Please Let Ariel Winter Wear Shorts In Peace

Summer's rising temperatures may serve as an excellent excuse to eat ice cream for lunch, but the oppressive heat makes getting dressed basically impossible. Heck, the humidity alone is enough to make anyone feel the urge to strip naked and strap an air conditioner unit to their body. While I fully plan to refresh Kickstarter until someone develops wearable A.C., the most logical reaction is to just put on a damn pair of shorts.

However, the simple act of wearing shorts has made Ariel Winter the target of many breathless Daily Mail headlines and harsh online criticism. In response, the 19-year-old actress is using her strong social media presence as a platform to tackle her critics head on.

Growing up in Modern Family's giant spotlight forced Winter to develop a thick skin, she told Refinery29 earlier this year as part of our Take Back The Beach campaign. “I went through a lot of hate online, so I tried to change myself for a really long time. But people just kept hating on me no matter what I did,” she said. "I decided that instead of pleasing these other people, I’ll just spend that time pleasing myself. Those people are going to be rude to me regardless of what I do, so I should just try and be happy with what I am.”

While it's inspirational to see Winter mature into such a strong advocate for body confidence, it's absurd that she still has to battle trolls. Over the years, she's had to deftly shut down commenters who accused her of photoshopping her pictures and critiqued her Modern Family premiere dress. Just twelve hours after she posted her "rant" on Twitter, the Daily Mail published an article labeling another outfit of hers as "provocative." No matter the occasion or temperature, these endless waves of negative commentary aren't just unwarranted, they're unnecessary.

Even if it wasn't a million degrees out, the only thing newsworthy about Winter's summer style is how cute she looks in this romper.

Ariel put it best: "Please leave young women alone. We’re just living our lives. "