Macy’s has quit selling controversial dinnerware that detractors claim sends a “toxic message” and promotes eating disorders.
The Huffington Post tells us that:
Alie Ward, a science correspondent for the CBS series “Innovation Nation,” tweeted an image of the plates on Sunday with a caption asking how to get the dinnerware banned. Her photo showed a plate featuring smaller and smaller circles labeled, “mom jeans,” “favorite jeans,” and “skinny jeans.”
The plates, made by a brand called Pourtions that were being sold at Macy’s in-store concept shop, called Story, at the retailer’s flagship store in Manhattan’s Herald Square, aimed to provide “helpful — and hilarious — visual cues” that will “spice up your dinner table, and your conversation,” according to the Pourtions website.
How can I get these plates from @Macys banned in all 50 states pic.twitter.com/1spntAluVl
— Alie Ward (@alieward) July 21, 2019
Would you buy these plates? I wouldn’t. I think this gimmick is dumb. If I am going to eat, I am going to eat and I don’t want a stupid message on my plate about how fat my meal is going to make me. I wonder how many of these plates were sold?
“I wasn’t being literal at all in terms of a legal ‘ban,’” Ward wrote to HuffPost in an email. 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.”
People on Twitter joined with Ward, sharing their objections to the plates.
“These expectations can actually kill someone, and I know someone it has. [Macy’s], remove this from all of your stores and denounce the manufacturer,” wrote one user.
The plates were so offensive that noted feminist and body positive advocate Jameela Jamil weighed in.
Fuck these plates. Fuck these plates to hell @Macys https://t.co/BNOmGszf03
— Jameela Jamil ???? (@jameelajamil) July 22, 2019
Macy’s agreed to remove the plates from the store after public outrage.
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
Macy’s told HuffPo that it “quickly removed” the plates. “We apologize to our customers,” the store said.
You can still buy the plates on the Pourtions website.
Image screen shot.