[tw: weight loss discussion, doctors, medical procedures]

I would like to address the people who access this blog claiming that they were once fat, but that they worked hard to lose weight and therefore “earned” their thin privilege, or that they do not have thin privilege at all. If I may, from the perspective of someone who lost weight (for legitimate medical reasons) and has undeniably gained thin privilege.

About eighteen months ago, I would have been labeled “obese.” For most of my life, I was a victim of fat phobia. Despite that, I liked myself, and felt no personal need to lose weight. I did not lose weight because I wanted to, or even because a doctor kindly suggested that I should. It was made apparent to me, through a series of tests, that I was at high risk for Type 2 diabetes, which runs in my family. Losing weight does not guarantee that one will avoid diabetes, as it is a genetic predisposition, but I made the choice to try.

I was successful. I do not mean that I was “successful” because I became thin. That was never my goal. I liked myself before, and I still like myself. By “successful” I mean that I regained control of my blood sugar levels and I am no longer in the “pre-diabetic” range. Also, in no way do I mean to suggest that anyone else with diabetes, or in a pre-diabetic condition, should lose weight. That is a very personal decision, and it is simply what I did in my situation.

Now, I am in the “healthy” weight range. Whether I wanted it or not, thin privilege ensued.

Let me break it down like this. There are certain things that are a DIRECT result of the very hard work I did. As a DIRECT result of monitoring my eating habits and forcing myself to exercise, my blood sugar stabilized, as well as my blood pressure. As a DIRECT result of my efforts, I became able to run long distances (which I still hate). And yes, as a DIRECT result of my weight loss, I lost body mass and became thin.

I did not “earn” thin privilege. It is an INDIRECT result of my weight loss, because I became thin, and we live in a society that gives thin people unfair advantages.

The reason I can now fit into a wider range of clothing than I could two years ago is not a DIRECT result of my weight loss. I did not create that dynamic in our society by losing weight. I became thin, and thus, gained the privileges associated with being thin. The clothing was the same before I lost weight and after - nothing about the clothing changed. I changed, and now I happen to fit the mold that our society deems “proper” for sizing clothes. That’s it. INDIRECT result of my weight loss. I did not “earn” that. It was HANDED to me as a secondary event to becoming thin.

Same goes for just about everything else. I leave my house now and I do not worry that anyone will call me fat or use my body size/shape as a way to insult me. This is NOT a direct result of my hard work. This is because thin girls are given that privilege. It is, again, an INDIRECT result of becoming thin. I did not “earn” the approval of people around me - it was GIVEN to me when I became thin.

I encourage all whiny persons, claiming that they do not have thin privilege because they worked for their body size/shape, to examine the differences between the DIRECT results of weight loss efforts, and the INDIRECT results that are subsequently GIVEN to a person that becomes thin and gains thin privilege.

What did my efforts DIRECTLY result in? Lower blood sugar, lower blood pressure, a smaller number on the scale, and less body mass. It resulted in a thin image.

The results of that thin image are NOT direct results of my hard work. There is an important distinction to be made. Thin privilege comes with being thin - as it has been stated on this blog, it does not matter how or why you become thin. Being thin = having thin privilege. I didn’t ask for it, I didn’t want it. It is not why I lost weight. It happened anyway. I must acknowledge that I have thin privilege, and I must acknowledge that I am not special because I worked to become thin instead of being that way naturally. It does not matter.

When I try on a pair of jeans, the jeans do not say, “Wow, look at you! You lost weight! Good for you, you’re not privileged, you’re dedicated!”

The jeans say, “You are small enough, so you fit.”

This is thin privilege.