Fat or thin?

Jackie:  Hello, I'm Jackie Dalton, welcome to Entertainment! Today we're going to lookat an issue which often comes up in the world of Entertainment, and that'sbeing fat or thin.
　　It's a big issue in the British media at the moment. One report says that weightis the new divide between people – 'the new divide' – what separates people. Soforget social class – how rich you are, where you live: you are being judged onhow heavy you are! The report says that 8 out of 10 people judge others bytheir weight.  Most people think that thin people are more likely to be rich andsuccessful. And poor people are fat and stupid! So let's hear more of people'sviews on all this and look at some of the expressions they use.
　　The first man will use the word 'culture'. In this context 1, it means the attitudesor beliefs that are shared by people in a certain society or group. Listen to someexamples of how the word might be used in different contexts 2.
　　Voice:  There's a culture of laziness in this organisation 3, which is very damaging.
　　Voice:  There's a culture of secrecy 4 within the government when it comes to securitymatters.
　　Jackie:  We'll also hear the term 'socially inept 5'. If you're inept, you're not good at doingsomething. In this case, being 'socially inept' means you're bad at personalrelationships and don't fit into society. So listen out for those two expressionsnow: 'culture' and 'socially inept'.
　　ClipThere is this culture, especially in London, it's a prime 6 example, where being fat is seen asbeing socially inept. And it's driven by your magazines…Jackie:  So this man says people are seen as socially inept if they're too fat. He says thisis 'driven' by magazines, which means magazines are encouraging this kind ofattitude. Next, he'll go on to talk about how his mother feels when she goesshopping. What expression does he use to describe how she feels?
　　ClipThere is this culture, especially in London, it's a prime example, where being fat is seen asbeing socially inept. And it's driven by your magazines, clothes only being produced to certainsizes so only certain people can fit into them… and only certain people fit into what society'sbuilt as this perfect person, this perfect look almost, yeah. I mean, my mum's the perfectexample, she wants to go into the shops, she doesn't fit into the clothes and she's made to feelas though she's almost a second class citizen.
　　Jackie:  Did you catch that expression? He said his mum feels almost as though she's asecond class citizen because she can't find the clothes she wants in a big enoughsize. A 'second class citizen' is someone who is seen as less important and lessvaluable than other people – not a very nice feeling to have! Let's hear somemore views on the issue. Does this girl think it would be good to have more fatwomen pictured on the covers of magazines?
　　ClipI think it does matter. I mean, I don't want to be fat. Especially in magazines and things likethat, you never see, like, a big girl and if I do see a big girl on a magazine cover I would think'Why did they put her there?'
　　Jackie:  This girl doesn't want to be fat and says she'd find it strange to put someone faton the front of a magazine. What do this girl and this boy think?
　　ClipI think it does matter but only, like, on a superficial 7 level. Like, when you look at someone,that's the first thing, I suppose that you notice - what they look like. But after that other thingsmatter. I think it's important to be healthy. It shouldn't be about weight, it should be abouthealth and happiness and other issues that are so important than what you look like.
　　You shouldn't judge a person by his physique.
　　Jackie:  Phew, so there are some people who think your weight shouldn't be soimportant. The boy said you shouldn't judge someone by their physique – youshouldn't make decisions about what a person is like based on their body – theirphysique. The girl said it only matters on a 'superficial level', it's not reallyimportant. Listen again.
　　(repeat clip)Jackie:  Well, I have to say, I agree with those last views– life is too short to spend itworrying about what people look like! Let's finish with a recap of some of thelanguage that came up. We talked about 'a culture of…', which means a set ofshared beliefs or attitudes about something. 'Socially inept' is an expression todescribe someone who doesn't really fit in and is bad at personal relationships.
　　'To be driven by something' means to be encouraged by or caused by it. 'Asecond class citizen' is someone who is seen as less valuable than other people.
　　If something only matters on a 'superficial level', it doesn't really matter much.
　　'To judge' someone is to make a decision about what they are like. And your'physique' is the size and appearance of your body. That's all for now, but keeppractising your English and finding 8 out more about the world around you withbbclearningenglish.com!