I don't want to seem like a jerk, so I hope I don't unintentionally say anything triggering or callous when I express confusion over the notion of thin privilege. fatphobia has never been directed towards me, but is thin privilege a problem to the extent that white privilege is? Like, to the extent of refusal of employment because of weight (when weight does not limit ability to do a job) or hate crime? Again not trying to be rude but I had never heard of thin privilege or fatphobia before now

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dasananda-deactivated20150310

Didja read the blog? Fat people are denied jobs are promotions, make less over their lifetimes, are denied vital services like medical care, are treated literally as a disease themselves, are harassed and assaulted, and indeed DIE of fatphobia.

As bad as racism? No, probably not, inasmuch as you can compare these things. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a real oppression and a real privilege.

You doubt it because you hadn’t heard of it before? Well, there are always things you haven’t heard of in the world, and they still exist. For everything that you hear of, there’s a first time to hear of it. That doesn’t mean those things don’t exist before you hear of them.

Yes, fatphobia is still a word that’s little known. The reason for that is that most people still think it’s perfectly normal and reasonable to discriminate against fat people. Once upon a time, people didn’t know the word racism, either, because oppressing black and brown people was normal and reasonable. This is how it works.

-MG