Macy's Caves, Stops Selling Portion-Control Plates After Complaints of 'Fat-Shaming'
Macy’s department store has pulled a series of products after claims surfaced over the weekend that the store was “fat-shaming” with dinner plates.
The dinnerware in question was outlined with three rings that read, starting from the outside in, “Mom Jeans, Favorite Jeans, Skinny Jeans.”
Outspoken critics said the plates were “fat-shaming” people by making them feel guilty about the amount of food they are consuming.
Podcast host and CBS Science Correspondent Alie Ward started the discussion when she posted a photo of the plates on Twitter.
How can I get these plates from @Macys banned in all 50 states pic.twitter.com/1spntAluVl
— Alie Ward (@alieward) July 21, 2019
“How can I get these plates from @Macys banned in all 50 states,” she asked.
Critics soon rushed to join her side.
“Nothing like promoting fat-shaming and food guilt. Who makes these plates?” one critic tweeted.
“Macy’s just casually promoting eating disorders and body shaming. MOM JEANS FOREVER,” another critic wrote.
One Twitter user slammed the critics and said if you don’t like the plates, just “don’t buy it.”
“We’re talking about banning a plate here. A plate. If you don’t find it funny, good! Don’t buy it. But why do you get to make that choice for others?” the Twitter user wrote.
Macy’s seemed to have taken notice, as they replied to Ward’s post on Sunday.
“Hi, Alie — we appreciate you sharing this with us and agree that we missed the mark on this product. It will be removed from all STORY at Macy’s locations,” Macy’s wrote.
Hi, Alie — we appreciate you sharing this with us and agree that we missed the mark on this product. It will be removed from all STORY at Macy’s locations.
— Macy’s (@Macys) July 22, 2019
The plates, created by the brand Pourtions, were being sold in STORY, a Macy’s in-store concept shop, according to the HuffPost.
Ward told the news outlet that she “just wanted to show the world how insidious beauty culture, and in this case one that shames women, can be. But I wanted Macy’s to know that what they carry and display matters, it can hurt people, and they’re accountable for it.”
Pourtions told Time that the plates were never meant to “fat-shame” anyone, but rather were meant to be “lighthearted.”
“As the creators of Pourtions, we feel badly if what was meant to be a lighthearted take on the important issue of portion control was hurtful to anyone. Pourtions is intended to support healthy eating and drinking,” the dinnerware company said.
“Everyone who has appreciated Pourtions knows that it can be tough sometimes to be as mindful and moderate in our eating and drinking as we’d like, but that a gentle reminder can make a difference. That was all we ever meant to encourage.”
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