COMMENT: Why every one of us is THAT girl with those ‘love handles’
When bodybuilder Diana Andrews made the decision to publicly bodyshame a woman she spotted exercising, she obviously presumed her social media followers were as devoid of empathy as she clearly is.
Thankfully, they weren't.
After secretly snapping a photo of the woman, feeling the need to point out her 'love handles', and suggesting she was using her phone to order a takeaway, Diana shared her thought process with her 17,000 followers.
And is now living to regret it.
Diana made the mistake of assuming that the people who follow her rate physical appearance above kindness, fitness above determination, and agility above resolution.
Put simply, Diana failed to realise that, in many ways, her 17,000 followers are variations of that woman.
The 'love handles' Diana gleefully made reference to in her now deleted post acted as a symbol for the personal hang-ups her followers likely carry on a daily basis, and go a long way towards explaining the backlash she has received in the aftermath of her ill-informed decision.
#DianaAndrews is only sorry because she got caught. She is ugly on the inside and outside. She should be banned from gyms.
— Miuziu (@miuziu) March 14, 2017
#DianaAndrews u should be ASHAMED of yourself. U must be hella insecure to be so cruel. Build others up, not tear them down.
— Stephanie Steele (@StephSteele8) March 11, 2017
#DianaAndrews #Bodyshaming Going to the gym, trying to get in shape: hard…Trying change to be a decent human being: harder.
— Marc D (@CoolHabanero) March 14, 2017
It's a pity Diana's inflated sense of self didn't allow her to recognise the esteem with which her followers held her.
They trust her guidance, they look to her for inspiration, they take heed of her tips, and they follow her because they want to better themselves.
By shaming that unassuming woman, she indirectly shamed her followers. They swiftly learned that, in the eyes of this bodybuilder, their imperfections, their flaws and their limitations were worthy of scorn.
She may have apologised, suggested that her remarks were misunderstood (really?) and attempted to claw her way back into social media's affections, but she'll be a long time convincing anyone that the purpose of her post was anything but an attempt to denigrate a young woman.
She may have fooled herself, but she hasn't fooled anyone else, because in so many ways, we're all that woman with the 'love handles' and we've all encountered our own Diana Andrews.
