to ask you about different types of privilege women can have? e.g slim, educated

[pepperandapples]

Just that really - what are the different types of privilege that women can have that make them more or less privileged than other women?

e.g able bodied, wealth, education, slim. What else is there?

is height one? how about hair colour and accent etc?

I am trying to understand

I see the parrot’s still here. Could someone release it, please?

How bloody rude!

To be honest there are so many middle class people who are overweight now it's clearly not simply down to money.

I think a lot of the problem is that people are time poor so don't do as much home cooking as in the past, plus there's a lack of knowledge about healthy eating. I expect lot of it could be solved if, as a society, we did more batch cooking (or if we weren't all stretched so thin... but I cant see that happening any time soon).

For the minority of overweight people who aren't that way due to lifestyle choices, there will be other causes like underlying gut health problems. But that's not the norm.

It’s crazy to me that people STILL don’t understand the definition of white privilege. Somehow you think white privilege is something that brings about the same benefits as class does. That’s simply not the case.

You can have no money, be absolutely no one and guess what? You’d still benefit from white privilege. White privilege isn’t ‘oh look at me and how much money I’ve got because I’m white.’ No.

— White privilege is not having a police officer stopping you in the street solely based on your skin colour.
— White privilege is being favourited by staff members at school based on your skin colour. The adultification of black children and children of colour is endless.
— White privilege is going into a toy store and seeing that the majority of dolls look like you and are white.

White privilege is when your whiteness brings about benefits and advantages that isn’t shared by MANY people of colour.
White privilege is receiving unacknowledged help or assistance just because you’re white. Nothing more and nothing less.

All of my white friends are poor just like me. They all recognise that they STILL benefit from white privilege. It has nothing to do with money or class

Anyway pretty privilege is the first thing that came to my mind OP. Pretty privilege will get you very far in life

Some of the comments on this thread have made me laugh out loud - no wonder there is such a weight issue in this country! No one is able to take responsibility for their weight. “Not everyone can be slim”
etc.

yes, yes you can. And yes, you can do it for less money or the same as eating crap. And even if you didn’t have the education re healthy eating growing up, you have access to the internet now and all the information you could possibly want or need to turn things around.

In a global context, one of the very biggest "privileges" or advantages you can have in life is to be an educated citizen of a wealthy, fairly liberal (ie not dictatorship) modern peacetime country with developed infrastructure. Bonus privilege points if the main language is English.

If you're in a position to talk about other kinds of privilege on the Internet you probably already have this enormous privilege that most people take for granted.

As an aside re all privileges (eg race, religion, sex, disability). Surely it would be much more useful to talk about the DISprivilege each characteristic faces. "White" privilege might tell us something about things white people take for granted, but it takes the focus away from the specific issues that affect black people, or British Pakistani people, or British Chinese people (the experiences may be similar but they won't be identical). "Male" privilege is again useful shorthand, but is easily misunderstood and focuses on men at the expense of highlighting the problems women face that men don't.

Which is surely a huge flaw - - none of these privilege theories are centering the groups that lack them. The other flaw is that the current framing of privilege makes a lot of people very uncomfortable or naturally resistant. Even people who agree with it tend to admit to having had to "overcome my discomfort / fragility". There is likely a hardwired psychological component there that is going to be a hurdle no matter how much people try to move past it. Which makes sense. It's basic human instinct to preserve what you have and feel defensive if you perceive a social attack.

So as much as I agree that various characteristics have to deal with problems that more "privileged" characteristics don't, I think the current framing of the issue is an uphill battle that, ironically, takes all the attention away from the people who need it most.

I have seen it said that thinness is found in rich women and poor men, while obesity is more common among poor women and rich men. Not sure if there's anything in it, or if rich men, used to getting their way only audition slimmer women.

Not in my case… I have a disability though.

Some people are overweight because of mental health issues. I do get concerned when I see the number of overweight children in the Uk. But for some people it is not always as simple as trying harder. Some people have addictive personalities. For them you might as well say to an alcoholic ‘just stop , it’s a choice’.

What do you mean sorry? That pretty privilege hasn’t got you very far?

for some people it is “easier” to be slim than it is for others: either good genes, lack of trauma in their life, smaller appetite, less stressful life, better education, better quality of food in childhood, being naturally more sporty, access to sports, time and mind space for sports

Yes and as a result you can reap the benefits. That’s ok.

i guess for me it’s about being aware of it and of my unconscious bias.

Same here! Definitely taken less seriously at work when I was younger and looked much younger than my age. Plus being short. And described as cute.

Of course it is much harder for some people to be slim than others. For a start, overweight children tend to become overweight teens and, if you're overweight in adolescence, chances are that you're going to be an overweight adult. There is some evidence that it is to do with the number of fat cells developed during childhood (while in adults the number of fat cells is relatively stable), which might explain why it actually is very hard for some people to keep the weight off.

I suggest that if people genuinely have no idea how to be slimmer, they read "Why we eat too much" by Andrew Jenkinson which brilliantly summarises all up to date mainstream research on why obesity happens and how to tackle it.

And please don't fall for this mind trap that is offered to you, "poor thing, it is not your fault, you are a victim of circumstances, not your responsibility to change and no one is allowed to point out that it is". I wasted decades of my life in that trap - and there are clearly people on this thread still in that trap, who are desperately trying to shut me down because they don't like hearing obesity is something you can change if you want to. Too comfortable in the trap, and too desperate to have company in their with them to validate their victim status

For almost everyone who is obese, it is entirely your choice whether you still want to be obese this time next year, or not. If you are morbidly obese. It takes longer, but can still be done, or at least improved on.

Choose a healthy weight. It is a better life

And yes, I do also know what it is like to be obese for medical reasons, as I spent a year on strong steroids and the weight piled on. This is one of the few cases where it was genuinely not my fault, but that time has passed for me now, and I am getting the weight off.

For those who want a quick summary of the main points from Jenkinsons book, it is nothing radical. He points out that weight is more than calories in and calories out, as your body adapts to the calories available, and just uses fewer if you take in fewer, so your weight stays the same on less calories.

But cutting back on calories certainly helps! The main thing is cut out sugar and artificial sweetners ( which don't have calories, but do provoke the same insulin spike that sugar does- and insulin is the problem)

It is also crucial to eat plenty of green and leafy veg - again nothing radical!

Cut out margarine and vegetable oil, and highly processed food. Also avoid "grazing" and "snacking" as every tiny snack spikes your insulin again, whereas keeping eating to meal times lessons the number of insulin spikes in a day

So basically, cut out sugar and eat plenty of greens, which has been known for at least a century, although the science behind it not so much.

It is true that the dangers of margarine, processed food and vegetable oil have only been proved recently, as in the last decades, but they have been proved now, so there is no excuse.

These are really good points and I’m not dismissing them for one moment, but at the other end of the spectrum, my dh is very tall and feels that the world was made for people smaller than him. He has to choose his car carefully due to leg length and head height; flying on an aeroplane in long haul economy is his idea of hell; he’s constantly ducking under doorframes (and sometimes banging his head!) and don’t get me started on his never-ending saga of trying to find trousers with long enough legs….

I will follow that up though and say that I (and he) will completely own the fact that people treat him with respect, which may or may not have something to do with his height and overall bearing, so I’m sorry you feel disrespected and sometimes marginalised for being short.

being short in woman gives many advantages. and a few disadvantages. it is not a "privilege" and more than it is a "privilege" to be tall. It is just a characteristic which brings advantages and disadvantages in different situations, like many characteristics.

I am under 5 foot tall and would not consider myself fat at a size 12, I mean maybe that's not slim buy it really isn't fat!

I'm guessing if you haven't dealt with the car issues I have, you must also be taller than me. Perhaps this would explain why your experience has been different.

I'm not saying it happens all the time, and less so as I have got older, but I most definitely have experienced being patronised because of bring short. The most annoying thing is when people pat me on the head!

I think the advantage is being "of average size" especially for a lot of (practical) things that @Iscreamtea mentions.
I would guess that a lot of things are designed for people of average build and between approx 5'4 and 6'. If you fall outside those parameters then a lot of things will be harder. Just as a short person being limited to what car they could choose, extremely tall people would likely have the same problem. Being very much above or below average will limit the clothes you can buy (or need expensive alterations) short people can't reach things, get ignored or pushed in front of, tall people would bang their head on a doorframe, or be limited to what seats they can have in a plane etc

I'm a very short woman and I haven't noticed a massive amount of advantages! Plane/train/bus/theatre seats are less cramped? That is a decent advantage. But I'm often ignored, pushed in front of , assumed (from far away or behind) as a child with other people. My short sibling went for a promotion and didn't get it - their height was mentioned as a consideration!

She can't fill up on lean meats, nuts and salads - her options are be hungry or eat cheap junk.
I mean obviously she could "just eat less" but it's pretty obvious why people don't and why obesity is so strongly linked with deprivation

Untill 50 years ago ALL poor people were slim. Interesting isn't it?

I am not sure in what country you live but in UK you can 100% get cheap healthy food.
Junk food is expensive.
Unless you are too lazy to cook:
Cabbage
Onions
Carrots
Chicken
Lentil
Beans
Rice
Apples and other cheap fruit
But no, let's blame being poor for being fat.

well your food bills will be cheaper! and over a lifetime, that is a significant saving! also as others have said, a wider range of men to choose from, if you want a male partner.... I am sure there are many disadvantages too though. I wouldn't say any sort of height is better than any other, overall for women, unless except at the extremes. I also dont think height is always an advantage for men. It certainly is is some way, but when it comes to back injuries, etc, not so much. I have a tall son and a short son. The tall son dislikes his height, the short son is fine with his. The tall son was certainly in more trouble at school, although the short son is naughtier - he got away with far more. Literally under the radar! The tall one is always the one noticed first, for better or for worse.

In that case you're left with the question of why women and children (not men so much) in more deprived areas are more likely to be obese. Coincidence? Ignorance? Lack of will power? Or could it possibly be that something in their environment and lifestyle makes a difference.

I’m tall, slim, white, blonde, well educated and have no regional accent. I’m also autistic with extremely low self-esteem and in low-paid work, as I’m hopeless in job interviews. I think social capital - being popular, charismatic, having great social skills - is possibly the biggest advantage, for men and women. In my workplace there are certainly people at the top who have got there on sheer self-confidence and the ability to charm others - and many of them also aren’t tall/slim/white/blonde/whatever.