Thin Shaming (Rant Alert)

Several weeks ago I read a compiled list of tweets about a trend called "Thin Privilege." Instead of trying to explain to you in my own, biased words what TP is, I'll defer to a woman named Cora Harrington who brought this issue to the attention of the public on July 22, 2018.

"Hey," Harrington writes "You don't have to "feel thin" to have thin privilege. Thinness isn't a feeling. If other people perceive you as thin, you are thin. If you are able to walk into any clothing store and expect to see a wide range of options in your size, you are thin."

Ok, let's unpack this a little.

• "Thinness isn't a feeling. If other people perceive you as thin, you are thin": Um, okay. I'm 5'5 and 118 pounds. People generally "perceive" me as thin. According to her, I can't look in the mirror, or at the scale, and decide my thinness based on that. No, it's all about other people's perception of me, or how easy it is for me to buy clothing. '

• "If you are able to walk into any clothing store and expect to see a wide range of options in your size, you are thin": Funnily enough, when I walk into the average clothing store, there is not a wide range of options in my size. No, extra-smalls are not especially easy to find, and typically, 2's and 4's are far outranked by 6-14's. By her standard, that means size 8-10's have thin privilege since they are stocked so heavily in stores.

In summery: Clothes shopping being easy doesn't mean you're thin. In fact, it could mean quite the opposite.

Next.

• "No one groans or rolls their eyes when they have to sit next to me on a plane or a bus. In fact, no one comments on my body at all" I'm glad no one comments on her body. Makes me wonder why she's complaining to the internet. The cynical part of me can't help but wonder if the fact no one comments on her body "at all" is a source of bitterness for Harrington.

• "The ability to move through life without people insisting you need to be a smaller size...if you don't have to think about that, it's privilege." People always feel the need to comment on my appearance. The length of my hair, whether they like me better with curly or straight hair, the amount of makeup I wear, if I'm looking too thin, if I'm looking tired. People share their opinions on other people's appearance, whether solicited or not. How is size any different? This has nothing to do with being fat or thin, privileged or not. Last, but not least, I do think about my weight and body. 1, because I exercise 5-6 days a week to keep it in good shape, and 2, because people have made comments to me when they think that I'm looking too thin. Now, where does that fit into this whole thin privilege theory?

• "No one looks at a photo of me online and tells me I need to lose weight or sees me out and about eating a cookie or an ice cream cone and sneers at me in disgust." If you post a photo to your social media, jerks will say stuff. Ignore them. But seriously, who sneers at strangers eating a cookie or ice cream? Do people really have nothing better to do? I do personally have moments when I cringe seeing someone at Starbucks with a Venti Frappucinno, but those particular drinks are usually clutched in the hands of stick thin teenagers. It has nothing to do with the size of the person drinking and everything to do with my brain calculating the amount of sugar and calories packed into that giant thing (for those curious, a Venti typically has over 500 calories in it.)

Basically, this whole series of tweets is meant to shame you if you have it easy, and let you know that you can never truly understand how badly others have it. It's a pretty common position being taken by some in society, basically invalidating you, and any of your struggles since there will always be someone who has it worse than you.

In closing, I'd also like to note the fact that if you're overweight, it's likely because you have access to a lot of food. Think of all the countries out there that are starving. If you're eating enough to maintain a high BMI, that means you have access to more than your fair share of food. That sounds pretty privileged to me.

(photo from Chelo Creamery via Instagram)