Big news in the emoticon world this past week: Facebook removed the emoticon for “feeling fat” following complaints that the emoticon and its description contribute to body image dissatisfaction.
This article in today’s NY Times describes research that explains why that is a good thing. The author,Renee Engeln, describes her research which showed that when subjects were around people who spoke negatively about their bodies, they were more likely say negative things about their own bodies and to feel worse about themselves. It’s not hard to understand: When you hear the person next to you (whose body may look perfectly fine to you) speak ill of himself or herself, you think about how much worse your body must be.
The term “feeling fat” is so much a part of our language that we often forget that we don’t really even know what it means. Usually it’s a catch-all term for “I don’t measure up to some standard I have for myself” or “I wish this were different” or “I hate some aspect of myself.”
Perhaps without fat talk, we will be encouraged to identify more clearly what we really mean and learn how to express it clearly and directly. As for the “feeling fat” emoticon itself, The Verge reports that Facebook merely re-labeled the “rosy-cheeked, bloated” emoticon as “feeling stuffed.” Only to be used on Thanksgiving.
