Thin Privilege
I learned two new phrases today: “thin privilege” and “diversely-bodied.”
Things are busy, and I’m a bit behind in reading the fat-related articles from the New York Times. I just finished this one from way back on May 14. (See? I told you I was behind!)
The article is about the experience of fat people in yoga classes, and how separate courses for fat folks are springing up all over the country. It notes specifically the inhospitable climate in many regular yoga courses, due in part to the inability of many yoga instructors to offer appropriate support and pose modifications to accommodate the needs of people who, for example, have breasts and bellies to big to allow them to get into the standard child’s pose. That’s me, by the way– I do mine with my knees spread apart so my belly has a place to go. But then, I do my yoga at home with Megan Garcia’s wonderful DVD put out by the folks at Just My Size. Well worth the money if you’re a beginner.
As usual, the comments that follow the article run the gamut from enlightened and supportive to ignorant and hateful. A few suggest that fatties need to be in classes with thin people so we can have thin role models who did the hard work of losing the weight. This, of course, falsely presumes that all thin people are thin because they work hard at it, that all fat people are fat because they haven’t bothered to work hard at it, and that we’re looking to be (or need to be) inspired by thin role models in the first place.
But then there is this comment by Anna from Atlanta, which I just loved:
It’s amazing that a practice meant to bring about awareness can operationally be so closed! I’ve practiced yoga for many years and have always very much enjoyed the rare opportunities to practice in diverse communities…it brings a whole new level of joy into movement! But before reading this article, I had never considered the fact that diversely-bodied groups are so rare because lots of teachers don’t know how to adjust the full spectrum of bodies.
It’s “thin privilege” to be blind to the ways some are included and others excluded in this society….thanks for opening my eyes! In the future, I would like to train as a teacher, and I will remember this article.
We all struggle, and we can all benefit from enjoying and exploring our bodies…my practice helps me manage depression and be less aggressive toward myself. Until there are more integrated classes with well-trained teachers, I think it’s wonderful that there are separate classes for plus-sized yogis. If yoga is about accepting ourselves as we are and playing mindfully at our edge, then our community of practice can acknowledge its exclusivity (and the underlying issues that inform it) and work intelligently at becoming more inclusive.
— Anna, Atlanta
Among the things I liked about Anna’s enlightened comment is that it taught me two new phrases: “thin privilege” and “diversely-bodied.”
Thin privilege if, of course, an adaptation of “white privilege,” which is a concept that covers all of the ways that white people, even those who work hard to eschew racism, still experience benefits of being white whether they want to or not. It ranges from having no dearth race-mates in positions of power and authority and the vastly different treatment white people receive when they come into contact with law enforcement (nobody gets pulled over for Driving While White) to being able to buy band-aids that match your skin tone. If you Google the phrase you’ll find extensive lists of examples of white privilege.
I’m a bit surprised at myself that it never occurred to me to use the term “thin privilege” to describe the range of privileges that accrue to thin people in society because they are thin, especially to thin women. Next time you go to the mall and see the number of clothing stores for thin women compared to those for fat women, even though the majority of American woman are considered fat, well, that’s thin privilege: a wider range of clothing options, including professional attire. Next time you watch the news and realize that Candy Crowley is virtually alone as fat chick in the world of television journalism, well, that’s thin privilege. Thin people make more money and face less workplace discrimination. Thin students never have trouble fitting into the desks at school. And let’s not even talk about airplane seats. That’s thin privilege. The scapegoating of fat people because certain health issues are associated with weight while thin people with unhealthy habits get a pass from society because they can’t be identified on sight, well, that’s thin privilege too.
This is a phrase I need to use more often. All of us do.
