“THE PRIVILEGE OF ASSUMING IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU”
“The truth is that Morris-Cafiero often does not know what’s going on in the minds of her subjects. Yet, because she carries a body that she knows is disdained by many, it is perfectly reasonable for her to feel like every grimace, look of disgust, laugh, shared whisper, and instance of teasing is a negative reaction to her body. In fact, this is how many fat people experience being in public; whether they’re right about the intent 100% of the time is irrelevant to their lived experience.”
Reading this, I realize how much easier it is to have conversations about troubling experiences when I am speaking with someone else who lacks this privilege. Every microagression I have experienced could have been a coincidence, but the anxiety of always having to wonder is what makes those incidents hard on another level, and what makes day to day life just a teensy bit more stressful.
