The Weathering Hypothesis: Examining Racial Health Disparities, Health Outcomes, and Social Justice

Abstract: An overwhelming body of literature on health disparities argues that racial health disparities in the United States can be partially explained through the weathering hypothesis. The weathering hypothesis states that chronic exposure to racial and socio-economic disadvantages leads to accelerated aging and earlier onset of unfavorable health conditions among marginalized groups. Findings from the literature on “weathering” strongly support a profound connection between chronic stress induced by systemic racism, and poor health outcomes in marginalized groups. While the weathering hypothesis has been used to partially explain racial health disparities, not much has been said on its serious implications for social justice. In this paper, I identify two implications of weathering for social justice. First, I draw from Sridhar Venkatapuram’s Health as Capability Theory to argue that weathering inhibits the full capability of marginalized groups to achieve a cluster of basic capabilities and functionings in the society, and therefore restricts their substantive freedom and opportunity to determine and realize their own ends. Second, I argue that weathering is a distinct form of oppression — different from Iris Marion Young’s five faces of oppression —as it emphasizes the biological and physiological impacts of racial and socio-economic disadvantages on marginalized groups. I conclude that understanding the impact of weathering on social justice is crucial in the discourse on racial health disparities as it highlights the need for comprehensive policy interventions that address immediate health disparities and tackle underlying systemic oppressive structures that perpetuate weathering, thus leading to a more just and equitable society.

Keywords: Weathering, Racial Health Disparities, Oppression