Testing the norm to fat talk for women of varying size: What's weight got to do with it?

“Fat talk” is the conversational phenomenon whereby people berate their bodies in social circles. This study assessed whether norms of fat talk differ for overweight versus average-weight women. Sixty-three women read a script depicting a fat talk situation during which an overweight or average-weight target woman engaged in positive or negative body talk. Regardless of the target's weight, participants perceived it to be more typical and less surprising if she engaged in negative body talk (fat talk) rather than positive body talk. Furthermore, fat talk from either weight group did not affect the likeability of the target, but women, overweight or of average weight, who engaged in positive talk were perceived to have more socially desirable personality characteristics.

► College females perceived negative body talk to be more normative and typical than positive body talk when women discuss weight. ► Whether a woman was of average or larger-than-average weight did not impact her perceived likability. ► A woman who engages in positive body talk was perceived to possess more desirable personality characteristics than one who engaged in negative talk.