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Stigma is a major source of stress and has been a frequent topic among medical anthropologists but less so among biocultural anthropologists. Brewis and Wutich (2014) have pointed out that along with the globalization of obesity, the stigmas around obesity have become global. Stigmas of obesity and other stigmas (Brewis and Wutich 2019) contribute directly to health by producing stress and limiting the range and effectiveness of responses to health problems. Their recent volume Lazy, Crazy, and Disgusting effectively employs a critical biocultural lens that considers evolutionary, political economic, cognitive, and biological dimensions of stigma as seen in obesity, mental illness, and in a range of public health initiatives. In their carefully balancing the potential health consequences of obesity and the stigma of overweight, Brewis and Wutich (2020) provide an example of the complexities and importance of ethnographically grounded biocultural research.

Embodiment of Race and the Health Consequences Racism It is now widely accepted that race is not in our genes but rather, race becomes biological through discourses and practices. Biocultural anthropologists, such as Michael Blakey (1998) have been at the forefront of questioning the naturalization of the idea of race. A key aspect of this work is a critical evaluation of how race is used in medical practice, specifically a systemic critique of the myth that health differences by race are due to racial differences in genetics (Goodman 2000). Rather, racism is seen as both a powerful psychosocial stress and a structural inequality, and the source for profound racial health disparities. Studies of the biology or embodiment of racism that call on both inequalities and stress as a source of racial health inequalities present another fertile area of research within a critical biocultural approach (Armelagos and Goodman 1998; Blakey 1994, 1998, 2001; Dressler et al. 2005; Goodman 1997; Gravlee 2009; Gravlee et al. 2005; Kuzawa and Sweet 2009).