How one woman's viral Twitter thread nails exactly what thin privilege is.

In just seven tweets, a US writer managed to nail what it is to have thin privilege.

Importantly, you don’t have to “feel thin” to have this privilege, Cora Harrington says.

Harrington’s series of tweets have since been liked and retweeted by thousands of social media users who found her definition to be accurate and refreshing.

The Intimate Detail: How to Choose, Wear & Love Lingerie author started by pointing out that “thinness isn’t a feeling” and that the term applies much more broadly than people might realise.

“If other people perceive you as thin, you are thin. If you are able to walk into any clothing store and expect to see a wide range of options in your size, you are thin.”

My job involves looking at photos of models who are much thinner than me, so I rarely “feel” thin.

But I can walk into almost any clothing store and expect – without even thinking about it – to buy something in my size. That is thin privilege.

— Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) July 22, 2018

By that definition, anyone ranging in size from a 6 to a 16 could have thin privilege – that is, that they are not discriminated against for their size.

Harrington, who identifies as having thin privilege, further explains that this doesn’t mean your life is “easy” or that “no one ever made fun of your appearance”.

“It means societal discrimination and prejudice does not target you for being thin. It means your weight/body type are seen as ‘normal’.”

For instance, she says: “No one looks at a photo of me online and tells me I need to lose weight or sees me out and about eating a cookie or an ice cream cone and sneers at me in disgust.”

“No one groans or rolls their eyes when they have to sit next to me on a plane or a bus.”

No one groans or rolls their eyes when they have to sit next to me on a plane or a bus.

In fact, no one comments on my body at all. The ability to move through life without people insisting you need to be a smaller size…if you don’t have to think about that, it’s privilege.

— Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) July 22, 2018

But that’s exactly the kind of behaviour from others that some people face all the time.

The blogger says she is making her point, because body positive influencers may not understand that even if they aren’t a size 8, they still enjoy a privilege that those who don’t meet society’s definition of a “normal” body do not.

Once again: all thin privilege means is that your life isn’t made more difficult *because of your weight.* It means you aren’t defined things like pay raises, healthcare, and airline seats because of your weight.

— Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) July 22, 2018

It doesn’t mean your life is easy or that no one ever made fun of your appearance or that you can find everything you want in your local Target. It means societal discrimination and prejudice does not target you for being thin. It means your weight/body type are seen as “normal.”

— Cora Harrington (@lingerie_addict) July 22, 2018

While many where cheering for the writer, some people still suggested that being super thin could be just as much as a disadvantage.

Which is where others stepped in to reiterate Harrington’s words that it doesn’t mean your life is easy, it just means you aren’t treated differently because of your size in your day-to-day life.

So yes everything that you have just described I have also experienced, just the other side of the coin. Just because it’s not as prevalent of an issue doesn’t mean it’s any less important. You don’t have to disregard one groups issues in order to gain support for yours

— Kayli Coburn (@spookybluekay) July 23, 2018

You can sit on any bus, fly on any plane, shop in any store, don’t get a weight loss lecture from your doctor and from strangers… sorry about your hurt feelings but it’s not the same as systematic exclusion.

— dr grump (@dr_eprice) July 23, 2018

Have you encountered discrimination because of your body size?