A California mother is calling Huggies out after a diaper ad in her email Thursday appeared to set the same unrealistic body standards for babies as women.
Melody (who didn't share her last name) seemed sure the baby featured in the Huggies' Little Movers Slip-On Diapers ad had airbrushed thighs, Jennifer O'Neill wrote for Yahoo Parenting.
The picture looked manipulated," said Melody, mom of an 11-month-old daughter, to O'Neill. Really manipulated like what you see in fashion magazines to make models too thin and too perfect.
So, according to Valerie Siebert of Daily Mail, Melody posted the image on Reddit, asking, "Is it just me or did this Huggies ad photoshop thigh gap on a toddler?"
Several Reddit users agreed.
"Either those knees are incredibly high, the diaper is incredibly low or that poor child has been Photoshopped," one person posted on the thread.
Oliver Blair wrote for The Independent other Reddit users argued either the diaper might have been altered or some children are naturally thinner.
A spokesperson for Huggies denied the alteration, saying the company does not "airbrush the bodies of the babies in our advertising and photography," Blair reported.
At Huggies, we design our (diapers) and wipes with a hug in mind so that babies are happy and comfortable and parents can experience the joys of parenting without worrying about leaks and mess," the spokesperson told Blair. "All babies are different and we look to celebrate those differences in our photography and communications.
Regarding her frustration, Melody said she believes no airbrushing should exist on babies because they're "wonderful and super cute," Lindsay McCane wrote for Inquisitr.
Body image expert Robyn Silverman told Yahoo Parenting the discussion on the topic underscores important issues parents should consider whether Photoshopping happened or not.
Children are individually schooled in the merits of fat hatred and body perfection from the time they are too young to walk away and defend themselves, Yahoo Parenting quoted Silverman as saying. While babies do not make sense of these messages, studies tell us that by ages 3 to 5, young children are already aware of the fat is bad message.
According to Yahoo Parenting, Silverman suggested that to combat image issues, parents should teach children what amazing things their bodies can do.
The thigh gap, in particular, is a standard that makes people seek body perfection, Angie Campanelli wrote for the Huffington Post. She noted women almost exclusively face the pressure to attain the gap but that negativity about their bodies begins at a young age because of expectations in media.
"What bothers me is that my goddaughter, sister and other young women who are more likely to consume this type of messaging see such photos and can end up interpreting them as goals," Campanelli wrote. "If all of these girls seem to be doing it, then it certainly must be obtainable, no?"
Melody (who didn't share her last name) seemed sure the baby featured in the Huggies' Little Movers Slip-On Diapers ad had airbrushed thighs, Jennifer O'Neill wrote for Yahoo Parenting.
The picture looked manipulated," said Melody, mom of an 11-month-old daughter, to O'Neill. Really manipulated like what you see in fashion magazines to make models too thin and too perfect.
So, according to Valerie Siebert of Daily Mail, Melody posted the image on Reddit, asking, "Is it just me or did this Huggies ad photoshop thigh gap on a toddler?"
Several Reddit users agreed.
"Either those knees are incredibly high, the diaper is incredibly low or that poor child has been Photoshopped," one person posted on the thread.
Oliver Blair wrote for The Independent other Reddit users argued either the diaper might have been altered or some children are naturally thinner.
A spokesperson for Huggies denied the alteration, saying the company does not "airbrush the bodies of the babies in our advertising and photography," Blair reported.
At Huggies, we design our (diapers) and wipes with a hug in mind so that babies are happy and comfortable and parents can experience the joys of parenting without worrying about leaks and mess," the spokesperson told Blair. "All babies are different and we look to celebrate those differences in our photography and communications.
Regarding her frustration, Melody said she believes no airbrushing should exist on babies because they're "wonderful and super cute," Lindsay McCane wrote for Inquisitr.
Body image expert Robyn Silverman told Yahoo Parenting the discussion on the topic underscores important issues parents should consider whether Photoshopping happened or not.
Children are individually schooled in the merits of fat hatred and body perfection from the time they are too young to walk away and defend themselves, Yahoo Parenting quoted Silverman as saying. While babies do not make sense of these messages, studies tell us that by ages 3 to 5, young children are already aware of the fat is bad message.
According to Yahoo Parenting, Silverman suggested that to combat image issues, parents should teach children what amazing things their bodies can do.
The thigh gap, in particular, is a standard that makes people seek body perfection, Angie Campanelli wrote for the Huffington Post. She noted women almost exclusively face the pressure to attain the gap but that negativity about their bodies begins at a young age because of expectations in media.
"What bothers me is that my goddaughter, sister and other young women who are more likely to consume this type of messaging see such photos and can end up interpreting them as goals," Campanelli wrote. "If all of these girls seem to be doing it, then it certainly must be obtainable, no?"