The 'Thin Privilege'

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61

[quote]polo77j wrote:

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]polo77j wrote:

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

[quote]polo77j wrote:

[quote]countingbeans wrote:

I’m awful at basketball. I’m going to start a blog complaining about basketball privilege, and bask in the attention I don’t deserve for being shitty at basketball. [/quote]

Dude if you want a contributor who is also awful at basketball hit me up…

[/quote]

Does your junk also feel ashamed of being so damn bulky do to rampant swoleism?

If so, we have ourselves a duel purpose club.[/quote]

Sorry, I don’t suffer shame from anything aside from dating a fatty in high school[/quote]

I’ve never felt so alone and hurt in my life. Small weenier privilege everywhere, getting better BJ’s and everything. [/quote]

…as long as I keep my eyes closed … otherwise it just looks like she’s drinking through a straw and I get embarrassed :frowning:

regular weeny privileges should be abolished[/quote]

Hahahaha, im crying over here!!

62

I’m 6’6", not as tall as Ruffian but like Ruffian said why don’t tall people create one of these. They could complain about being asked do you play basketball, how tall are you, being starred at in public, or someone random coming up to you and saying you’re tall. The article is just stupid IMO, and the comments make it 100x worse.

63

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:

[quote]nephorm wrote:
I also, by the way, remember people making nasty comments to her about her weight as she walked into stores. On numerous occasions. That’s not OK. And why do so many people think it is?[/quote]

Is there a difference, in your mind, between someone making a nasty comment to your mother specifically and someone making a nasty comment about the obese population in general?[/quote]

Well, of course there is - I would take more offense to the comments about my mother.
And I’m definitely not saying, by the way, that you can’t critique the lifestyle choices that lead to obesity for most Americans.

64

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:
Whatever. I am 6’10" tall. Unless I want to wear basketball clothes I have had to wear clothes either I made (or when I was 14 my mom) or that I now have made.

Shoes (all custom) were a major budget item when growing up.

I didn’t bitch about manufactureres not making freak-show tall clothes. I am well aware I am a freak show and well aware it is my job to fit into society.
[/quote]

You’re right; privilege is not about merely having an advantage over others. What it is about is a power structure that marginalizes and ostracizes people systematically. You can’t make that argument for being tall, because no one shames you for being tall. Being tall is, in many ways, advantageous.

The difference is that the obese person finds him or herself in a culture that identifies obesity with a deficiency in personhood, and drives that point home in countless ways every single day. Note the comment earlier about not hiring obese people. If the person can do the job, why do you care how heavy they are?

The complaints in the article come from a particular context, and you shouldn’t cherry-pick them to argue them individually.

I don’t think being obese is a healthy choice, if one can avoid it. Putting aside issues of how accessible healthy food is to people having lower socio-economic status, most people can avoid obesity. But, as DebraD pointed out, there are people who are active and healthy who are overweight. That’s an excellent point from the article - that doctors frequently dismiss the complaints of the overweight just because it is easier to attribute whatever health issues they experience to the weight. Or, they harangue the patient every time he or she comes into the office, until they no longer want to go to the doctor out of shame.

At any rate, the “fat acceptance” phenomenon is not the cause of the obesity epidemic, it is a symptom of the sick way our culture handles obesity, and especially the ambivalence of a society that is increasingly overweight while increasingly weight-obsessed.

Again, by the way: I’m not saying you have to sell size 80 pants for size 30 prices.

65

[quote]therajraj wrote:

[quote]debraD wrote:
Why would a happy healthy individual be compelled to make a nasty comment either way?[/quote]

Because its completely normal to feel revulsion towards something so unnatural. Even many fat people feel that way towards other fatties.

I’m talking about very fat people (35%+ bf).[/quote]

I feel revulsion when I see certain physical defects, but I don’t comment on them. The fact that a feeling comes naturally does not license one to dispense with civility.

66

[quote]nephorm wrote:

[quote]therajraj wrote:

[quote]debraD wrote:
Why would a happy healthy individual be compelled to make a nasty comment either way?[/quote]

Because its completely normal to feel revulsion towards something so unnatural. Even many fat people feel that way towards other fatties.

I’m talking about very fat people (35%+ bf).[/quote]

I feel revulsion when I see certain physical defects, but I don’t comment on them. The fact that a feeling comes naturally does not license one to dispense with civility.[/quote]

I agree. I was merely answering her question.

67

I think the main problem here is that the argument that the Feminist makes is the exact one it tries to refute. From a logical stand point their argument is flawed. For example, they say that being “thin” is normal, and that this is the wrong view, perpetuated by the media. Then they go on to argue their point under the notion that being fat is normal, and the majority are simply privileged.

The underlying issue is that they feel that society is laying down arbitrary criteria of “normal”, when the argument they make is founded upon arbitrary criteria of “normal”.

It’s akin to me saying, “the best NBA player has been considered to the one who scores the most baskets. I am enraged by this, because it is flawed and not true. It actually is the one who has the best shoes”. If I don’t provide any support why, then my argument is really weak.

That’s what pissed me off the most; they challenged an assumption by making an assumption. That pissed off the philosopher in me. The things they were making an assumption about pissed off the lifter in me.

68

[quote]IFlashBack wrote:
The underlying issue is that they feel that society is laying down arbitrary criteria of “normal”, when the argument they make is founded upon arbitrary criteria of “normal”.
[/quote]
That’s a great point.

Beyond that though, if you were going to assume some kind of normal criteria, in my opinion it would have to be different than theirs. From a world average and human biology perspective it is more “normal” to be lower than 30% bodyfat. It is “normal” to be around 5’10" (for an American male at least).

It’s not really “society” that is creating these normalcies, it is evolution and simply human biology. I’m not sure they can argue with that.

69

Just because scientific evidence says global warming is happening doesn’t mean it is, it’s nothing but a number!

70

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]debraD wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]nephorm wrote:
You can be fat and not be lazy. [/quote]

Yeah, big bones.

Sorry, every REALLY bad employee I’ve ever had was a fat ass.[/quote]

Meh. My dad was obese but not only was a workaholic, but built a very successful business, threw around machine parts that most average men would kill themselves lifting and could probably have crushed you with his bare hands :slight_smile:

KFC + workaholic = no time for exercise and a very big ass[/quote]

same thing here.
just replace “built a very successful business” by “saved thousands of lives during his medical career”.

[/quote]

Those are excuses.

I’ve served in two full-fledged military actions, more than a couple of “conflicts” that should have been called wars (IMHO), and built and sold a business, and built another — slinging drill pipe, running frac crews, and moving heavy equipment when my rough necks were too hung over to show up to work.

Somehow along the line I decided not to eat greasy burritos and Whataburger served the other roughnecks and ate deer or elk I killed myself (or chicken – I am a fajita meat eating king) and avoided booze whenever socially possible.

Fuck, I lived off of venison, trout, pecans (from out back yard), water, and coffee for years — coffee being the only thing we bought at the store.

Not that hard to avoid getting fat, even when poor and over-worked.

71

[quote]robstein wrote:
Just because scientific evidence says global warming is happening doesn’t mean it is, it’s nothing but a number![/quote]

Not sure what you mean here. It is correct to say that there is a chance that something like global warming is not happening. However, the evidence shows that it is. Now you can either refute this claim by showing us why the evidence is flawed or why the evidence is not really evidence. Either way, I won’t accept your argument if don’t say why the thought/idea/theory is false and simply make your own claim without providing equivalent evidence.

72

[quote]csulli wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:
I am 6’10" tall.[/quote]
how much do you weigh?[/quote]

298 this AM and I still look like I left a concentration camp about a year ago.

To put it into perspective, Shaq has 2-3 inches on me and 30lbs, at least when he was more fit; he probably has 40 on me now. (I have markedly less bodyfat than him.)

73

[quote]nephorm wrote:
What it is about is a power structure that marginalizes and ostracizes people systematically. You can’t make that argument for being tall, because no one shames you for being tall. Being tall is, in many ways, advantageous. [/quote]

You clearly were never in junior high.

Or been the tallest guy around when a sniper is shooting at you.

74

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]kamui wrote:

[quote]debraD wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]nephorm wrote:
You can be fat and not be lazy. [/quote]

Yeah, big bones.

Sorry, every REALLY bad employee I’ve ever had was a fat ass.[/quote]

Meh. My dad was obese but not only was a workaholic, but built a very successful business, threw around machine parts that most average men would kill themselves lifting and could probably have crushed you with his bare hands :slight_smile:

KFC + workaholic = no time for exercise and a very big ass[/quote]

same thing here.
just replace “built a very successful business” by “saved thousands of lives during his medical career”.

[/quote]

Those are excuses.

I’ve served in two full-fledged military actions, more than a couple of “conflicts” that should have been called wars (IMHO), and built and sold a business, and built another — slinging drill pipe, running frac crews, and moving heavy equipment when my rough necks were too hung over to show up to work.

Somehow along the line I decided not to eat greasy burritos and Whataburger served the other roughnecks and ate deer or elk I killed myself (or chicken – I am a fajita meat eating king) and avoided booze whenever socially possible.

Fuck, I lived off of venison, trout, pecans (from out back yard), water, and coffee for years — coffee being the only thing we bought at the store.

Not that hard to avoid getting fat, even when poor and over-worked.

[/quote]

Surely.

But we all have various flaws that we could “easily” avoid.

Some of us are more fortunate though.
Their avoidable flaws aren’t as obvious as being fat is.
So they can hide it.
At least until they open their mouths.

Fatties aren’t that lucky.

75

IFlashBack, I’m sorry but I thought it was pretty clear my sarcasm button was on there. The scientific evidence clearly shows global warming is happening, and I believe it, because it’s scientific evidence. I was comparing that sentence to, “body size has nothing to do with health, it’s just a shape.” Obviously, evidence shows body size has tremendous impact on health, while overweight people tend to ignore science and say they’re just a different shape.

On another but somewhat related note, personally I believe that the VAST majority of overweight people have complete control of their health, and are not subject to an illness or disability that is keeping them from accomplishing their goals. I used to be fat most of my life, then I decided to change my habits to not be fat. I believe most people have the ability to do the same and make excuses not to. Sure, a relatively small amount may have an issue that’s out of their control, but I think we all agree most people have the ability to change themselves.

76

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]csulli wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:
I am 6’10" tall.[/quote]
how much do you weigh?[/quote]

298 this AM and I still look like I left a concentration camp about a year ago.

To put it into perspective, Shaq has 2-3 inches on me and 30lbs, at least when he was more fit; he probably has 40 on me now. (I have markedly less bodyfat than him.)[/quote]
How long till you can bulk up to around a lean 450?

I have a sudden desire to see you compete in strongman.

77

lol @ “lean 450”. that would be fucking incredible.

78

[quote]csulli wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]csulli wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:
I am 6’10" tall.[/quote]
how much do you weigh?[/quote]

298 this AM and I still look like I left a concentration camp about a year ago.

To put it into perspective, Shaq has 2-3 inches on me and 30lbs, at least when he was more fit; he probably has 40 on me now. (I have markedly less bodyfat than him.)[/quote]
How long till you can bulk up to around a lean 450?

I have a sudden desire to see you compete in strongman.[/quote]

I would love to see it, too. I’m trying.

Maybe like the fatties in the OP, I should demand they change the rules of biology to meet the obscure needs of absurdly tall ectomorphs.

79

[quote]robstein wrote:
IFlashBack, I’m sorry but I thought it was pretty clear my sarcasm button was on there. The scientific evidence clearly shows global warming is happening, and I believe it, because it’s scientific evidence. I was comparing that sentence to, “body size has nothing to do with health, it’s just a shape.” Obviously, evidence shows body size has tremendous impact on health, while overweight people tend to ignore science and say they’re just a different shape.

On another but somewhat related note, personally I believe that the VAST majority of overweight people have complete control of their health, and are not subject to an illness or disability that is keeping them from accomplishing their goals. I used to be fat most of my life, then I decided to change my habits to not be fat. I believe most people have the ability to do the same and make excuses not to. Sure, a relatively small amount may have an issue that’s out of their control, but I think we all agree most people have the ability to change themselves.[/quote]

Ah, ok. I’ve read too much stupidity today to parse humor from ignorance :slight_smile:

80

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]csulli wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:

[quote]csulli wrote:

[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:
I am 6’10" tall.[/quote]
how much do you weigh?[/quote]

298 this AM and I still look like I left a concentration camp about a year ago.

To put it into perspective, Shaq has 2-3 inches on me and 30lbs, at least when he was more fit; he probably has 40 on me now. (I have markedly less bodyfat than him.)[/quote]
How long till you can bulk up to around a lean 450?

I have a sudden desire to see you compete in strongman.[/quote]

I would love to see it, too. I’m trying.

Maybe like the fatties in the OP, I should demand they change the rules of biology to meet the obscure needs of absurdly tall ectomorphs.[/quote]
Well at 6’10" I imagine it’s extremely difficult to be anything but an “ectomorph”. I mean maintenance calories from square one are already through the roof. Not to mention it just takes years and years and years and years to build enough muscle to fill out that kind of frame.