Between post-baby body struggles and the pressure most women already face to have the “ideal” body, moms definitely don’t need another reminder of all the ways the world judges them. But on a recent trip to Macy’s, that’s exactly what one woman found. Alie Ward, a science correspondent for the CBS series “Innovation Nation,” stumbled upon a whole set of fat-shaming dinner plates and wine glasses that warn women to eat less so they don’t end up in “mom jeans.”
“How can I get these plates from Macy’s banned in all 50 states,” Ward joked on Twitter. Her post included a photo of a plate set with various portion sizes marked off by smaller and smaller circles labeled “mom jeans,” “favorite jeans” and “skinny jeans.”
The dishes were manufactured by a brand called Pourtions and were being sold at an in-store concept shop called Story at the flagship Macy’s store in Manhattan. The Pourtions website explains that “to keep you from overindulging, our tableware collection provides helpful — and hilarious — visual cues; simple guide rails. It’ll spice up your dinner table, and your conversation.”
In addition to plates, they also sell wine glasses labeled to warn that one serving goes “on the lips,” but if you go for a second serving, it’ll be “on the hips.”
Other selections from the brand include a plate with portion sizes marked off as “feed me” or “feed bag,” as if to say you’re some sort of large farm animal if you eat more than the smallest portion size.
After Ward wrote about the plates on Twitter, her post was retweeted more than 5,000 times and got dozens of replies from people frustrated by the shamey messaging. “… Imagine thinking a circle labelled ‘skinny jeans’ big enough to hold like two chicken nuggets is demonstrating ‘healthy portion control,’” one person wrote. “The only thing it’s teaching is body shaming, and nothing to do with health.”
While some might see the dishes as a joke, there’s no denying that they promote potentially damaging messages about food and body image, and these messages are primarily intended for women and moms. After all, men aren’t accused of wearing “mom jeans,” and we’re usually too busy praising dads for their glorious “dad bods” to have time to criticize their portion sizes or tell them that one extra beer is going “on the hips.”
Meanwhile, moms are constantly being told how their bodies should look and what they should be eating. Every time a celebrity has a baby, the paparazzi swarms to give us updates on their “post-baby” body reveals. Kylie Jenner famously encouraged women to use body shapers and waist training to lose weight post baby. Last year, a company was slammed for selling female-targeted meal-planning journals with fat-shaming messages, like “I want to skinny dip, not chunky dunk.” And weight loss corporations like Weight Watchers promote food guilt and diet culture with ads that feature Oprah screaming about how bad she feels for liking bread.
These plates, like so many other things, send the message that there is only one acceptable body size for a woman: thin. And if you aren’t strictly limiting your food intake, well, then you must be some kind of barnyard animal or (gasp!) the kind of person who wears mom jeans. That’s an especially dangerous message for women who are coping with eating disorders or who are in a vulnerable place with body image.
The last thing a recovering new mom needs is a plate that encourages her to strictly limit her food intake and pushes the idea that “mom jeans” are synonymous with being unhealthy and unattractive.
Some people were upset that Ward tweeted about the plates, and they accused her of censorship and not being able to take a joke. Ultimately, Macy’s did issue a formal apology and said they would be removing the plates from their stores.
But Ward told HuffPost that she was never after a literal ban. “I just wanted to show the world how insidious beauty culture, and in this case one that shames women, can be,” she said.
One person on Twitter took Ward’s goal a step further and edited the original image of the plates to say “you’re great,” “still great,” and “enjoy your meal.”
That’s a message we can all get behind.
Read next: Your postpartum belly: When will it change back and how to learn to love the parts that don’t?
