt to better welcome and support fat people in law librarianship.

Keywords:

• fat people
• library
• law library
• anti-fat bias
• autoethnography
• workplace culture
• weight stigma
• inclusion

Notes

1 Ina Forie, What is Autoethnography?, in Autoethnography for Librarians and Information Scientists 3 (Ina Forie ed. 2021).

2 Robin M. Boylorn & Mark P. Orbe, Critical Autoethnography as Method of Choice/Choosing Critical Autoethnography, in Critical Autoethnography: Intersecting Cultural Identities in Everyday Life 4 (Robin M. Boylorn & Mark P. Orbe eds., 2d ed. 2021).

3 See Ina Forie, Preface, in Autoethnography for Librarians and Information Scientists xv (Ina Forie ed. 2021).

4 See, e.g., Richard Delgado, Storytelling for Oppositionists and Others: A Plea for Narrative, 87 Mich. L. Rev. 2411 (1989); Margaret E. Montoya, Mascaras, Trenzas,y Grenas: Un/Masking the Self While Un/Braiding Latina Stories and Legal Discourse, 15 Chicano-Latino L. Rev. 1 (1994); Mari J. Matsuda, Looking to the Bottom: Critical Legal Studies and Reparations, 22 Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev. 323 (1987); Marc-Tizoc Gonzalez, Critical Ethnic Legal Histories: Unearthing the Interracial Justice of Filipino American Agriculture Labor Organizing, 3 U.C. Irvine L. Rev. 991 (2013); Presumed Incompetent: The Intersections of Race and Class for Women in Academia (Angela P. Harris et al. eds., 2012); Presumed Incompetent II: Race, Class, Power, and Resistance of Women in Academia (Carmen G. González et al. eds., 2020).

5 See, e.g., Maybell Romero, “Ruined,” 111 Geo. L.J. 237 (2022); Elaine Gregersen, Telling Stories about the Law School: Autoethnography and Legal Education, 56 The Law Teacher 241 (2022); Elaine Campbell, Exploring Autoethnography as a Method and Methodology in Legal Education Research, 3 Asian J. Legal Educ. 95 (2016); Matilda Arvidsson, Embodying Law in the Garden: An Autoethnographic Account of an Office of Law, 39 Austl. Feminist L.J. 21 (2013).

6 This is also, in part, why I have chosen not to discuss the legal background of fat discrimination or fat rights in detail. For thorough examination of those topics, see, e.g., Sondra Solovay, Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting Weight-Based Discrimination (2000); Anna Kirkland, Fat Rights: Dilemmas of Difference and Personhood (2008); Legislating Fatness: Current Debates in Weight Discrimination, Policy, and Law (Stephanie von Liebenstein ed. 2023); Yasmin Sokkar Harker, Fat Rights and Fat Discrimination: An Annotated Bibliography, 34 Leg. Ref. Servs. Q. 293 (2015); Yofi Tirosh, The Right to Be Fat, 12 Yale J. Health Pol’y L. & Ethics 264 (2012); Nicholas Lawson, Fat Rights, Public Health Oppression and Prejudice, and the “Obesity Epidemic,” 38 Touro L. Rev. 65 (2022).

7 Much more needs to be written on the topic of disability in this context, not only comparing and contrasting fatness and disability, but also discussing the ways in which fatness is viewed as or used as a proxy for disability (and vice versa). However, I will only discuss this in a limited fashion here, as it is outside the scope of my specific focus on the experience of existing as a fat person in law librarianship. For an excellent discussion of accessibility in law libraries, see Jessica de Perio Wittman, Moving Beyond the Basics of the ADA and Section 504: Opportunities for Equitable and Inclusive Access to Law Libraries, Collections, and Services, 42 Leg. Ref. Servs. Q. (published online: Oct. 23, 2023).

8 See, e.g., Karen DaPonte Thornton, Parsing the Visual Rhetoric of Office Dress Codes: A Two-Step Process to Increase Inclusivity and Professionalism in Legal-Workplace Fashion, 12 JALWD 173 (2015); Ann Juliano, How to Look Like a Lawyer, 34 J. C.R. & Econ. Dev. 151 (2021).

9 One study actually found that the formality and color of clothing impacts patrons’ perceptions of librarian approachability. Jennifer L. Bonneta & Benjamin McAlexander, First Impressions and the Reference Encounter: The Influence of Affect and Clothing on Librarian Approachability, 39 J. Acad. Lib. 335 (2013). See also Nicole Pagowsky & Miriam Rigby, Contextualizing Ourselves: The Identity Politics of the Librarian Stereotype, in The Librarian Stereotype: Deconstructing Perceptions and Presentations of Information Work (Nicole Pagowsky & Miriam Rigby, eds. 2014).

10 While I understand and support the desire to convey advice on this topic, I also note that all of the writing that I have seen on this seems to encourage law librarians to conform to the conventions of “professional” dress codes, and there is very little consideration of what “dressing professionally” means, which I believe should always be a part of the conversation. See, e.g., Rhonda Hankins, How to Get Behind the Reference Desk: Academic Directors Share What They Look for in Reference Librarians, 7 AALL Spectrum 12, 13 (Feb. 2003) (“Appearance and presentation are part of professionalism. Job candidates should look well groomed and dress professionally for the interview, which includes a tie and dress shoes for men.”); Christine L. Sellers & Phillip Gragg, Dress for Success—The Battle for Class, Comfort, and Sexual Equality, 103 L. Libr. J. 691, 695 (2011) (“Be conservative in your dress. Whatever your take on professional attire, and whatever region you work in, you’re there to do a job. You can display good taste and fashion sense without drawing needless attention to yourself.”); Monice M. Kaczorowski & Jaye A. H. Lapachet, Attitude, Creativity, Collaboration, and Tech—The New Success Formula for Law Librarians, 17 AALL Spectrum 22, 22 (Dec. 2012) (“Dressing professionally, choosing a new hair style, looking your best, and basically feeling good about your appearance presents a level of confidence and professionalism that draws people towards you. Think about choosing clothes and accessories that blend in and make you look like your clients.”); Elizabeth Christian, Designing Your First Advanced Legal Research Class, 18 AALL Spectrum 9, 11 (Nov. 2013) (“Dress professionally, yes, but also dress comfortably. Wear clothes that fit your body. Clothes that are too tight need constant adjustments and are distracting to yourself and the students. Clothes that are too big make you look like a child playing dress up.”); Shira Megerman, Do As I Say, Not as I Did: Advice for First-Time AALL Annual Meeting Attendees, 19 AALL Spectrum 6, 7 (June 2015) (“Bring business casual clothing that is weather appropriate for everyday wear, and pack at least one suit.”).

11 See, e.g., Noortje van Amsterdam et al., On (Not) Fitting In: Fat Embodiment, Affect and Organizational Materials as Differentiating Agents, 44 Org. Stud. 593 (2022).

12 See, e.g., Shannon Cumberbatch, When Your Identity Is Inherently “Unprofessional”: Navigating Rules of Professional Appearance Rooted in Cisheteronormative Whiteness as Black Women and Gender Non-Conforming Professionals, 34 J.C.R. & Econ. Dev. 81 (2021); Tsedale Melaku, You Don’t Look Like a Lawyer: Black Women and Systemic Gendered Racism (2019); José Bahamonde-González & Melanie Rowen, Perspectives: Attire for Non-Binary Legal Professionals, NALP Bulletin, Dec. 2020; Pagowsky & Rigby, supra note 10.

13 “Straight size is a way of referring to people with relative size privilege, instead of using value-laden terms such as normal or regular, or inaccurate terms like average.” Aubrey Gordon, What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat 11 (2020).

14 Notably, there is a significant markup on clothing for fat women, and there are many other ways in which it costs more to exist as a fat person. See, e.g., Janelle Okwodu, Women Are Fighting Back Against the” Fat Tax,” Glamour, Aug. 27, 2019, www.glamour.com/story/fat-tax-is-about-more-than-money [https://perma.cc/K7Y2-V9BZ]. The intersection of fatness and socioeconomic status is important, particularly because studies have shown that there is a high correlation between negative attitudes toward fat people and negative attitudes toward poor people, including the (false) belief that both groups are “lazy and lack self-control and willpower.” Paul Campos et al., The Epidemiology of Overweight and Obesity: Public Health Crisis or Moral Panic?, 35 Int’l J. Epidemiology 55, 58 (2005). However, this is outside the scope of my specific focus here.

15 See generally, Richard Thompson Ford, Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History (2021).

16 Ruthann Robson, Dressing Constitutionally: Hierarchy, Sexuality, and Democracy from Our Hairstyles to Our Shoes 80 (2013).

17 Alysse Dalessandro, Why Must Plus-Size Fashion Be “Flattering”?, July 11, 2018, https://thebodyisnotanapology.com/magazine/fck-flatteringwhy-i-wear-what-i-want-so-should-you/[https://perma.cc/X6XC-RUCM].

18 Roger Chabot, Is the library for “Every Body”? Examining Fatphobia in Library Spaces through online Library Furniture Catalogues, 44 Can. J. Info. & Libr. Sci. 12 (2021).

19 Mia Mingus, Forced Intimacy: An Ableist Norm (Aug. 6, 2017, 4:31 PM), https://leavingevidence.wordpress.com/2017/08/06/forced-intimacy-an-ableist-norm/[https://perma.cc/5DDE-GGQY].

20 Lesleigh Owen, Living fat in a thin-centric world: Effects of spatial discrimination on fat bodies and selves, 22 Feminism & Psych. 290, 294 (2012).

21 Id. at 295.

22 Carli Spina, Creating Inclusive Libraries by Applying Universal Design 10–11 (2021).

23 See, e.g., Matthew L. Timko, Applying Universal Design in the Legal Academy, 114 L. Libr. J. 343, 345–48 (2022); Carli Spina, Creating Inclusive Libraries by Applying Universal Design (2021).

24 See, e.g., Matthew James Capp, The effectiveness of universal design for learning: a meta-analysis of literature between 2013 and 2016, 21 Int’l J. Inclusive Educ. 791 (2017).

25 See, e.g., Julie E. N. Irish, Increasing participation: Using the principles of universal design to create accessible conferences, 21 J. Convention & Event Tourism 308 (2020).

26 Robert Crawford, Healthism and the Medicalization of Everyday Life, 10 Int’l J. Health Servs. 365, 368 (1980).

27 Id.; see also Nina Mackerta & Friedrich Schorb, Introduction to the Special Issue: Public Health, Healthism, and Fatness, 11 Fat Stud. 1, 4 (2022) (“[H]ealthism threatens the health of fat people, working as a powerful force of exclusion and hierarchization… . When health is simultaneously framed as a moral duty, fat people are foreclosed from being acknowledged as responsible citizens.”).

28 See, e.g., Aubrey Gordon, We Have to Stop Thinking of Being “Healthy” as Being Morally Better, Self (Aug. 7, 2020), www.self.com/story/healthism [https://perma.cc/BWH2-2MNQ].

29 See, e.g., Jeffrey M. Hunger, Joslyn P. Smith, & A. Janet Tomiyama, An Evidence-Based Rationale for Adopting Weight-Inclusive Health Policy, 14 Soc. Issues & Pol’y Rev. 73 (2020).

30 Katelyn Angell & Charlotte Price, Fat Bodies in Thin Books: Information Bias and Body Image in Academic Libraries, 1 Fat Stud. 153 (2012).

31 KnowItAALL newsletter, Jan. 5, 2023, citing Pierre Chandon et al., Healthy Eating Interventions that Work, Insead Knowledge (Jan. 5, 2023), https://knowledge.insead.edu/marketing/healthy-eating-interventions-work [https://perma.cc/QPU7-68UE].

32 Paul Campos et al., The Epidemiology of Overweight and Obesity: Public Health Crisis or Moral Panic? 35 Int’l J. Epidemiology 55 (2006); see also Jeannine A. Gailey, The Violence of Fat Hatred in the “Obesity Epidemic” Discourse, 46 Human. & Soc’y 359, 375 (2022) (concluding that the “obesity epidemic” discourse legitimizes and perpetuates “symbolic violence” on fat women).

33 See, e.g., Rebecca M. Puhl & Chelsea A. Heuer, The Stigma of Obesity: A Review and Update, 17 Obesity 941 (2009); Joan C. Chrisler & Angela Barney, Sizeism is a Health Hazard, 6 Fat Stud. 38 (2017); Angelina R. Sutin, Yannick Stephan, & Antonio Terracciano, Weight Discrimination and Risk of Mortality, 26 Psych. Sci. 1803 (2015) (weight discrimination, as opposed to being fat, may shorten life expectancy).

34 See, e.g., Lindo Bacon and Melissa Fabello, 11 Reasons Your Phony “Concern” for Fat People’s Health Has Got to Stop, Everyday Feminism (Jan. 24, 2016), https://everydayfeminism.com/2016/01/concern-trolling-is-bullshit/[https://perma.cc/W4ZM-QM2P].

35 See, e.g., Gemma Gibson, Health(ism) at Every Size: The Duties of the “Good Fatty,” 11 Fat Stud. 22 (2021).

36 For an excellent explanation of why the costs of health care do not make weight or health status anyone else’s business, see Ragen Chastain, Fat People, Healthcare, and Tax Dollars, Weight and Healthcare (Oct. 31, 2021), https://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/p/fat-people-healthcare-and-tax-dollars [https://perma.cc/3ZU8-6L54].

37 Cort W. Rudolph et al., A Meta-Analysis of Empirical Studies of Weight-Based Bias in the Workplace, 74 J. of Vocational Behav. 1 (2009) (internal citations omitted).

38 See, e.g., Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez & Eva Gonzalez, Obesity and Hiring Discrimination, 37 Econ. & Hum. Biology 10,0850 (2020); Scott Klarenbach et al., Population-Based Analysis of Obesity and Workforce Participation, 14 Obesity 920 (2006); Stuart W. Flint et al., Obesity Discrimination in the Recruitment Process: “You’re Not Hired!” 7 Frontiers in Psych. 647 (2016).

39 Meghan I. H. Lindeman et al., The Effects of Messages about the Causes of Obesity on Disciplinary Action Decisions for Overweight Employees, 151 J. Psych. 345 (2017).

40 Charles L. Baum II & William F. Ford, The wage effects of obesity: a longitudinal study, 13 Health Econ. 885 (2004) (6.3% less); Samantha L. Larosea et al., Does obesity influence Labour Market Outcomes among Working-Age Adults? Evidence from Canadian Longitudinal data, 20 Econ. & Hum. Biology 26 (2016) (4.5% less). In the only study concerning the salaries of fat lawyers, using data from 1984, researchers found: “In our sample, men are penalized to some extent if they deviate from a stereotypically ‘normal male lawyer’ appearance, whether by being fat, thin, or short. Women in this sample, by contrast, are penalized for being overweight or short.” Itsik Saporta & Jennifer J. Halpern, Obesity and Discrimination Among U.S. Lawyers 17 (Ctr. for Advanced Hum. Res. Stud. Working Paper, Paper No. 10, 1994), https://hdl.handle.net/1813/77097.

41 The state-level exceptions are Michigan, where height and weight are listed as protected characteristics, Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 37.2202 (West 2022), and Washington, where the state Supreme Court has held that “obesity always qualifies as an impairment” under the state law against discrimination, Taylor v. Burlington N. R.R. Holdings, Inc., 444 P.3d 606, 617 (Wash. 2019). A few cities also list weight or personal appearance in their anti-discrimination provisions, and there is pending legislation in a few states, as well. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) keeps an updated list at https://naafa.org/eaes [https://perma.cc/PE8K-HGYD]. See also Nicholas Lawson, Fat Rights, Public Health Oppression and Prejudice, and the “Obesity Epidemic,” 38 Touro L. Rev. 65 (2022) (discussing current and potential policies and the lack of fat voices in the process).

42 See, e.g., Tracy P. George et al., Unconscious Weight Bias Among Nursing Students: A Descriptive Study, 7 Healthcare 106 (2019).

43 See, e.g., Hannes Zacher & Courtney von Hippel, Weight-based stereotype threat in the workplace: consequences for employees with overweight or obesity, 46 Int’l J. Obesity 767 (2021).

44 See, e.g., Connor Elbe et al., Effects of Confronting Weight Stigma on Anti-Fat Attitudes, Weight Stigma Resistance, and Support for Stigma-Reduction Strategies, 8 W. Undergraduate Psych. J. (2020), https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/wupj/article/view/11041 [https://perma.cc/5466-3LNN].

45 Lauren Breithaupt et al., Implicit and Explicit Anti-Fat Attitude Change Following a Brief Cognitive Dissonance Intervention for Weight Stigma, 28 Obesity 1853 (2020).

46 Similarly, studies show that people of color, especially women, were “so much less enthusiastic about on-site work than white people,” and that “the office enhances some folks’ workplace experience while it corrodes others.’” Joan C. Williams et al., Why Many Women of Color Don’t Want to Return to the Office, Harv. Bus. Rev. May 12, 2022, https://hbr.org/2022/05/why-many-women-of-color-dont-want-to-return-to-the-office [https://perma.cc/J5B8-5EBL].

47 Aubrey Gordon, It’s Time for a Culture of Consent Around Body Talk, Self, Aug. 27, 2020, www.self.com/story/body-talk-consent [https://perma.cc/LA2Y-UV2E].

48 See, e.g., Shannon Ridgway, 22 Examples of Thin Privilege, Everyday Feminism, Nov. 30, 2012, https://everydayfeminism.com/2012/11/20-examples-of-thin-privilege/[https://perma.cc/MAL4-XEW8].

49 https://roxanegay.com/[https://perma.cc/636G-JKE6]. See, e.g., Roxane Gay, Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body (2017).

50 www.aubreygordon.net/[https://perma.cc/6R5D-7AZ2]. See, e.g., Gordon, supra note 14; Aubrey Gordon, “You Just Need to Lose Weight” and 19 Other Myths About Fat People (2023).

51 www.sonyareneetaylor.com/[https://perma.cc/3G65-F2WM]. See, e.g., Sonya Renee Taylor, The Body is Not an Apology (2021).

52 https://dashaunharrison.com/[https://perma.cc/FJ7N-4WZH]. See, e.g., Da’Shaun L. Harrison, Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness (2021).

53 Natalie Slaughter, 7 Things I Wish People Knew about Being a Fat Woman, she said (Sept. 29, 2019), https://thebodyisnotanapology.com/magazine/xpost-7-things-i-wish-people-knew-about-being-a-fat-woman/[https://perma.cc/R27P-RK2Q].

54 For me, one of the first and best is Camryn Manheim. https://youtu.be/LRV1O-Cd_c0.

55 Some of these are adapted from Sins Invalid, Access Suggestions for a Public Event (Jan. 24, 2017), www.sinsinvalid.org/blog/access-suggestions-for-a-public-event [https://perma.cc/A3TF-QS9S], and Gabi Serrato Marks, How to Make Professional Conferences More Accessible for Disabled People: Guidance from Actual Disabled Scientists (Nov. 8, 2018, 10:00 AM), https://blog.ucsusa.org/science-blogger/how-to-make-professional-conferences-more-accessible-for-disabled-people-guidance-from-actual-disabled-scientists/[https://perma.cc/LM8G-4RUX].

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tanya M. Johnson

Tanya M. Johnson is a research and instruction librarian, University of Connecticut School of Law.