Amongst staged photos of bloggers, and images of acai bowls, your social media feeds are likely littered with a slew of tanned, lithe and long-limbed women, who are perfectly retouched and filtered. And though we can purchase products and employ the help of makeup artists - we will, inevitably fall short - because in this day and age, who actually meets society's unattainable beauty standards?
This was an issue that one woman was forced to address when her partner - someone who should be endlessly supportive - brutally body-shamed her in a series of texts.
Shelby Johnson took to Twitter to post screenshots of messages she received from her unnamed partner, and they weren't the sort that anyone would like to get from their boyfriend. "I am 120 pounds. I have been for about 5 months," she wrote. "My partner said this to me. Am I overreacting for feeling hurt by this? I’m at a loss and just can’t even comprehend how someone who claims to love me can say this."
It's safe to say that Shelby was not overreacting. In the texts, her partner wrote that his "main issue" was that her stomach "might stick out" more than his, and that she's "definitely getting a beer gut".
Naturally, her post was met with a huge response - 11,000 comments, as well as thousands of retweets and likes, in fact - reassuring her that she could do better, and that she should be proud of her body. "He doesn’t deserve you hun. Don’t need that kind of negativity around. You look great!" one Twitter user wrote, while another corroborated "Ya gotta throw the whole boyfriend away and get one that loves your body for what it is."
The following day, Shelby updated her followers on the situation. "I haven’t been able to see him since I posted this. With the help of my therapist today I have a plan to end things and move on. I will be seeing him tomorrow and dropping a hefty 180 pounds," she stated, before adding "The support I got is amazing. I really thought only my few twitter friends would reply!"
Clearly lifted by the response she got on Twitter and Instagram, Shelby asserted that she's now "proud" of herself for realising how toxic her relationship was. "My ‘beer gut’ and I are having a night of face masks and Mary J Blige music… breakups suck, but losing yourself sucks more. So I’m taking care of myself Last abusive relationship I was in took two years for me to escape. So this time, I feel proud recognising it in two months," she asserted.
Shelby has since revealed that she's broken up with the guy in question (thankfully), and stated that he'd been upset by the response it garnered on social media
"I want to update you guys that we are broken up. He was really unhappy and felt like shit, especially after knowing my tweet went viral. He has told me he’ll use this as a learning experience to be a better person. And here I am, single and free."
Well, good on her. Hopefully, this time around, Shelby will find someone - in her own time, of course - who is capable of loving and respecting her for who she is.
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