Woman photographs strangers to reveal how some look at overweight people

We’re just going to start by saying that we need to be really careful in the way we talk about this big issue. Yeah, nah, depending on where you stand, opinions about obesity, healthy bodies, and mental health can be hard to swallow. With that in mind, we’re just presenting this to you from a purely neutral perspective. The sheila in these photos is running a social experiment to show how strangers look at and react to overweight people in public. Have a squiz and let us know what you think.

Rightio, the sheila in question is Haley Morris-Cafiero and she’s decided to embark on a ‘social experiment.’ It all started when she took a self-portrait in Times Square. One bloke was really staring at her and that got her thinking: “I’ve heard people make comments on my weight, but I never thought I’d be able to capture that on film,” she said.

Credit: Haley Morris-Cafiero

Credit: Haley Morris-Cafiero

Credit: Haley Morris-Cafiero

Now that she has, though, she’s made a habit of it. “I don’t do it out of anger,” she says. “I consider it a social experiment. It’s not a ‘gotcha!’ kind of sensationalism. But it is taking the camera and reversing the gaze of the stranger back on to them. I think it’s a barometer of society, really.”

Credit: Haley Morris-Cafiero

Credit: Haley Morris-Cafiero

Credit: Haley Morris-Cafiero

Not everyone agrees, though. Yeah, nah, some say that it’s hard to say the photos are of people reacting to her weight. And we reckon that’s fair too. Although she’s trying to look normal, people are curious buggers and they’ll tend to look at anything slightly out of the ordinary.

Credit: Haley Morris-Cafiero

Credit: Haley Morris-Cafiero

Credit: Haley Morris-Cafiero

Credit: Haley Morris-Cafiero

Having said that, it’s hard to defend some of the photos she’s taken. People can be judgemental f**kers. Deadset, there’s clear mirth in some of these, and that definitely makes people look a bit bloody rude.

Credit: Haley Morris-Cafiero

Credit: Haley Morris-Cafiero

Credit: Haley Morris-Cafiero

Credit: Haley Morris-Cafiero

What do you reckon?

Check out Haley’s website here.

Final thought: Yeah, this is an interesting one. As you can tell, we don’t want to bite off more than we can chew here, but we’re interested to see what you lot reckon. Post your thoughts in the comments section.

Just in case you missed it, here’s one of Ozzy’s latest commentary videos…Ozzy Man Reviews: Extreme Sports

H/T: BORED PANDA.