Mom calls out body shamer who told her: 'I think your clothes are a little too small on you'
One mom is calling for more civility, after a quick trip to the supermarket with her infant son that exposed her to gratuitous humiliation at the hands of a fellow shopper.
When Ohio native Charli Stevens was out shopping, a stranger chased her down to criticize her clothes.
“She looked at me and said, ‘I think your clothes are a little too small on you,’” Stevens told TODAY Parents. “I was completely shocked, and so caught off guard that the only thing I could say was, ‘Excuse me?’”
In response, the stranger repeated herself and added that Stevens was “too big to be wearing those kind of clothes.” Surprised by the unfamiliar situation, Stevens began to cry.
“I’m not trying to be mean, but maybe you should reconsider your outfit before you leave your house,” the stranger said, before walking away.
Stevens, who recently lost 50 pounds, placed the items in her cart back on the shelf and headed to her car. After returning home, Stevens fully processed what had just happened and took to social media to confront not only her attacker, but body shamers everywhere.
She posted a photo of herself on Facebook wearing the offending outfit — with a proud smile on her face.
“How are people so rude? It’s no secret that I’ve gained weight throughout life. I’ve birthed two kids so it’s bound to happen. Do I realize I’m overweight? Yes. Do I want to be smaller? Yes. But am I OK with the way I look? Yes! Why would a complete stranger go out of their way to insult someone?… this lady knew nothing about me,” she wrote. “I had my five-month-old son in the cart and I am so thankful my four-year-old wasn’t with me to witness what happened.”
Her friends and family chimed in on Stevens’s Facebook post, joined by anonymous supporters. “When someone judges you. It says nothing about you. But it says everything about them!” commented one follower.
“You are beautiful. People who try to bring down others only do so because they hate their life and regret things they’ve done or didn’t do. When people are rude and hateful, usually it’s just a mirror of themselves. Don’t let anyone bring you down,” added another.
The mom added that the post was not a plea for sympathy but rather something she felt she had to do as the mother of a 4-year-old girl.
“Please, have some respect for people. You never know what someone is going through or if your one little comment, snicker, stare, whatever, will be enough to break someone down or push them over the edge. I’m not writing this for sympathy but just as a plea to anyone who might read this to just be nice and have respect for people. I fear for my daughter to grow up in this world,” wrote Stevens.
“We’ve gotta set a good example for our children.”
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