Facebook pulled the “feeling fat” emoji from its list of status updates on Tuesday, after an online petition called for its removal.
“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 ‘feeling fat’ from the list of options,” a Facebook spokesperson told TIME in an emailed statement.
Grad student and playwright Catherine Weingarten, alongside the advocacy group Endangered Bodies, had launched a petition on Change.org calling for the status’s removal last month. “When people see [‘feeling fat’] on Facebook,” she explained to People last week, “I want them to realize that it’s not just a light, cute sort of thing for everyone.”
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