This Woman Did Not Expect the Internet's Reaction to Her Photo
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A teenager's goofy response to body shamers impacted a lot of people in more than just a humorous way.
Hannah Battiste, an 18-year-old woman from Nova Scotia, Canada, shared a photo of herself last week with an expletive on her chin directed at people who have mocked her weight and shamed her for her appearance. Battiste told BuzzFeed News that she posted the photo to make people laugh, but the image achieved something even greater.
"My reaction when someone judges me.. 'You gained weight,'" she wrote on Facebook. "So what? Being thick is a choice! 'Why do you wear dresses?' Why [the fuck] not? If I wanna wear a dress through all the seasons, then I'm going to! No matter what you do, whether it's right or wrong, people are going to judge you.. Go ahead and judge me, I know who I am, and I know my purpose in life."
Many said they were inspired by her image and light-hearted reaction to critics. Her post has more than 4,500 likes on Facebook and has been shared more than 1,300 times on the platform:
Facebook - facebook.com
“It’s amazing, it makes me feel so happy and tingly inside when I see how many people I inspire,” she told BuzzFeed News.
Not everyone has praised her, however. Battiste was subjected to online bullying after the image went viral, and even though it hasn't been easy to deal with trolls, Battiste insists that she will get the last laugh no matter what:
"I've been getting cyber bullied non stop since I've posted my photo," she wrote on May 17. "But the thing is, they expect me to be bothered by it, but it doesn't bother me. These people don't know who I am, but I do.. I am beautiful, smart, talented, funny, kind, honest, and amazing.. So, you could laugh all you want, because I'm just going to be laughing with you... Love the beautiful 'FAT' girl."
In a recent post, Battiste again shared words about being cyber bullied.
"I just wanted everyone to know that I'm going to be okay," Battiste wrote, "it hurts a little when people say awful things to/about me, to a point where what they say is to overboard, it makes me think 'omg they have friends ?', but like I said before, they don't know shit about me.. So, keep the hate coming boo boo. Bitch I'm made out of brick."
"Ps; I appreciate all of the people who support me," she continued in her post.
But Battiste's overall message appears to be one of confidence. She posted the following message on Wednesday:
"My confidence isn't me walking into a room with my nose high in the air, thinking I'm better than everybody else. My confidence is me walking into a room and not having to compare myself to anybody else."
Read the full BuzzFeed News story here.
