Online petition is successful in calling for Facebook to remove ‘feeling fat’ emoji

FACEBOOK has been poked into displaying some sensitivity by a group of campaigners who took issue with one of its emojis.

Facebook dumps controversial emoji

FACEBOOK has been poked into displaying some sensitivity by a group of online campaigners who took issue with the “feeling fat” emoji on the social networking site.

A change.org petition received 16,767 signatures after calling for the removal of the emoji. Supporters of the petition managed to achieve their objective after just three weeks as Facebook acquiesced and removed the option from the status bar.

Catherine Weingarten is the author of the petition and is from a group called Endangered Bodies. She said that she felt “angry” after seeing one of her friends use the emoji to update their status.

“As someone who has struggled with and overcome disordered eating, I know what it’s like to “feel” fat. I have spent years of my life consumed with negative thoughts about my body, and far too many days starving myself in an effort to lose weight,” she wrote.

Standing up ... Catherine Weingarten from Endangered Bodies. Picture: Change.org

Facebook released an official statement about the removal of the emoji and a spokesman told Time Magazine the social network company understood the public’s concerns.

“We’ve heard from our community that listing ‘feeling fat’ as an option for status updates could reinforce negative body image, particularly for people struggling with eating disorders. So we’re going to remove [it] from the list of options,” they said.

The topic of body shaming has featured heavily in the news this week after a group of women threw a party for a man who was “fat shamed” on social media while dancing at a concert.

As social media becomes all encompassing, it is increasingly important that such platforms reflect the values of those using it.

This is not the first time public pressure has led to a company changing their use of emojis. Earlier in the year Apple introduced racially diverse emojis in an effort to be more inclusive.

As far as feeling fat goes, from now on, we’re all feeling a bit stuffed.