When this term first found its way to me online I thought to myself, “Thin privilege? Surely that’s not a thing? I’ll just have a quick read…” Turns out, it’s a thing. It’s very real, it’s very obvious and it’s very dangerous.
Maybe it’s not the BIGGEST ISSUE EVER – yes, the world has lots of problems right now and it’d be awesome to fix them all but life doesn’t work that way. This is the one I’ve chosen to talk about because I get it. And yes, plenty of overweight people are so because of their own choices. And no, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a slim figure. So now we’ve cleared all that up, let’s acknowledge that how we perceive people often depends on nothing more than their clothes size and, to me, that is not okay.
Being “privileged” because you’re “thin” doesn’t mean you’ve had it easy. It’s not an all-encompassing phrase. What it means is gaining certain benefits from being thinner, and being relieved of societal pressures that affect overweight people.
For example, those of a smaller figure are more likely to get jobs they interview for; more likely to be the object of affection from potential partners; more likely to be popular among their peers. Fat people, on the other hand, are perceived as too lazy to advance in the workplace; portrayed openly in film and TV as unattractive; often picked on at school. If you think none of this damages someone’s emotional well-being and self-worth, you must be dreaming!
The inclusion of plus-sized and promotion of body positivity has definitely improved, but common beauty standards still essentially say that thinner is better. And because of that, we end up being literally worth our weight. Who says someone bigger isn’t the perfect person for that job? Or great company on a date? Or the best friend you could ever have? It’s all in our heads.
Thinner DOESN’T mean better. It doesn’t mean anything! Size shouldn’t matter this much. What makes up a person is so, so much more than that. I can’t believe we’re still in a position where weight really is so important when there’s honestly so much more to every single one of us.
Read more… (the internet is literally full of this stuff, these are just a few)
Only 15% of hiring managers would consider hiring an overweight woman
Portrayals of Overweight and Obese Individuals on Commercial Television
How Obesity and Bullying Are Connected
I really liked this post. 🙂 I think you did a good job of pointing out that it’s one of those things that can add to difficulties placed on you throughout life.
And as someone who went from bigger to kind of thin, I experienced this gaining of privileges first hand. It’s everything from people unconsciously being nicer or knowing when I get on a plane I won’t have to worry about the person being mean to me because I take up more room. In general, it means I experience less stress in that section of my life.
I listen to this podcast that pointed out something really interesting. The hosts said they felt the war was really on what society considers ugly women and because society says being bigger makes it much more difficult to be considered beautiful. So they think that’s why women are treated so unfairly as opposed to their male counterparts in regards to weight.
I think this makes sense because somee men are treated badly as a result of being heavier but the window for acceptable male weights seems to be much larger than the window for acceptable female weights. And men often are treated badly if they are “too small” by society’s standards.
Thank you for the cool article. Keep on writing!
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Thank you! I completely agree with you there, and I’d be really interested in listening to that podcast if you’ve got a link or something? Again, thanks for checking it out!
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Such an important post with heartbreaking truths; you’ve worded it so beautifully and powerfully, Sam.
Sending you good vibes for a wonderful weekend.
Nati x | http://www.naticreates.com | @naticreates
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Thank you so much, I really appreciate this! Good vibes right back! x
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