Body positive blogger takes on trolls who say bf is too good for her
The body positivity movement has come on leaps and bounds over the past few years.
In an effort to shut down unrealistic beauty expectations, more and more bloggers are ditching the filters and face-tuning apps and are instead choosing to embrace their true selves, flaws and all.
It's a breath of fresh air in a world of airbrushed models and #spon posts, and it's creating a healthier and more accepting environment for young women online.
However, putting yourself out there can come with a huge amount of backlash.
Few bloggers can make it a week without receiving any negative of hurtful comments, and unfortunately this kind of reaction is far more common when someone doesn't live up to society's definition of the 'perfect' woman.
Something plus-sized activist, Melissa Gibson, knows all too well.
Melissa, a body positive blogger from Louisville, Kentucky regularly shares empowering photos with her 200,000+ Instagram followers, with the aim of encouraging young women to love their bodies.
Most of her posts are met with a hugely positive reaction, with many followers thanking her for teaching them that it's OK to love the body you're in.
However, after posting a photo of her and her boyfriend Jonathan celebrating New Year's Eve together, Melissa was inundated with a host of hurtful and judgemental comments.
Some claimed that Melissa's weight somehow made her unworthy of her relationship, while others implied that Jonathan must have some kind of fetish for wanting to be with a plus-sized woman.
Speaking to Café Mom, the blogger said: “I think people feel entitled because there is a sense that attraction is tied only to bodies that fit within a certain mould, one that my body does not fit into, but my partner's does.”
“What they are doing is not only defining a person's worth by their body, but also then buying into ideas about who deserves to be loved and by whom.”
Two days after the backlash, Melissa posted another photo taken on the same night followed by a clear message for anyone who thought they had the right to make assumptions about her and Jonathan's relationship.
“If the world won’t just let us be, we will keep fighting for our love, for our space, for our right to be seen, accepted without question, and celebrated,” she wrote.
“In all honesty it’s silly to think it bothers people so much, but when privileged people base their value on attraction and relationships, it results in the plethora of relationships that look like mine being erased and delegitimized.”
“So while you insist on yelling your insecurities and bigotry at me, realise I’m not playing the game you play any longer.”
“2018 is the year for Love that is not defined by weight, age, ability, genitals, gender, sexuality. Not defined by race or ethnicity or religion.”
We couldn't agree more!
