Bathroom Scales Slammed For Using Kate Moss ‘Pro-Anorexia’ Slogan
B&M Stores has been slammed for stocking bathroom scales with a ‘pro-anorexia’ slogan [Photo: Rex Features]
Cast your mind back to 2009. Supermodel du jour, Kate Moss, was giving an interview to fashion mag WDD when she famously cited “Nothing looks as good as skinny feels” as one of her life mottos. Cue a shedload of controversy heaped on the model for seemingly promoted a pro-anorexia phrase. Remember?
Well now discount retailer, B&M Stores, has been branded ‘disgusting’ and ‘irresponsible’ for stocking bathroom scales with the exact same slogan emblazoned across them.
The faux-pas was spotted by Rachel May Shelvin who posted a message to Facebook accusing the store of triggering anxieties associated with anorexia and calling for them to be removed.
Rachel May Shelvin added this picture of the scales to Facebook alongside a comment about the ‘irresponsible’ message the scales are giving [Photo: Facebook/ Rachel May Shelvin]
Referring to the phrase used on the £3.99 scales as ‘horrible’ and ‘triggering’ she wrote:
“How lovely to see the phrase I said to my teenage/young adult self that also led to me calling myself a ‘fat, disgusting waste of oxygen’ often before self harming just because I had dinner, sold in their shops ON FRICKIN SCALES so other impressionable young minds can suffer the same self hatred?”
Since posting Rachel’s message has been shared a whopping 2217 times and has received 5.4K likes. Many of the commentators on the post were equally as outraged by the slogan used on the scales.
“Horrified. As someone who refuses to allow scales in my house anymore, thanks to sentiments like the above ruining years of my life, this is probably the worst thing I could imagine,” one woman wrote.
“Wow I can’t believe they would put such a known pro-ana phrase on a set of scales! It’s like the most irresponsible thing ever,” added another.
“This is absolutely disgusting and needs to be removed!!!” said one angry commentator.
People have attacked the slogan as triggering anxieties that could lead to anorexia [Photo: Rex Features]
But the fuss drew a positive response from B&M Stores which said: “We have asked our supplier to withdraw this particular quotation from this range of novelty £3.99 weighing scales.”
This isn’t the first time a product containing the slogan has been accused of irresponsibility. In 2011 the Advertising Standards Authority banned kid’s T-shirts with the same slogan created by US label Teen Modelling. The ASA was said to have received complaints over the T-shirts from people arguing it could cause harm to children because it implied being underweight was desirable.
A spokesperson for eating disorders charity Beat told the Huffington Post that irresponsible marketing can contribute to eating disorders.
“Manufacturers and retailers should consider very carefully the messages they are conveying by producing and stocking such a product.”
“Young people struggling with an eating disorder are fighting a tough enough battle as it is without thoughtless retailing such as this which can make it even harder.”
What do you think about the scales? Let us know @YahooStyleUK
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