Note: I posted this response to the linked article “Skinny privilege: Having it and losing it” I saw on here. I would like to share my story here as well.

I spent most of my life living with thin privilege. I had men fall all over themselves, give me free items, get great seats at restaurants, concerts, etc. I had clerks at stores offer to help me and bring me tons of clothes. I had the admiration of my peers and friends. I had tons of people want to be my friend. The way my spouse was treated when I was thin was even different! He had better opportunity, more friends, and we were invited everywhere. When I told people I was a vegetarian who loved to work out, people believed me and hung on every word on how they could get to where I was. I was accepted into clubs and groups just because my clothes fit well.

It’s amazing the difference weight makes. Thanks to an unfortunate medical condition, I don’t have any of that anymore. I’m still the same person, just not thin. This whole time I thought I got all these things because I was a pretty and educated girl. Apparently, you can’t be fat, pretty, and intelligent (still think I am, even though people would want me to believe otherwise) in society.

For the first three years of being overweight, I hid from society. I would only go to a 24 hour gym and use it at 1am when I knew no one would be there. I became aware that I was different because no one would look at me. My spouse has even suffered because his wife is a “fat bitch”. This presumption came when no one at his new job had ever met or spoken to me, it was just based off a picture he had at his desk of the two of us smiling but of me being overweight. He became a social outcast as none of his coworkers nor their wives wanted to include us. As if my fat was a disease they could catch.

Doctors for years ignored my medical ailments, telling me that it was all in my head and that I needed to lose weight (turns out my disease was attributed to neither, but thank you medical assholes for making 6 years of my life a living hell and having me believe there was something psychologically wrong with me when it was your stupidity and neglect that couldn’t see past your fatphobia).

I’m ignored, hated, reprimanded, and shunned. I am told I am no longer a person. So yes, it sucks not having thin privilege when I used to. Is it harder when you’ve spent most of your life having thin privilege and then it’s taken away? No. Because at least I know what it was like to be treated and included in society. So many people haven’t had it ever and that’s a damn crime.

When I see people post about how they haven’t experienced thin privilege because, even though they are skinny, they’re not pretty like their “larger, curvy friend” or how they “know” it doesn’t exist because they’re fat at a freaking size 14, I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry. When I was considered underweight, I was a size 7. My normal size (150lbs for 5'6") was a 12. I wasn’t ever called fat or overweight at that size, in fact, people thought I was still on the fit/thinner side! At about size 22, you can definitely see the fat phobia and thin privilege if you hadn’t already at a smaller size.

Even if you are unattractive and thin- you have had privilege and I wish more people would realize this! Fat phobia and mistreatment is so great and it doesn’t matter where you go, how nice you are, or what you look like, you’ll find it everywhere. I’ve traveled all over the world and this is the way it is everywhere I’ve been.