There's a bit of a kerfuffle going on over a baby's snapsuit design -- you're shocked, right? Well, it all started when clothing company Wry Baby created a t-shirt design that reads "I hate my thighs."
They meant it as an ironic joke -- get it? Because babies are supposed to have chubby thighs. But we adult women tend to feel deep, piercing shame if our thighs are the least bit zaftig. So, haha! Babies ... can be fat ... and we can't ... hilarious.
Ms. Magazine and its readers were not so tickled about the ironic fat-shaming baby tee. As blogger Michele Kort put it, "there’s something icky about projecting fat awareness on babies."
Wry Baby took the criticism in stride and decided to leave the question up to its customers via their Ms. Magazine Snapsuit Challenge. They've pitted "thighs" against another design reading, "Love me for my leg rolls." All proceeds from either design will go to the Ms. Foundation for Women.
Well played, Wry Baby!
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If I were voting, I think I'd go for the leg rolls love design. I agree with the ickiness of projecting adult hangups on babies. Doing that alone is bad enough -- I mean, would you put a t-shirt reading "Darn this bulimia, I just can't keep anything down!" on your baby? Okay, hating your thighs isn't as serious as that. But it's on that spectrum.
I know your baby can't read. But if you're laying on your self-loathing and body image issues on her while she's a baby you'll probably do it when she's older, too. And she gets enough of those messages from the world as it is.
Our kids are sponges who pick up on more than we think. Just like you're (hopefully) taming your potty mouth and cleaning up your language before she starts repeating those words, now is a good time to clean up your attitudes about body image. Let your baby grow up with a mom who doesn't fat shame, and she'll be a lot less likely to develop an eating disorder later on.
As long as you have the option, why not go with the more positive message?
What do you think --which snapsuit do you prefer?
Image via Wry Baby