This Woman Photographed People's Reactions To Seeing Overweight People In Public

And it's kind of sad.

Alexandra

• Published in Interesting
• February 24, 2018

A photographer named Haley Morris-Cafiero made the decision to embark on a project that would feature her taking pictures of herself in extremely uncomfortable situations. What she did not know was the project would gain a viral status and send her straight to photography fame. She titled the project "Wait Watchers" and it focused on stranger's reactions to overweight people as they passed them by in a variety of public settings. 

In 2010, Haley was taking some self-portraits in Times Square and she noticed that the man behind her was staring at her and not paying attention to the photo he was posing for. He did not break his glance towards her and Haley knew he was judging her for her weight.

She noted, "I've heard people make comments on my weight, but I never thought I'd be able to capture that on film." After she caught this rare shot, she decided she wanted to further investigate the situation and turn it into a photography project. 

She went on to set up a camera on a tripod in various public places where there was heavy foot traffic. She engaged in normal activities and never engaged in any behavior that would attract attention from others. After she posted the project, she received terrible feedback giving her eating advice, telling her to exercise more, and criticizing her physical appearance. 

Haley has struggled with eating disorders and other diseases her entire life and notes that this project is not to make anyone feel bad but rather show them they shouldn't care what ignorant people think. “I don’t do it out of anger. 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.”

Not surprisingly, the series has brought forth a great deal of controversy as people stated that perhaps the looks weren't out of judgment but maybe just curious about the camera itself. Allow yourself to form your own opinions after viewing the photos from the project below.

Haley Morris-Cafiero is the Creator of the Project

Laughing With or Laughing At?

This One is Pretty Obvious

This Woman is Clearly Giving her a Dirty Look

Women Should Uplift One Another

Hatred Can Start at a Young Age

We Must Set Good Examples For our Youth

Society is Diverse and Should Be Celebrated

Once Again, We Must Be Good Examples For Our Youth

This Just Embodies How Cruel Society Can Be

I Think This Girl is Just Looking at the Display

Another Painfully Obvious Shot

Humankind Needs to Work on Their Judgments

Women Should Be the Last Ones Judging One Another

Come On Humanity

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Alexandra