Remember about a year ago when Playboy model Dani Mathers posted body-shaming photos to Snapchat? We were shocked that this kind of bullying still happens among grown women, and not just notoriously-mean middle schoolers (seriously, middle school is the worst, right?)
That moment taught us that we still have a long way to go to change the way we talk about bodies. And it's happened again.
Diana Andrews, an Instagram-famous body builder from the U.K., recently posted a body-shaming photo of a woman at the gym to her Instagram Stories. The photo shows a woman running on the treadmill in front of Andrews, with bright purple text labeling "love handles" written below her hips.
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In the next slide of the story Andrews said, "I bet she's ordering [burger emojis] for delivery."
These images were sent to Andrews's more than 17,000 followers, many of whom were outraged that she'd fat-shame another woman.
"This is a disgraceful act of body shaming that has been posted on social media for thousands to see," Stacey Venables wrote on Facebook with screenshots of Andrews's photos. "Someone that is a public figure and should be encouraging the health and well being of other women is actively pulling someone down FOR BEING AT THE GYM!!!! how ridiculous!!!!"
Andrews has since apologised for the photos on both Snapchat and Facebook, Revelist reports.
Although her initial apology seemed sincere, she later attempted to clarify her actions and may have made it worse.
"I want to explain myself for what I have done Tuesday evening after my training session," she wrote. "The whole point of that video was that she was using her phone on the treadmill. The whole story was turned upside down by taking a screenshot and adding comments that I'm body shaming this woman. I would never do this it's not who I am."
The whole point of her Instagram Stories post was clearly not that the woman was using her phone. There was no mention whatsoever about the phone other than to say that she was probably ordering food. Andrews took the time (using her phone, we might add) to write out the words "love handles" and position them on this woman's body. Her intent was to body-shame, whether she says it was or not.
It's just another reminder that bodies, and women's bodies especially, are scrutinised wherever we go. And that that needs to stop.
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