WHAT WE'RE ABOUT
We are constantly redefining our own perspectives, and therefore tend to write a lot about our personal experiences. Many followers and contributors are living with anorexia, bulimia, body dysmorphic disorder, depression, and a variety of other body image disorders or mental illnesses, so please be respectful and remember that health applies differently to everyone. Any and all potentially triggering content will be prefaced with a trigger warning.
RBI supports all races, genders, classes, and sizes. We try our best to make this a safe space for everyone. If we are not doing our job or checking our privilege, we invite you to please inform us.
Some of the artwork you see here has been created by our founder or moderators, some sourced when applicable. Please be kind enough to source this blog whenever you share it's content.
We are not health professionals. Any and all advice provided on this blog is supported only by our own research, studies, and personal experiences; nothing more.
This blog is part of the Safe Space Network.
This is Thin Privilege: Thinsplaining?
Can we have a word for this kind of blindered condescension? Like thinsplaining?
http://theconversation.edu.au/a-big-fat-fight-the-case-for-fat-activism-7743#comment_46754
Backstory: This is a wonderful post on fat activism. An commenter swoops in, politely ignores all the evidence in the article, and maintains that no, fat is bad, fat acceptance is worse, and this is why. When he’s called on his blind spots he thinsplains and makes it even more obvious that he didn’t deign to read any of those icky studies on icky fat people that disprove his beliefs.
He as much as says “people are genetically predisposed to be certain weights but not morbidly obese,” which is kind of like saying people are genetically predisposed to be tall, but not over six feet tall. Predisposition and inheritance doesn’t follow a discrete model based on arbitrary human definitions of fatness.
So, thinsplaining, or something else? I hesitate to use thinsplaining because fat people engage in this nonsense, too. It’s very reminiscent of mansplaining in its utter disregard for the arguments of actual women, and also in that not all men mansplain, just like not all thin people thinsplain. What do you think?
I gave up on the comment thread in this article - the ignorance, it burns.
Some people will just never be receptive to this shit. They will also never fail to be annoying as fuck.