So I know in the grand scheme of things this is a fairly insignificant issue to be pissed off about, but when did we start referring to coffee as “skinny”?
Every Friday when I treat myself to a cup of sugar and caffeine at Starbucks I have an exchange with the barista that goes like this:
Me: One green tea latte with skim milk please.
Her: One skinny latte?
Me: One latte with skim milk.
Her: Right. One skinny latte?
Now I get this isn’t her fault, it’s just one of the many nonsensical terms Starbucks has released into our lexicon that she’s required to use. But seriously, my latte is not skinny. Nor is it fat, curvy or scrawny. Skinny, as an adjective, in fact refers to the width of something. My drink is the same size as the non-skinny drinks. Hmmm, interesting.
I suspect that the “skinny” is supposed to refer to me, the buyer. That by requesting skim milk I’m choosing to be skinny. Go team skinny! Whoo ho! The truth is, I don’t really like the taste of milk and I just like skim because it’s less creamy, it’s not part of my South Beach Diet. Can’t I just get my drink with out a shot of fat-phobia?
PS- Hey, anyone know what happened to Stolen Pony? Her blog’s gone! I hope she’s ok.
June 23, 2008 at 1:52 pm
It’s funny you should write about this because I read an article recently (whose whereabouts I can no longer locate… My bad) about how Starbucks is releasing a “Skinny Line” of drinks. And customers are saying it’s just going to be a giant headache, not because it’s fat-phobic or fucked up that we’re putting descriptors like skinny on to non-fat milk, but because it’ll be confusing. Confusing because most of the drinks at Starbucks can already be ordered as skinny.
So the baristas will be confused as to whether it’s a “normal” drink with a skinny request or a “Skinny” menu item.
All that to say that Starbucks is embracing the skinny more so now than ever.
*barf*
June 23, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I don’t drink coffee…but my guess is this is a result of the whole “global obesity epidemic”…making things like coffee “skinny” as a way to shame us fatties.
Just a guess.
July 16, 2008 at 6:37 am
Frls. I, too, am coming into contact with this.
People think, that because I am dieting, I want to be called ’skinny’ and that I should have a positive reaction when I hear that word.
The fact remains that skinny in this society is equivalent to being malnourished, and I want no part in that parade.
July 24, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Try ordering “a medium coffee.”
Huh? What? A tall or grande?
Medium. Just your medium size. The one between small and large.
Sigh. I didn’t have a defining moment when I quit going; I just found other coffees that taste better and now I’m strictly a fair trade girl. This skinny nonsense is just more reason to boycott.