Does THIS qualify as a 1st World Problem yet?

[Bonobo]

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/02/26/women-want-facebook-stop-asking-if-theyre-feeling-fat?cmpid=tpdaily-eml-2015-02-26

Women Want Facebook to Stop Asking If They’re Feeling Fat

A Change.org petition hopes to get the social media platform to remove several body-shaming status update options.




Having “feeling fat” and “feeling ugly” as status update choices “promotes and supports the endless torrent of judgment and pressure to be perfect felt by young people across the world,” wrote Charlotte and Vicky on the petition. “We do enough comparing as it is, we don’t need a status update to make it even easier to feel bad about ourselves.”

Many users of Facebook simply type in a status update without taking advantage of all the buttons at the bottom of the input box. However, if you click on the smiling emoticon icon, the platform gives you the option to “add what you’re doing or feeling.” Most of the choices seem harmless—you can say you’re excited, sad, annoyed, even hungover. The emoticon’s face changes to reflect the emotion you choose.

The emoticon for “feeling fat” doesn’t look too happy, and it has a double chin. Meanwhile, the emoticon for “feeling ugly” seems to indicate that having a big nose, thick eyebrows, a mustache, and wearing glasses is unattractive.

The two activists note that the terms “fat” and “ugly” are ones that many teenagers use to describe themselves. Nowadays far too many teen girls spend their time obsessing over their waist size. According to the National Association of Anorexia and Associated Disorders, an astounding 47 percent of middle and high school–age girls have said that looking at images of models in magazines makes them want to be a smaller size. “It took years to stop attacking ourselves verbally, and once we finally thought things might be looking up, Facebook decided to push us right back down,” wrote Vicky and Charlotte on the petition.

So far nearly 7,000 people have signed the petition. Facebook has yet to respond.

[Warren DeMontague]

1. Facebook is shaming me by implying i'm the kind of person that uses an emoticon for a status update

Also DU's drunk and dunce smileys need to go. Stupidty and Alcoholism are NOT FUNNY

[opiate69]

6. Dean Wormer, izzat you?

https://m.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

2. I know zip about Facebook

So, apparently men aren't given this option of "fat" and "ugly" because only women are objecting.

Also, the ugly smilie has a mustache.

[Bonobo]

4. Nope, I just checked. Men can choose that too.

I guess for some reason having to do with genitalia, it doesn't plague the minds of men to have the option of among about 50 or more "feelings" to choose "I feel fat".

[Warren DeMontague]

5. Anyway I thought the whole point of the "fat acceptance" movement was to be proud of bein' fat.

In that vein wouldn't "I feel fat" be a statement of pride? The fat smiley is, after all, smiling.



Hmmm. One might think some people aren't really as thrilled with themselves, as they like to pretend online.

[Warren DeMontague]

3. I think everyone who is STOMPIN', CHOMPIN' MAD re: this should cancel their monthly facebook payment

immediateleh!!!!

until facebook removes the offending fat smiley face as an option because you know options starts with "O" just like oppression amirite!?

Oh, yeah, except... facebook is free, which is even WORSE and more OPPRESSIN' FREEEEDUMB ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[Major Nikon]

7. ...