Real Talk with The Skimm
As a brand new mom it seemed impossible to find time to shower during the day let alone do anything "productive". I had no idea what was going on in the world because what was happening inside the four walls of our house was all consuming.
At a certain point in time, I realized that I wanted to consume some sort of worldly knowledge in addition to being able to recite every baby board book by heart. Enter, The Skimm. A daily email that covers daily news in a short, sweet, digestible format. Thank you, news nerds, I can now hold a conversation about crypto and inflation in addition to being able to sing "Let It Go" or is it "How Far I'll Go"?
As my go to news source for nearly a decade, I was thrilled to see that they've been highlighting topics like fatphobia which they state as a "public health problem". They even created a guide that covers topics like fat stigma, body positivity, think privilege, BMI and diet culture. Cue the confetti! It's about time larger news outlets are reporting on these crucial topics.
While they get an A+ on their body positive reporting, they get a big F for their marketing which is in direct support of diet culture. On any given day, the top banner (fancy label for the top of the newsletter) of The Skimm is an ad sponsored by Noom or Sakara Life. BOTH companies DIRECTLY market diets, weight loss and "lifestyle change".
Because it's hard for me to sit back and watch this complete contradiction of interests, I put my fingers to the keyboard.
"Dear Skimm,
I’ve been an avid, daily reader for years, probably even close to a decade!
As a weight neutral health coach, I'm thrilled to see you cover such incredibly important topics like body positivity, body acceptance and fatphobia. Our diet culture obsessed country has been sold a bill of lies around body size and health for far too long.
While I applaud your efforts in bringing these topics to light, I'm more distressed that you continue to support diet companies like Noom and Sakara. As a businesswoman, I understand you run a business that has a bottom line and that you’re catering to a crowd that, by and large, believes that dieting is not only possible but a duty.
I’m writing to encourage you to explore the overall expense of your messaging. Dieting is the leading cause of disordered eating and causes serious physical and mental distress in all but a tiny fraction of so called “successful” dieters which is 2-3% of all dieters. Even those able to keep weight off for more than 3-5 years show signs of those with an eating disorder. Is there a way for you to align your marketing and messaging? Is the different money in your pocket or the physical and mental health of your readers more important? These are hard and important questions to grapple with. The truth can be difficult, but is always liberating.
I implore you to consider finding support from businesses who share my views and concerns.
I look forward to hearing from you and continuing this conversation."
Here was the reply:
Thank you for your feedback and we appreciate your concern on this matter. We've gone ahead and have also shared your concerns with the team directly for further consideration.
As always, theSkimm reviews all brand partners before recommending them to Skimm'rs, taking a variety of factors into account. While we admit that there is work to be done, we thank you in the meantime for your feedback to ensure that Skimm'rs are a part of this process as well.
Not quite the reply I'd hoped for, but at least my feedback landed with some recognition that there's A LOT of work to be done. Weight loss sells and diets sell to the tune of 70 billion dollars a year and this money has power and talks. Let's keep doing the work, you and I, to stay out of diet culture's grasp, call it out when we can and stop contributing to a system that supports self oppression. The best place to start is in your own four walls.
