(Picture: Fox & Moon/metro.co.uk)

Today in the dark and scary world of trying to feel good about your body, meet Fox & Moon, an online shop selling food diaries and diet planners.

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They’ve chosen to cover a number of their planners in language that criticises body fat, as well as phrases commonly used in pro-anorexia communities.

We’re placing a trigger warning here, as those struggling with eating disorders may find the following language upsetting.

Fox & Moon sells planners that feature phrases such as ‘nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’, ‘stop rewarding yourself with food, you are not a dog’, and ‘I want to skinny dip not chunky dunk.’


These phrases are printed on ‘diet-friendly’ planners that allow people to track their meals and food intake – so that those who wish to keep note of what they’re eating will be greeted with messages that tell them eating is bad and their bodies will only be ‘hot’ after weight loss every time they open their notebook.



Pleasant.

Our attention was first drawn to these planners by blogger Lottie L’amour, who saw one of the ‘Do it for the holy shit you got hot’ slogan planners on a follower’s Instagrams.

TW: Diets and food planning It's literally the worst thing being fat isn't it. ??? pic.twitter.com/NEhFH0InPP — Charlotte Moor ? (@Lottie_Lamour) May 11, 2017

Lottie wants Fox & Moon to realise that the messages they’re using on their planners and on their Instagram – where the brand posts memes about being a ‘fat sh*t’ and ‘rolling around on my belly’ – could be incredibly dangerous for those with eating disorders to see.

‘For people struggling with eating disorders, phrases like this can be really damaging,’ Lottie told metro.co.uk.

‘I don’t think they realise that words like this can trigger damaging eating habits that can lead to serious health problems and death in some cases.

(Picture: Fox & Moon)

‘They are running the risk of seriously damaging the health of those with eating disorders by using this kind of shaming language.’

Holly Royce, an eating disorder survivor, knows first-hand how dangerous this kind of language can be.

‘As someone who has recovered from an eating disorder, I know first hand exactly how damaging demonising food can be,’ Holly told metro.co.uk.

‘People recovering from eating disorders are facing a constant battle in trying to reeducate themselves around food and nourishment, while navigating the ongoing barrage of media and social pressures.

‘This kind of branding and messaging has the potential to trigger eating disorders, old and new and is frankly, just plain irresponsible.’

Even outside of the world of eating disorders, this kind of language shouldn’t be acceptable.

Diet planners are a contentious topic to begin with, with many people believing the close-tracking of food intake can lead to an unhealthy relationship with healthy eating.

Some people, however, find planners helpful. Which is fine – but there is no reason for these planners to be sold with language that portray body fat as ‘evil’ or inherently unattractive.

‘By using this kind of language, they are making it okay to shame and bully people with larger bodies,’ explains Lottie.

‘If weight loss is a goal for people, they can acheive this without being self deprecating and hating their current body.



‘Fox and Moon are currently making profit from bullying women into thinking that they need to be thin to succeed, be beautiful and be desirable.

‘If they have to continue selling them, removing phrases that shame and degrade larger bodies and replacing them with simply just “Diet Planner” will work.

‘They don’t have to choose this language as a marketing concept – there are so many other ways to make these desirable without potentially damaging someone’s eating disorder recovery, or shaming someone into losing weight.

‘Encouraging healthy eating and exercise can be done without putting down larger bodies.

‘They could talk about strength, about exercise or use body positive slogans such as those used in the “This Girl Can” campaign.

‘It’s fine to support your sisters in what they want to do, but not at the cost of someone else.’

Fox & Moon has responded to Lottie’s criticism by writing on their Instagram stories that they’re ‘sorry if any covers offend’, and DM-ing Lottie to tell her she should be ‘ashamed […] for being so mean’.

(Picture: Lottie L’Amour)

Lottie has also been messaged by a number of Fox & Moon’s fans who have called her a ‘bully’.

It’s worth noting that some of the covers shown on the brand’s have been made through Fox & Moon’s personalisation section, so have been asked for by followers.

But we reckon it’s Fox & Moon’s responsibility to choose not to allow customers to buy planners with pro-anorexia messaging.

We’d also point out that a number of the body-shaming messages, including the ‘chunky dunk’ and ‘stop rewarding yourself with food’ planners are in the regular, non-personalised section of the site, and the brand’s Instagram frequently posts memes using body-shaming language.


We’ve reached out to Fox & Moon to get their response to the criticism, and will update this article with their comment if we hear back.

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