i'm really asking that you post this, not because i'm trying to deny thin privilege at all (i completely agree that it exists), but because i'm desperate to stop yet another reason to spread anti-semitism. I just read the post about fat-shaming in the modern orthodox world of jews, and I have to say, that is obviously extremely circumstantial. I was born an orthodox jew, and I attended a private, orthodox jewish day school from the time I was 4 years old until I graduated two years ago at (cont)

Asked by

m-anukai

the age of 18. I never ONCE heard anything of weight being a problem in the dating/marriage world. In fact, in most jewish homes, you’re scolded if you don’t eat enough, as judaism is very focused on the way eating can bring people together. The basis of Jewish relationships is raising a family and continuing the jewish bloodline, and I’ve never met once anyone who thought being fat was a problem. In fact, the majority of American jews that I’ve met are overweight, and no one has a problem with it. I just think its unfair of this blog to post something that will make people hate jews even more than they already do. You have to realize that thin privilege is a thing, but so is non-jew privilege. I’ve met SO many anti-semitic people who have their views based on things that are entirely made up by media, and other anti-semites. Please post this and let people know that not all jews are like that. I’m very sorry to the girl that had that experience, but its not like everywhere.

Anti-Semitism exists, and is a very real problem. It does not mean that no criticism of Jews can be permitted. You have your experience, and the other submitter has hers. We are not going to not publish something about a group by a (former) member of that group just because that group is also oppressed. This is a general policy, and we have done this before.

-MG

I think it is also important to remember that anti-semitism does exist and the pressure on racialized groups in the early 1900s still impacts those groups today. The extreme emphasis on thinness that became more prominent after the beginning of the industrial revolution impacted all groups of people that were not considered to be white, that not only included Jewish people but also Irish, Italians, and what we now define as PoC. So when fatness was considered to be unacceptable it was used as a marker to prove immigrants were not white and a lower class status. Similar things still happen with PoC today.

So while the research on this topic isn’t conclusive on where EDs within the Jewish community come from, that doesn’t mean a pressure to be thin isn’t a real issue. Anyone who takes an anti-semitic slant from this discussion is really ignorant of the fact that no community lives in a vacuum and they all are socialized within a society that values thinness. That should really be what people get from this, that the emphasis on thinness is pervasive in our society and even communities such as orthodox Jewish ones are not immune.

-FBP