Since April 2013, after consuming a large meal or several slices of birthday cake, one could announce this accomplishment on Facebook in a status accompanied with a smiling emoji sporting a double chin labeled "fat." That is no more, following a Change.org petition that garnered over 16,000 signatures requesting that Facebook remove this option as "fat is not a feeling."
From the petition:
When Facebook users set their status to “feeling fat,” they are making fun of people who consider themselves to be overweight, which can include many people with eating disorders. That is not ok. Join me in asking Facebook to remove the “fat” emoji from their status options.
Fat is not a feeling. Fat is a natural part of our bodies, no matter their weight. And all bodies deserve to be respected and cared for.
Facebook is the most popular social networking site in the world right now. With 890 million users each day, it has the power to influence how we talk to each other about our bodies. I dream that one day the platform will actively encourage body positivity and self-esteem among its users, but for now, all I ask is that it stop endorsing self-destructive thoughts through seemingly harmless emojis.
Other questionable "feeling" choices in Facebook's drop-down menu include "sarcastic," "meh," and "blah."
While someone can no longer say they're "feeling fat," fret not: the smiling emoji with a double-chin remains as the icon for "feeling stuffed," which replaced "fat." A person can also say they are "feeling full" on their statuses--which is accompanied by a regular smiling emoj sans double chin.
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Personally, I don't see what the fuss was about, and this is another example of political correctness at its finest. Emojis don't cause eating disorders. That's oversimplifying a very complicated problem. While a person doesn't have to be stick thin to be healthy or beautiful, it's still not a good practice to petition websites to submit to your every demand.
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