5 Ways People with Thin Privilege Can Fight Body Terrorism The Body Is Not An Apology
Hey, fellow folks with thin privilege (you should know who you are): We need to talk. I’ve been seeing a lot of people equating skinny shaming and fat shaming — and I want to declare, on the record, that this is wrong and harmful. There is a huge difference between skinny shaming and fat shaming, and it’s a difference of scale and systemic power dynamics. Body shaming against all bodies is damaging, including microaggressions against skinny people. However, the difference between feelings being hurt and discrimination, dehumanization, and denial of rights on a systemic level is vast. Body terrorism against people who are fat is insidious, and it’s openly practiced in the halls of our society’s most central institutions— hospitals , schools , the legal system , and the workplace . Various studies have found that fat people suffer profound discrimination at work; they are more likely to be fired or suspended, less likely to be hired in the first place, earn smaller salaries in comp...