Novelty plates marked "mom jeans" "favorite jeans," and "skinny jeans" have been yanked off of Macy's store shelves after people criticized the company for being fat-shaming jerks. Ok, maybe Macy's wasn't called that exactly but critics did claim these controversial "portion-control" plates carry a body-shaming message for women.

People:

Alie Ward, a writer and podcast host, ignited the conversation after she tagged Macy’s in a tweet on Sunday. “How can I get these plates from @Macys banned in all 50 states,” she wrote beside a photo she took of the dishes in a display at the Macy’s flagship store in New York City...

Within hours, Macy’s had reached out to Ward on Twitter, letting her know that they would be pulling the product as soon as possible. “Hi, Alie — we appreciate you sharing this with us and agree that we missed the mark on this product,” Macy’s wrote. “It will be removed from all STORY at Macy’s locations.”

STORY at Macy’s is a brick-and-mortar retail initiative in which small businesses are given space in-store to sell their products that follow a certain theme. The plates, created by a company called Pourtions, were for sale in STORY at Macy’s. They were never available online on the Macy’s website.

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

The plates are still available at the Pourtions website. Read the rest

A newly-published overview of self-reported ayahuasca experiences indicates that the hallucinogen can help alleviate eating disorders and reduce alcohol consumption. Now, more scientists are pushing to make it easier to study the drug legally. Read the rest

Antonio A. Casilli at BodySpaceSociety, a "blog for recovering social scientists," has an interesting post on understanding "pro-ana"/"pro-mia" on social media sites like Pinterest and Tumblr. Snip:

On February 23rd, 2012 Tumblr announced its decision to turn the screw on self-harm blogs: suicide, mutilation and most prominently thinspiration – i.e. the ritualized exchange of images and quotes meant to inspire readers to be thin. This cultural practice is distinctive of the pro-ana (anorexia nervosa), pro-mia (bulimia) and pro-ED (eating disorders) groups online: blogs, forums, and communities created by people suffering from eating-related conditions, who display a proactive stance and critically abide by medical advice.

A righteous limitation of harmful contents or just another way to avoid liability by marginalizing a stigmatized subculture? Whatever your opinion, it might not come as a surprise that the disbanded pro-ana Tumblr bloggers are regrouping elsewhere. Of all places, they are surfacing on Pinterest, the up-and-coming photo-sharing site.

BANNING PRO-ANA WEBSITES? NOT A GOOD IDEA, AS WEB CENSORSHIP MIGHT HAVE A ‘TOOTHPASTE TUBE EFFECT’ (via danah boyd) Read the rest