Thin privilege is the children’s show Lazytown (and any other “kids need to be healthier” tv shows that exist).

I only recently discovered this show was still running. But for anybody who has never seen it, it’s a show that encourages children to be “healthy” (i.e. thin) and basically criticizes children and parents who prefer to play on their computer or stay indoors. The town is called Lazytown because it is filled with lazy people. Some of the inhabitants include: a fat kid who loves to eat chocolate, a fat woman who is always sticking her nose in other peoples’ business, the fat mayor who is also not very intelligent, etc. Basically, all the fat characters are portrayed as being lazy, stupid, or annoying. The ONLY smart people in the show are Sportacus and Stephanie because they exercise the most and eat the most fruit (in fact, Sportacus can ONLY eat fruit. He is allergic to anything that isn’t fruit. Because an all-fruit diet is TOTALLY healthy, amirite? *rolls eyes). And the villain of the show is also the laziest person in the town, who enjoys OMG!TOTALLY!EVIL! things like eating popcorn, sleeping, and watching tv (oh, the horror!)



I remember seeing interviews with the man who plays Sportacus (he also created the show) and he said he came up with the idea for the show when he noticed that Iceland had a rise in obesity and a decline in “healthy lifestyles” and he wanted to do something about it. It really pissed me off that the hosts kept praising him for being so proactive and inspirational. I just found the whole thing really patronizing because why the hell is a thin man being praised for this?? Why are fat people always seen as something that needs to be “fixed” by thin people? It makes me sick to think that there are thin people looking and my body and thinking to themselves, “This person’s body is wrong! I need to do something about this!” It’s especially gross when it’s aimed at children because they don’t know any better. Lazytown is aimed at pre-schoolers and I find it extremely sad that young children are being taught to point out “bad behaviours” and “bad lifestyles" in other children before they even enter school.