The Thin of It

I loved this article about thin privilege. I can easily see thin or 'normal' women everywhere calling BS because society doesn't make them feel pretty which the article addresses perfectly. 

Can you eat ice cream without worrying you're being judged? During my sample of various ice cream shops in Annapolis it crossed my mind more than a few times that I was being judged. I saw a thin woman eating twice as much ice cream and I don't think she ever expected random strangers to think ugly things. My typical attitude of "fuck 'em" kicked it but that thought came from years of society pushing a thin ideal at us.

One of my friends wanted to do a matching cosplay for a con. I refused on the grounds that I didn't want to look like a before and after weight loss ad. Guys routinely ignored me for my typically pretty friends or were only nice to me on the grounds that they can't be jerks to the pretty girl's friend. Pointing this out to my friends either elicited pity or denial, neither of which is helpful.

Earlier this year I met someone who flirted with me and treated me like a desirable person, I didn't tell him about The Boy right away. It wasn't because I had bad intentions; it was because I wanted to experience what my friends experience every time they leave the damn house.

Some thin women might complain that 'real women have curves' shuts them out. Most body positive responses don't readily recognize thin as a valid body type but there is no fat or curvy privilege. People are slowly moving away from the wispy thin models and more toward fit or curvy women but it's a slow process.

I know women of all body types who are beautiful inside and out. We need to tell the media to shove it and avoid adversarial relationships with each other. Our biggest problem is that our value as people is based on whether we're the right body type.

Big men are teddy bears; big women are worthy of scorn. People can make fat jokes or say ugly things about their bodies to their face and it's fine. Men get some fit or thin privilege but it's no where near the disparity it is for women. We need to welcome body acceptance so that all women can be seen as people regardless of how we look.

Women are people and should always be treated as such. We can never forget that.