not thinking twice about walking out your front door in the middle of broad daylight to walk to the store or to the bus stop or walk your dog. You just grab your keys and necessities, close the door and walk out.

It doesn’t occur to you to be frightened (for example) of the group of teenagers at the corner. You don’t get a sense of overwhelming dread at the thought of having to walk past them because, if you’re lucky, they’ll only make remarks about your fat body and how awful it is under their breath and not out loud, to your face, or follow you while yelling obscenities about it. It doesn’t occur to you to play out the scenario (that has happened to you before) in your mind; and come to the same conclusion every time; that no one will stand up for you, even when you stand up for yourself. You don’t feel your heart beat faster, your breath quicken, your mind flash and you don’t have to make a quick decision about whether or not to keep going or take an alternate route just to protect yourself. Just because of the size of your body.

Thin privilege is leaving the house without it even occurring to you how many people violently hate you for existing. Thin privilege is being entirely oblivious to the violence and disgust impressed upon your very existence, verbally and nonverbally, every time you’re seen by anyone who is capable of looking past your body to actually see YOU.

Thin privilege is nothing like this ever even occurring to you. Thin privilege is reading this and thinking it’s ridiculous. Thin privilege is living in a world where violent hatred toward fat people couldn’t possibly be that bad or even exist, while your refusal to acknowledge it perpetuates that hatred.

(mod note: The first part in particular intersects with male privilege -ATL)