With One Tweet, This Body Positive Blogger Perfectly Explains “Thin Privilege”
Every Body celebrates inclusivity and the representation of human beings in every shape and form.
While we work to include more people of different sizes in our everyday lives (something that’s missing from the body-positive movement, says author Roxane Gay), one popular body-pos blogger has perfectly explained “thin privilege” in just one eye-opening Tweet.
Incase you wondered what fat phobia and thin privilege looks like. 🤷🏽♀️🙄 pic.twitter.com/obmr6RbVoI
— Gracie 🖤 (@GraceFVictory) June 15, 2017
In just four screenshots, award-winning UK-based YouTuber Grace Victory perfectly encapsulates how different bodies are treated in the world. The first two shots are IG pics: a thin woman eating a generous amount of junk food (including dessert!), and a larger-bodied young person sitting at the beach. These images are followed up with the comments left on both pics, and the differences are shocking.
For the burger-eating person, comments like, “SHE’S EVERYTHING I WANT TO BE,” and “Brain says, ‘Marry her,'” give the clear impression that many people love the idea of an average or thin-sized person who is able to eat their weight in fries and ice cream. Next, Victory shares the comments on the other photo.
“It’s her fault for being fat,” says one commenter. “She should be ashamed,” says another, adding, “that’s not healthy she’s treating herself like a piece of sh*t that’s disgusting.” One heartless person even calls her a whale.
It’s interesting to notice how we interpret different people’s behaviors depending on the way they look. Take Hollywood, for instance. When a thin, conventionally attractive actress like Jennifer Lawrence talks about how much she loves pizza, people celebrate her coolness and relatability. When a curvy actress like Melissa McCarthy is paired with pizza for a sketch, it’s part of a visual punchline. Would we react the same way to McCarthy if the roles were reversed, and vice-versa? It’s hard to say for sure, but it’s worth thinking about.
Victory shared these images to make us think twice about how we comment on other people’s bodies (big or small). But they also drive home a bigger point: We shouldn’t be making comments about people’s bodies or dietary choices, period. Not ever. It is never, ever okay.
Victory’s photos are also a reminder of how deeply ingrained our cultural biases are around size, and how these attitudes may influence the way we view others — or ourselves.
Have you ever judged someone based on their size? Tell us @BritandCo!
(Photo via Alexandra Wyman/Getty)
