- Full Text
- Scholarly Journal
SHE'S NOT HEAVY, SHE'S MY SISTER: DOES ANYONE REALLY GIVE A HOOT ABOUT OBESITY AND WEIGHT DISCRIMINATION? THE CASE OF THE "HEAVY" HOOTERS GIRLS
Abstract (summary)
Hooters - along with their overtly conspicuous waitresses - opened their first restaurant in Florida in 1983. (About Hooters, 2008). Controversy would soon follow in the form of lawsuits for sexual harassment, men suing to become "Hooters Girls," and allegations of one-sided arbitration agreements that purportedly disadvantaged employees. Most recently, however, Hooters was sued by two former waitresses who claim they were illegally fired because they were deemed to be overweight. (Roth, 2010). All of this comes at a time when the overall fitness of Americans has been called into question, as evidenced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asserting that there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the last twenty years. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). Given the reported expanding waistlines of Americans, should weight be a protected class covered by civil rights legislation? Or is this just a case of political correctness gone mad? [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]