If this billboard strikes you as vaguely familiar, it’s likely because you either saw something similar last month while in Times Square or read about the colossal internet controversy it’s generated since.
The original billboard (photographed by Sophie Vershbow) hosts a smiling model’s face—placed in one of one of the world’s most visited tourist attractions—holding two lollipops with the text “Got Cravings? Girl, Tell Them To #SUCKIT!” bookending her grin on a trendy, Millennial Pink background. This advertisement belongs to Flat Tummy Co., a business which, in addition to selling “tummy flattening” tea and smoothies, seems to delight in calling consumers “babes” as often as possible. In May, they launched and quickly began peddling their new “Appetite Suppressant Lollipops” or—if we were to stop mincing words—eating disorders for just $49 per month.
The pushback against these lollipops—and this billboard in particular—has been both widespread and thunderous. Pushbacks have ranged from a Change.org petition demanding its removal signed by close to 100,000 people to dozens of articles pointing out how encouraging customers to not eat adds to the already pervasive issue of eating disorders that affect approximately 70 million people worldwide
… those who rail against Flat Tummy Co. have every right to be appalled. This type of advertising campaign isn’t casually controversial; it’s deadly.
Here’s what companies like Flat Tummy Co. will never tell you, so I will: We are born with an inherent connection between our minds and our bodies—a glorious communication channel that is then systematically stripped away by our ubiquitous diet culture.
The solution to this monumental problem is NOT to suppress cravings or our appetite; this not only causes mental and physical harm, but also perpetuates the cycle of internal disconnection. Rather, the solution is to relearn how to trust ourselves and how to listen to what our bodies are telling us they need—to slowly rebuild the beautiful relationship with our bodies and brains. A relationship that was intentionally removed by companies who profit from a $66 billion dollar weight loss industry.
In light of everything mentioned above, I’d like to offer an antidote to this Baffling Billboard Bullshit.
If we are going to be posting advice-dispensing billboards that start with, “Got Cravings? Girl, …”, here’s what they could say:
The backlash against Flat Tummy Co. and their marketing choices isn’t new by any means. Before the arrival of the infamously damaging billboard, preexisting criticism intensified almost a month earlier when Kim Kardashian West endorsed the newly launched lollipops.
A not so fun fact: 95% of people with eating disorders are between 12 and 25. With some simple math, we can quickly deduce that, with every image she posts, Kim reaches more than 87 million people within that high-risk age bracket—87 million people who “coincidentally” are the most vulnerable demographic when it comes to disordered eating and body image issues.
It’s almost as if the CEO of the company that owns Flat Tummy Co., Jack Ross, stood in his office one day and thought, “Hmmm … I wonder how we can cause the MOST harm to a group of people who are already the most vulnerable? … Oh, I know, Lollipops. And let’s be sure to hire Kim Kardashian to tell her young followers that they’re ‘literally unreal’!”
I don’t actually know who developed the lollipop pitch; but regardless, I’ll be the first to acknowledge that this calculated collaboration was a powerful and brilliant business decision that hit consumers with alarming accuracy.
I also will remind you (repeatedly if necessary) that these types of sponsorships are potentially fatal to the millions of young people who inadvertently receive this dangerous messaging while scrolling through their feeds—messaging that easily could stay with them the rest of their lives.
In short and if we were to use their words?
Suck it, Flat Tummy.
When I invited the “girls” (or “babes,” take your pick!) to model in these “antidotal” replacement ads, I asked them one simple question before they arrived for the photo shoot: “What is your favorite food?” The question, shown clearly throughout the images, was answered very differently by each person, but I adored the enthusiasm that it was met with by all.
I was intentional in both asking this question and in leaving it open-ended—I wanted to offer the opportunity for each person to check in with herself without limitations. Being inquisitive about what we enjoy, want or need when it comes to food is not only culturally uncommon, but discouraged (see toxic lollipop campaign mentioned above).
Hunger, also known as cravings, is our body’s fundamental way of communicating that we need to eat— that we need food and nutrients to function. Food can serve other purposes as well, like addressing meaningful mental needs that we often disregard as frivolous. How I wish we would stop insisting on treating mental and physical health separately when they couldn’t be more connected!
Our cultural norm may encourage deprivation, restriction and dissociation, but it’s important that you know that there is a brilliant alternative—often referred to as Intuitive Eating.
This holistic substitute prioritizes the individual and encourages the practice of making peace with food, respecting our emotions and honoring our bodies’ unique needs. Relearning how to approach food after dedicating the majority of my life to following diets is (still!) hard as hell. But I’ve come to find that the road to recovering from diet culture is more than worth it.
Fortunately, there are more and more educational resources available every day to support intuitive eating, flexibility and body trust!
I highly recommended these 12 starting places if you happen to be looking for a more comprehensive and balanced way to approach health.
There is power in educating ourselves about how our bodies work and what they need, and then deciding how to best work towards understanding and respecting their requests. There is power in making decisions based on what is ideal for you, not what is best for someone else. There is power in looking at an eating disorder waiting to happen, packaged as a stylish piece of candy and saying “Hell. No.”
I am SO ready for this to become the new norm.
You are welcome to join in on the fun!
We would love to see a picture of you enjoying your favorite food (or whatever you’re currently craving!) with the hashtag #SuckItFlatTummy!
You are also welcome to stay current on other cool conversations alongside an awesome group of bad-asses that all hang out here.
P.S. Flat Tummy Co., if you ever decide you’d like to rectify your billboard mistake and host something healing instead of harmful… I’ve got plenty of images you’re welcome to use.
I love this. There’s another one where they go to a wine tasting and give people a glass from a $20 bottle and they hate it, then a glass from a $200 bottle and they love it. But then they reveal that both glasses are actually from the same $20 bottle.
Wealth and it’s trappings is a false construct meant to elevate those that
Have.
This is just like that Penn and Teller “Bullshit” thing where they went to a high-class restaurant and had a “water steward” present different brands of bottled water to people, claiming this water was from a mountain somewhere or that water was from a glacier, and then the people would talk about how different they all tasted. Except all the water came from the same source: The garden hose outside the restaurant.
Did i ever tell y’all the story of how one year my family picked up a hitchhiker in the middle of nowhere (like you do) and just..drove him to my grandma’s house for thanksgiving and he stayed with us for the whole weekend and my grandmere was So concerned that like…he wasn’t getting enough food she made a whole extra pie and pierogies just for him, ofc some to take on the way back. And he just ate with us like the 12+ ppl that consist of my family and dave who we picked up from the road. Now this man had. Nothing on him except his clothes and wallet like no backpack…nothing. so she also gave him some of my grandpa’s clothes and it was a little awkward but he was nice and funny and at the end of the weekend we offered to take him back or anywhere he needed to go (mind you we drove him like…7 hours away from where we picked him up) and he was just like…“nah just drop me off where you found me” and so we did and i never saw or heard from him again and thats how im pretty sure i met an immortal
@ fae side of tumblr please explain what kind of deity i interacted with
I’m pretty sure your family is the fae in this situation
They made it into a ringtone because it was old enough to be public domain, and Nokia (I think?) didn’t want to have to pay royalties.
… I like the full version.
are you SHITTING ME. This is one of those posts that makes you question your worldview a little bit, tbh
okay, not quite. not quite. but the truth is better.
the original tune is not this. the original tune is, however, public domain, so they’re not wrong. it’s francisco tárrega’s gran vals – check 0:12.
but THIS, what he’s playing, is the Valse Irritation d’après Nokia, also known as the ringtone waltz, written by Marc-André Hamelin, who is a terrific canadian pianist and who wrote this as a snap reaction to having people’s fucking cellphones go off at concerts.
So it’s Flu Season again, and this recipe for Tea To Fix What Ails You was given to me by a Christian friend, and I’ve taken to calling it JESUS TEA due to it’s miraculous properties. Even though it, technically, contains no tea. This tea is as caffinie-free as anything processed in a US plant can get, but be sure to check the provenance and all ingredients in case of allergies.
You will Need:
A Bigass Pot, becuase this is something you make in large quantities
working stovetop
those lil cloth sachets you use for wassail/empty teabags/those lil reuseable loose-leaf tea steepers.
Recipe:
about a quart of water
1 cup apple cider
about half a lemon’s worth of juice
a shitwhack of honey- try to get as local as possible and generally the less-processed the better if you want to build a resistance to local allergens. If you have allergy concerns or don’t like the taste of honey, go ahead and use more processed stuff/another sweetener instead.
three tablespoons/three bags chamomile tea
three tablespoons/three bags rooibos tea
teaspoon crushed cloves
1 cinnamon stick (more if you like it spicier)
¼ tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne or white pepper
Bring water to a simmer in the pot. Add the chamomile, rooibos and spices to steep about 4-5 minutes or longer if you like tea-flavored tar which given you have the flu you probably do. Add Cider, Lemon Juice and Honey until dissolved. Drink all of this in the course of an hour to stay hydrated, make more pots as needed or until you pass out.
FOR MAXIMUM EFFECTIVENESS: gargle warm salt water first for as long as you can, it’ll break up the mucus in your throat and soothe the soreness.
This stuff is hecking delicious, and my dad claims it cured his cold. I’ve taken to drinking it just because it tastes good! Thank you for sharing! 😀 I also found that you can freeze this stuff in convenient single serving sizes, ready to be heated in the microwave when you don’t have enough spoons to make it fresh. Granted fresh is usually best for most food and drinks, but it’s still good.
I also calculated a single serving version, which I’m putting here in case anyone wants to make it that way:
1 cup hot water
¼ cup apple cider (or more, I prefer 1/3 cup)
1 tbsp honey (or more, to taste)
a dash of lemon juice
½ tsp spice mixture
1 ½ tbsp tea mixture
Mix the spices together in one container, and mix the two kinds of tea together in another. Measure out of these the above amounts. (Don’t try to store the two things together, the spices will sink to the bottom and you won’t get the right measurements.)
Use a tea infuser/tea bag/cheesecloth/whatever to keep the herb bits from floating off into your drink. Steep for the usual 4-5 minutes, then add the cider, honey, and lemon.
Side note: ground cloves is cheaper for me so I use ½ tsp of
that instead of 1 of whole. I also like cinnamon a lot so I use ¼ tsp
ground cinnamon instead of a stick (also sticks are really expensive here). If you use a stick, break it into
little pieces. The downside of ground cinnamon is that it
kind of congeals if you don’t stir it periodically, so keep a spoon
handy as you drink.
Since people have been asking for this (I guess the flu/common cold is going around agian), have it again, NOW WITH SINGLE SERVING SIZE, THANK YOU @snowfox102 for doing the math for me!
Is it possible to substitute the chamomile for something else?
Pretty much any herbal tea but mint will work? Rose hip’s good, or you can just double the rooibos. You can even put in black or green tea. I don’t becuase those both have caffiene and I want to be awake as little as possible when I’m sick.
What the absolute fuck is a shitwack of honey?
Once tea tarts cooling down* start adding honey. Keep adding honey. Your significant other or parents will notice and ask “Isn’t that enough honey?” “No.” You rasp, throat raw. “I need the magic bug juice too heal me.” “I think we should check your fever again.” they say. “When I’m fucking done.” You rasp, sounding like gollum with a four-packs-a-day habit. Eventually, there will be enough.
that, is a “Shitwhack”
*boiling honey gets rid of 90% of it’s goodness, so let the tea cool down to drinking temp before adding honey.
Just here to remind you to get your flu shot. And tea is not a substitution for antivirals if you do get the flu.
You are completely right! Jesus Tea will only help soothe your suffering, not prevent infection. Also Influenza is hella dangerous and DOES kill people, so get vaccinated for your safety and the safety of your immunocompromised friends!
The menthol in mint tastes REALLY weird with the other ingredients, that’s all. Like drinking OJ after brushing your teeth.
Some other repeat questions:
-If you don’t hvae acess to Cider, regular Apple Juice works just fine, just check the nutritional information to make sure it’s the 100% DV vitamin C stuff, we want you you feel better ASAP. If you like OJ, that can work too.
-Honey is in here specifically for it’s antibacterial and allergy-reliveing properties, and fruit-based honey substitutes will NOT give you the same benefits.
-If you can’t do honey for whatever reason, sub in your favorite non-sugar sweetener because Sugar/fructose/sucrose/agave will mess with the ability fo your throat cells to retain/release water and make your throat feel WAAAAAAY worse. Aspartame, Saccharin and Stevia won’t aggravate you throat much.
-If you can’t have chamomile, pretty much any Herbal Tea or Tisane will work, as will green tea. The exception is anything that contains St. John’s Wort, which interacts dangerously with pseudoephedrine andacetaminophen, whic are in basically every cold medication available without a perscription in the US.
-If you don’t want roobois, any dark and spicy kind of tea will work- rose hip, most black teas, etc.
-I tend to reccomend against anythign that has caffine becuase being concious with the flu is awful and you need to sleep as much as possible.
-If you don’t like any of the spices, feel free to sub them for something else! The point of those is to add a bit of heat/pepperiness to the tea to help unclog sinuses. If you’re a heat fiend like some of my friends, you can put sriracha in there if you want.
-THE SALT RINSE BEFOREHAND IS KEY. gargling with lukewarm saltwater or using a saline rinse will flush out congestion and help the Jesus Tea work it’s magic more effectively.
To Reiterate: Jesus Tea will only make you feel slightly less miserable and it not a substitute for medical care. Get vaccinated early and often, and if you develop a high fever or other medically worrisome symptoms, get to a healthcare professional ASAP.
I’m rebloging this solely for the measurements. A shitwhack of honey
It’s that time of Year again! Reblogging this long version with additonal NoteS:
Where I come from in the US, “Apple Cider” referes to the cloudy brown JUICE you can get in the fall, and is most reccomended because it tends to have the most Vitamin C and Trace minerals. Don’t drink alcohol while you are sick- your liver is already working overtime and alcohol can interact dangerously with cold meds.
GET VACCINATED ASAP!!! PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FRIENDS!!!
If you are sick for more than 7 days or develop a fever over 100 degrees, please see a doctor immediately. Influenza is still a very dangerous virus.
Apple has always talked a good game where recycling and
environmentalism are concerned. They’re quick to point out that they
recycle what they can and are always on the hunt for new, sustainable
manufacturing practices to adopt. They’ve got robots named Liam that
take old stuff apart to make new stuff! While the company’s PR machine
is spinning that it’s Apple’s dream to one day make all of their
products out of completely recycled materials, they’re presently
shitting the bed on the most basic of sustainability practices.
Apple rejects current industry best practices by forcing
the recyclers it works with to shred iPhones and MacBooks so they cannot
be repaired or reused—instead, they are turned into tiny shards of
metal and glass.
“Materials are manually and mechanically disassembled and shredded
into commodity-sized fractions of metals, plastics, and glass,” John
Yeider, Apple’s recycling program manager, wrote under a heading called
“Takeback Program Report” in a 2013 report to Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality. “All hard drives are shredded in confetti-sized
pieces. The pieces are then sorted into commodities grade materials.
After sorting, the materials are sold and used for production stock in
new products. No reuse. No parts harvesting. No resale.”
…A document submitted to North Carolina’s Department of Environment
Quality in September 2016 shows that Apple’s must-shred policy hasn’t
changed in recent years, even as it continues to position itself as a
green company: “All of the equipment collected for recycling is manual
and mechanically disassembled and shredded. The resulting fractions are
sorted into plastics, metals, and glass and sold as stock feed in the
manufacturing process.
So, that iPhone 5 you decided to take into your local recycling
depot? There’s a good chance that the depot isn’t allowed to take it
apart and use it to repair other phones. It can’t be sold or given to
someone who would be able to make good use of it, despite its no longer
reviewing software updates. Apple demands that the handset be destroyed.
The same goes for any iPads, Mac computers or iPods handed over to
third-party recycling companies that have signed on to work with Apple.
Basically, Apple doesn’t want its old stuff, even if it’s still usable,
floating around out there. Their end game is and will always be to try
and make us buy their latest toys. They’re not the only ones that want
that, of course: technology-oriented businesses rise and fall on being
able to convince consumers that owning their latest product, even if you
just bought last year’s model a few months ago, is totally worth the
price.
This feature
over at Motherboard took years to research and details how Apple forces
the recycling companies that they work with to play the game by their
rules, while paying lip service to the environment.
If you really care about sustainability, and this is coming from a
guy that reviews tech for a living, think, hard, before you invest in a
new product. Do you really need to upgrade your smartphone every year?
If you replace the battery in your computer instead of buying a new
laptop, will it continue to serve you well? Instead of recycling your
hardware, would giving it to someone who can’t afford the luxury of new
gear be a possibility? There’s nothing wrong with buying new stuff. It
feels good, I get it. But there’s pleasure to be found in making what
you already own work too.
Thank you for taking the time to go through my blog and do this. It’s something I keep trying to do and then get overwhelmed by and give up in frustration and tears because I inevitably read the comments and just want to jettison my blog into the sun.
Thank you for this.
Also lol, you can very clearly document through these posts when I started recovering from the jaw bone infection and got off the pain killers. They become much more consistent, expansive and a whole lot angrier hahaha
