We’ve all heard haters call overweight people fat or make fun of them or belittle them, even in the name of body positivity. Just watch the first minute of Nicole Arbour’s six-minute rant about fat people LINK (umm, who do you think you are?). Less frequently, but increasingly, we are also hearing people start to shame those who are deemed “too thin.” “Bones are for dogs; meat is for men,” is just one example.

And, yes, I’m sure it sucks for a thin girl to hear or read such things, but, the fact of the matter is, skinny shaming and fat shaming are not equal in consequence. This is because, at the end of the day, a skinny person can go home and watch their thin privilege television show, or go to their favorite thin privilege clothing boutique.

Take the movie, "Mean Girls," for example, and the store that only sells sizes one, three, and five. While obviously most stores don't only sell sizes one, three, and five, most stores also don't sell sizes above size 12.

That is thin privilege. And it’s a comfort that “fat” people will never be afforded.

As a girl who has been at two levels of the scale, overweight and healthy, I can say that, however much you may want to deny it, thin privilege is a real thing. Freshman year of high school, I didn’t get asked to homecoming. In fact, I never got an ounce of male attention until I was down to a size 4 or 6.

Then, all of a sudden, it was seeping through the cracks in the walls. And sure, it was great to get all that attention and very reaffirming of my self-confidence (not that it should have been), but it’s honestly so ridiculous that it took me becoming a certain size to be deemed attractive. Who is anyone to decide that a size 10, or even a size 22, woman isn’t beautiful? Take the #curvesinbikinis ad campaign by swimsuitsforall, for example; Ashley Graham is hot!

And there are many other overweight women that are as well, and there are also skinny people who aren’t necessarily the most attractive based on society’s standards, yet they still tend to win out because of thin privilege.

So when people say that there is no such thing as thin privilege, or maybe even argue that obese people get underserved special treatment for what is medically deemed a disease according to the American Medical Association, keep in mind that “fat” people don’t have clothes designed to fit their bodies walking down the runway.

Keep in mind that probably nobody is envious of their physiques; keep in mind that people actively are offended by fat and hate fat people. People need to learn, though, that body shaming – whatever body type it is aimed at – is never okay and is completely counterproductive.

So, when you do it, even in the name of motivation and “trying to help,” you are making the situation worse. Those who are shamed don’t all of a sudden have epiphanies and change their lifestyles; they want to prove that your words don’t affect them, even if they do, and will rebel.

There are really two take-home messages in this piece: body shaming, no matter what, is never okay, and thin privilege is real.

So, next time you hear or see someone you know shaming a person’s body type, please let them know it’s not okay, and be mindful of the way you treat others as well.