Hi friend, I've been running a long-term series over on Instagram about thin privilege, the unearned benefits society awards people with "acceptable" (or relatively acceptable) bodies. (Here's more on what thin privilege is.)
It's been a fascinating journey. I get a lot of trolls and folks who are more interested in denying that privilege exists than in learning, but the series has also made a huge difference in both helping fat folks feel like they're not alone in their experiences and in educating interested thin folks on what life is like for those of us in fat bodies.
I want to share with you the latest post in this series because it ties in so closely with how fat folks are seen as business owners, as public figures and as private citizens. And in this time of scarcity, being aware of how we view small business owners especially can affect where we shop and how we treat them. So consider:
Thin privilege is posing in photos with food without automatically being fetishized.
How many thin body-positive influencers can you think of whose profile images feature them holding donuts, or bagels, or cake? How many fat ones?
How many thin health at every size (HAES) nutritionists, therapists, dietitians and coaches can you think of whose profile images feature them holding donuts, or bagels, or cake? How many fat ones?
There are a dozen interpretations open to images of people in small(er) bodies holding food, ranging from sweetly virtuous to delightfully rebellious. For fat folks, images of us holding or interacting with food get read as confirmation of gluttony and greed, and/or as fetish fodder.
Think about how fat people being pictured with food makes you feel. How does your reaction serve to reinforce your existing opinions about fat people? How might you react to a fat business owner being pictured cheerfully holding a stack of donuts, versus how you might feel about the same photo with a thin body swapped in?
How does that affect your treatment of fat people in real life?
Warmly,
Lindley
(Want to share this week's thought? It exists in public post form here.)
My favorite photo this week: