What does thin privilege mean?

[MrsAnamCara]

I've seen a few posts on social media about it, what does it mean? Is it related to the health at any size movement that I've heard about?

Is it about societal created standards and a real thing or theory?

TIA

I'd never even heard of this 'privilege'.

Domestic I can appreciate what you're saying but it still boils down to the fact many/most overweight people are just eating too much food.

Plates/portion sizes/snacking/being overfed from weaning/lack of exercise etc, are all things we should be focusing on rather than the complexity of genes.

Especially when it comes to feeding our children.

I hate this 'privilege' nonsense.

Everybody has hard times regardless. This attitude is just making society more divisive as white people and people at an average weight are getting sick of being told that they are privileged just for being so when no one knows what their actual life is like.

It's no one else's fault if you are overweight. Do something about it.

Thin privilege isn't real in the same sense as, say, white privilege.

As another poster said above, people who are thin generally are due to behavioural reasons. They eat less, or exercise more, or both. Obviously there will be a small percentage where their size is due to medical reasons such as a hyper active thyroid, but in the majority of cases, slim, lean bodies are earned, not a matter of privilege, and thus the "assumptions" that go with them, or the assumptions that are not made about the owners of said bodies, are likely true.

The same cannot be said of white privilege. There's still a vast sea of unspoken assumptions about race that are in many cases so ingrained that people don't even consciously hold those biases, and unlike being thin, being black or white is entirely beyond your control and not in any way linked to behaviour.

Just my opinion, but to my mind the concept of thin privilege is nonsense.

Well said TheVoiceofTreason.

This attitude is just making society more divisive as white people and people at an average weight are getting sick of being told that they are privileged just for being so when no one knows what their actual life is like

Do you think that being thin gives people an advantage in life compared to being overweight?

Of course there are plenty of other things going on in people's lives - but if people were to experience the world through other people's eyes / shoes, it does show you how people are judged by appearances and the groups they belong to.

I am not overweight - so I don't know what it's like to be judged by others for being overweight and the issues that brings - especially when applying for jobs. I am sure it happens though.

The thin people I know eat a lot less and exercise. I.e. not priviledge.

Some people are just naturally thin and don't exercise, fast metabolism, genetics etc.

And fat doesn't always mean lazy.

Some people are just naturally thin and don't exercise, fast metabolism, genetics etc.

Right. Except genes have been around forever, and obesity hasn't.

Naturally skinny people tend to find it all comes to a crashing halt at some point.

@MuseumOfCurry
Not true with my self and all generations of my family. We are all naturally thin.
So are a lot of others I know. The actually struggle to put on weight no matter what they eat this it true for myself also.
Although I'm happy about it and i don't know what it's like being over weight so I can't comment on the overweight not being privalaged.

Never heard of it.

Greensky I'm sure you're smart enough to work out your in a vanishingly small (no pun intended) minority in this case.

Right. Except genes have been around forever, and obesity hasn't.

True, obesity hasn't been around forever. But nor have multinational soft drinks manufacturers, or a powerful sugar industry with strong lobbyists.

@MuseumOfCurry not where I live in afraid. Maybe it's down do healthier parts of the country etc. I have no idea why.

I'm* afraid

True, obesity hasn't been around forever. But nor have multinational soft drinks manufacturers, or a powerful sugar industry with strong lobbyists

Just don't buy it.

I carry around a jar of pumpkin seeds (or similar) and a bottle of sparkling water at all times in case hunger strikes. This is unusual, it seems, but at the same time very easy (and delicious).

demoniceruption I'm white, and see first hand the racism, subtle and overt, my Asian partner deals with in our society. I'm not sick of being told I have white privilege. I know I do. Privilege can intersect (ever heard of intersectionality?). It's perfectly possible for him to have the advantage of being born male and basic slim while being discriminated against for his skin colour. Just as I enjoy white privilege, while being structurally oppressed for having a disability. acknowledging privilege shouldn't make you angry because you have hard times. It's not saying you have a brilliant easy life cos you're white. It's saying that as someone born white, male, CIA, upper class, thin etc. you already have a head start that your non white, female, trans, poor and fat friends and acquaintances have to work harder to overcome. I've had a shit time at many points in my life, being white didn't protect me. But I'm not dumb or arrogant enough to act like my skin colour hasn't afforded me some huge advantages, subtle and overt, that my black and Asian friends haven't experienced. It's not a difficult concept.

MeMeMeMe123, thanks! I forgot to add, I kinda realise too that as I was brought up slim my body looks good when I'm a lower weight, whereas if I'd been raised far even if I lost weight I'd have to deal with excess skin etc which can be a real self esteem killer and even cause health problems. I can see why some overweight people think what's the point in all of the self denial of food and stress of exercise if even when they lose weight they still don't feel they'll look good naked. Not everyone is motivated by being healthy.

Ime it has been used by some people who struggle with their weight as a way to dismiss/ excuse my experiences.

I'm naturally thin, and eat a lot. But not snacks & only when I'm hungry 99.9% of the time. This apparently makes it acceptable to comment on my size/ appearance/ eating habits/ lifestyle etc. And I'm not supposed to find this incredibly rude, in the way it would be to make similar comments about fat people, cos you know, thin privilege.

I can't possibly have ever experienced anything bad in my life, cos I'm thin. An abusive childhood can be dismissed as a cause of low self esteem when I was younger, because it can't possibly compare to low self esteem in a fat person.

If I find it incredibly difficult to find clothes on the high street I am either lying or it is my own fault for starving myself. God forbid that I point out 20yrs ago lots of shops etc had reasonable tall ranges in store, and a size 6/8 actually was small, now the tall range is a rail or 2, replaced by a plus size range, and even in stores that go down to a 6 vanity sizing renders them too big. Instead I have to listen to complaints that h&m is awful because it is one of the few larger people can't shop in, or can't get in the vanity size they usually wear.

I don't know about bias, but I doubt it personally has been a net gain for me. I've been told by quite a few people that when they first met me they assumed I'd be a bitch/ love myself/ be obsessed with diet/ have a perfect, smug life etc. And how they were pleasantly surprised that I'm not. I can't imagine that false first impression would act in my favour.

It's also very offensive to compare it to white privilege, even for those who have been treated badly through being overweight. It is not remotely on the same scale as the long history and present consequences of white privilege.

MuseumOfCurry Bloody love pumpkin seeds! It's amazing how easily water can quash hunger too, especially carbonated. My two most helpful tips when calorie counting (I use my fitness pal to lose weight and stick to 1200-1500 cals per day) is a) use chopsticks (slows me down so I appreciate the food more and realise I'm full before I've shoved even more food into myself and brain hasn't caught up with stomach) and b) drink a pint or two of tap water before eating a meal or snack.

thehogfather "I can't possibly have ever experienced anything bad in my life, cos I'm thin."

I've never seen anyone claim that, anywhere. I'm not sure if you don't understand the concept of privilege or are wilfully misunderstanding to exaggerate your point.

As PP have said, thin privilege is things like the ability to shop anywhere. The ability to see your body type on every surface and see it promoted as normal. The ability to see all heroines with that figure because it is what is desirable. The ability to walk down the street and know that you will not be sneered at or looked down on. The ability to go into a shop and buy a bar of chocolate for the first time in weeks and know that the cashier will not be judging you for it. The ability to go into a shop and buy a salad for the 5th time that week and know the cashier will not be judging you for it. The ability to go on a forum and know that posters like Jesus will not be ripping people with your body type to absolute shreds.

Whilst at uni I was so depressed that I drank and ate my way to putting on 7 stone and becoming a size 22. I have since joined the gym but it isn’t coming off overnight. That doesn’t mean i’m not making an effort with my body; I go to the gym 4/5 times a week. But people don’t see that, they don’t see a person who’s trying. They just see fat and disregard everything else.

And that is thin privilege.

MuseumOfCurry Bloody love pumpkin seeds! It's amazing how easily water can quash hunger too, especially carbonated. My two most helpful tips when calorie counting (I use my fitness pal to lose weight and stick to 1200-1500 cals per day) is a) use chopsticks (slows me down so I appreciate the food more and realise I'm full before I've shoved even more food into myself and brain hasn't caught up with stomach) and b) drink a pint or two of tap water before eating a meal or snack.

Delicious! I buy the Cyprus brand at my local Asian supermarket. Good tip re: chopsticks - it certainly works with sushi

Christ, there's some utter bollocks on this thread.

I've had a massive variation in size and weight in my life - nothing to do with my diet or activity levels which have not changed, and everything to do with my hormone levels which have been artificially manipulated since my early teens. I've been a size 4 up to a size 14 depending on the treatment so I know from experience that a) all of the comments about how you can change your weight are from people who have experience or understanding of other factors affecting weight (or do you think it's a coincidence that conditions like PCOS and hypothyroidism cause excessive weight gain despite diet and activity levels, with this being a diagnostic marker for these conditions?) and b) I am treated completely differently when I'm thin than when I'm fat. Completely.

@WorraLiberty It sadly seems to be becoming the norm. No health issues per se, she just doesn't eat. She said it herself; sometimes she has a tomato a day

The norm for who though misscheery?

Certainly not over 65% of UK adults.