Now, before I go on, I want to clarify that I don't think any body type is wrong. I don't want anybody to think any body type is wrong. Unfortunately, though, my words do not exist in a vacuum (and if this was a sexism-free world then this wouldn't even need said.)
However... I have to say I really agree with this image. Not in the way that I'm moved by its message that we need to stop body-shaming, because I already know that. But the unnamed people saying things like "But you're SKINNY!" Because that's just it. You're SKINNY!
We live in a society where everyone's body type is constantly questioned and scrutinized. This is more of a women's issue, but men are affected too (and they have learned from the media to perpetrate these ideals just as well as many have learned to believe them). And you know what? It doesn't matter what people think of your body anyway because everyone has a preference. The preference for petite women does not equal hatred for muscular women. There is a variety for a reason- because we have preferences.
It should be noted, though, that skinny privilege does exist. Yes, it does. Honestly, when skinny people complain about how hard it is for them... it reminds me of a white person talking about reverse racism. Yeah, I'm white and I live in an urban area with people of every color. I've experienced my share of racism- but that has happened astronomically FEWER times than I have been benefited by my skin color.
When I was about 20 pounds lighter, people were nicer to me. I didn't feel like I was being stared at if I bought a candy bar. I felt as though all the clothes in my closet were fair game and that I was "allowed" to wear whatever I wanted. Now, I'm about 13 pounds overweight by BMI. I feel like people wonder why if I get an ice cream cone. I don't see people who look like me on TV, unless it is ironically (Big Rhonda, from that 70's show?) and then there is the whole public opinion that fat is bad.
I don't understand how a person who is thin can be so upset that they are thin. I know that skinny bodies have a lot of criticism geared toward them, but it just isn't as much as fat bodies- and it isn't the same type of criticism, either. To elaborate, I've never seen a single add that said "Need to gain weight for the summer?" or "Gain 15 pounds in 2 weeks!" Nope, not that I can recall. I've never seen a woman rocking love handles in an advertisement for a pair of jeans, either. Skinny bodies are everywhere- it is a skinny person's world. Fat bodies are blamed for being fat, told how to lose weight, what they should do, how to dress so maybe people won't notice that they're fat, etc etc etc.
Feeling skinny was awesome for me. To me, it equated freedom. Not being questioned why I'm riding my bike to school or why I'm only ordering a water with dinner. Working out as a fat girl was hard- it was embarrassing and I felt unwelcome. After I lost a few pounds, I felt like I belonged in the gym. I've lived both lives, and honestly, I can't think of a single reason to hate a skinny body. Bony? People like that. Cute and small? Tall and thin? I've never heard of those being bad words. Unhealthy? Fat bodies get the unhealthy spiel too, not that it matters though. The only people who know about your health are you and your doctor.
Point is, every "insult" that can be thrown at a skinny body either can also be taken as a compliment, or is something that fat bodies hear all the time, too. For every skinny "insult" there's about five going around for fat bodies.
Do not take this to mean that it is okay to insult anybody no matter what they look like. I don't think that's okay. I think all bodies are inherently beautiful for many different reasons. But maybe it is time that we start noticing thin privilege.
On one hand, though, I hate the further polarization of body times. By using the phrase "thin privilege" we create a binary. I don't want things to be fat versus thin, or anything versus anything. To start body loving for everybody we need to just stop classifying them. Thin/athletic/overweight/fat/chubby/petite/average/muscular/curvy.... We just don't need that. People will still have body preferences, but we don't need to make a deal out of body types. There's a bunch of them, let's just leave it at that.
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