Why there is a petition to ban this emoji

Is fat a feeling? It is on Facebook, where the site offers a series of emoji ‘moods’ users can choose from when updating their statuses.

A Change.org petition, launched to coincide with National Eating Disorders Awareness Week takes issue with that and is calling on the social network to remove the option. The campaign has so far gained 12,000 supporters.

Catherine Weingarten launched the campaign after seeing a friend’s status set to feeling fat “accompanied by an emoji with chubby cheeks and a double chin”.

“I think it was supposed to be funny, but seeing this status made me feel angry,” she writes of her petition. “When Facebook users set their status to “feeling fat,” they are making fun of people who consider themselves to be overweight, which can include many people with eating disorders. That is not ok.”

Weingarten is now working on the campaign with body positive organisation Endangered Bodies.

A Facebook spokesperson said: "People use Facebook to share their feelings with friends and support each other. One option we give people to express themselves is to add a feeling to their posts. You can choose from over 100 feelings we offer based on people's input or create your own."

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