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Mom’s Powerful Response to a Body-Shamer Is Everything
Michelle Kirk was on one of her jogs training for the New York City marathon when a stranger stopped her in her tracks and proceeded to tell her how she needed a new sports bra because her “boobs are sagging.”
Kirk, who was pushing her 18-month-old daughter in a stroller while she ran, told Self, “He was like, ‘Hey, not for nothing, but you need a new sports bra. Your boobs are sagging.'”
He then went on to tell her that if she continues to run, “the muscle fibers in my breasts are going to break down and my boobs are going to sag even more, and they’re already heading south [and he doesn’t think] I want them to head south even more.”
Talk about boundaries being crossed!
Kirk was so shocked by the man’s blatant opinion that for a moment she didn’t know what to say or how to react.
According to Self, Kirk said she considered “going all New York on him,” but decided against it because it was starting to get dark and she didn’t want to be alone with this man in the dark.
Instead, she said this: “I told him, ‘I’m so sorry but all my non-boob sagging bras are in the wash today,’” she told Self. “And I said, ‘It was either this one or no bra.’ He continued talking, and I don’t know what he was saying and I just tried getting out there as soon as possible.”
The mom then ran away, but not without wanting to return to confront him. After calling a friend who advised her not to do that, she posted the following photo.
Kirk said she wanted to inspire other people and show them not to let others bring them down and to promote body confidence.
“Society has this crazy image of how we should look, how we should feel, and I think people need to shy away from that because that’s not what it’s about,” she said.
The photo and her message have since gone viral, receiving nearly 3,000 likes as of press time.
“Women need to bring each other up and compliment each other, and we’ve got to stop this body shaming … [and] men need to realize that all women are beautiful, too. There’s certain socially acceptable situations, and you can’t just go up to a stranger and speak your mind,” she added.