In an era where we’re all actually (hopefully) starting to pay attention to the many ways our society makes people’s lives really fucken difficult, the intersection of body shape/size and privilege is still kind of a fraught one. Terms like “body positivity”, “fatphobia” and “thin privilege” float around like slippery little bubbles; sometimes it can be hard to know exactly how to grab on to them.
But fortunately, we’ve got people like author and lingerie blogger Cora Harrington. Over on her Twitter, she’s spent a fair bit of time laying down some truth-bombs about what the controversial term “thin privilege” actually means.
Spoiler alert: it’s not about how thin you feel.
My job involves looking at photos of models who are much thinner than me, so I rarely “feel” thin.
But I can walk into almost any clothing store and expect – without even thinking about it – to buy something in my size. That is thin privilege.
— Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) July 22, 2018
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. 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.
— Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) July 22, 2018
Once again: all thin privilege means is that your life isn’t made more difficult *because of your weight.* It means you aren’t defined things like pay raises, healthcare, and airline seats because of your weight.
— Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) July 22, 2018
You can benefit from thin privilege and still be disadvantaged or inconvenienced on some other axis, like height or race. Thin privilege doesn’t encompass *every* privilege.
— Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) July 22, 2018
Case in point, I have thin privilege and my bra size is a common one, but I can’t walk into any store and find a nude bra in my skintone.
Does that cancel out my thin privilege?
NO.
My lack of privilege on the axis of race doesn’t negate my privilege on the axis of size.
— Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) July 22, 2018
Harrington is the creator of lingerie blog The Lingerie Addict, which she says is founded on the principle “that lingerie is for everybody – no matter their size, race, sexuality, age, ability, or gender“. It’s also a firmly anti-body-shaming zone – so you can see she’s got some credentials when it comes to talking about how privilege manifests in the body.
These kinds of conversations are important, particularly considering the vocal response to media that attempts to engage with fatness (case in point: the backlash to Insatiable). People are joining in on Harrington’s discussion with their own experiences of the vagaries of the clothing industry.
Also, there are tall and petite people who are also fat! It’s an additional barrier. The reason for the lack of plus size clothes is different than the reason for lack of other “nonstandard” sizes
— Heather (@uberheathen) July 22, 2018
I’ve honestly never looked at it this way before but now that I see it, holy shit this is so true. https://t.co/AdujJZTEof
— sai (@Saisailu97) July 23, 2018
I have difficulty finding pants sometimes because of my hip to waist ratio but I know I can go into a store and buy clothes in my general size. I will never go without. Privilege, simple as that. https://t.co/VMapD3YZz1
— Négritude (@StyledBlack) July 22, 2018
Have remind myself of this all the time! I have issues thanks to a dad who called me fat for most of my, not fat at all, childhood and I often have to stop myself from coming on here and fretting about how fat I’ve gotten in middle age. I am bigger but I’m still privileged.
— Erika with a K (@imaginaryerika) July 22, 2018
Yes, thin privilege is a thing. I was a fat child, who became a fat teenager, and so on. I’m now middle age, and have lost considerable weight….for the first time I’m actually able to buy clothes in a “thin people” store. Huge difference in choice!!
— CannaGran 🇨🇦🇺🇦 (@CdnCannaGran) July 22, 2018
This thread is something to think about. I don’t often “feel thin,” because I don’t like the shape my body currently is, but I’m definitely thin, and I have a lot of privilege because of it. https://t.co/LNKbS9QdFr
— Tacos Toretto (@QueenofTacos) July 22, 2018
