PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A new billboard along I95 North near Fairmount Avenue is drawing attention for its message promoting body liberation, created by Philadelphia author Emma Copley Eisenberg.
The billboard, which features the phrase "your gut is a terrible thing to lose," is intended as a counterpoint to what Eisenberg describes as a constant stream of weight-loss messaging online. "What is the opposite of Instagram? And being served weight loss? " It would have to be offline and something that doesn't move," she said.
Eisenberg said she designed the billboard to spark curiosity and reflection. "I wanted it to be a mysterious message, something that makes you think," she said. "I put, you know, your gut is a terrible thing, to lose, because it's kind of a play on your mind is a terrible thing to waste, and the idea that the mind is where wisdom is generated, but I think as we learn more and more about the body, we learn that the body contains a lot of wisdom."
The billboard directs viewers to fatswim.com, a website offering resources for people struggling with body acceptance. The site shares its name with Eisenberg's new book, Fatswim, a collection of interconnected short stories set in Philadelphia.
Eisenberg said her broader goal is to push back against what she calls "body shrinking culture" by taking up space - including with a message large enough to be seen from the highway.