A U.K. company is under fire for its âfat-shamingâ food journals, which contain phrases like âI want to skinny dip, not chunky dunk,â and âfridge pickers wear big knickers.â
Blogger Charlotte Moor tweeted a photo last week of Fox & Moonâs products, which ship internationally, alongside the caption âItâs literally the worst thing being fat isnât it.â
Someone from the brand promptly responded via direct messages, Moor said, saying she should be ashamed of herself for âbeing so meanâ about something she knows ânothing about.â
The company did not return a request for comment by time of publication.
The various phrases printed on the planners are troubling on their own, but a peek at the brandâs Instagram is even more disheartening. Much of the content equates thinness with goodness, places emotional value on food and preaches the importance of losing weight.
Another chunk of messaging preaches that followers should be themselves, eat whatever they want and feel confident in their own skin.
Someone at the brand posted an Instagram after watching a program about overcoming cancer that âput things in perspective,â sharing a photo of a journal that reads âlet guys reject you for your personality.â
The planners have garnered headlines like âWhy does this brand think itâs okay to cover diet planners with body-shaming messages?â and âThis stationery company is making fat-shaming meal planners and people are pissed.â
Moor told Metro UK she believes the company doesnât realize the effect the phrases can have on a person. âFor people struggling with eating disorders, phrases like this can be really damaging,â she said.
Some Fox & Moon commenters were quick to say the products are lighthearted, not meant to be taken seriously. But mixed messaging like this can create harmful associations with food and our bodies in general. Some 20 million women and 10 million men in the U.S. alone will suffer from âa clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life,â according to the National Eating Disorders Association, and more than 725,000 people in the U.K. are affected by an eating disorder, too.
Thatâs not something to make into a joke, or a profit.
H/T Revelist