Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Instagrammer speaks out after being bodyshamed for being thin

'I have gone my whole life being humiliated and judged by others'

Olivia Petter
Thursday 09 November 2017 11:55 GMT
Comments
Instagram
Instagram (sleepgrips)

Think of bodyshaming on social media, and you'll typically associate it with curvy or overweight women being harassed by trolls with unrealistic body shape standards.

But one young woman has shown that trolls and bodyshamers are out to humiliate and harass women - whatever their size.

Fashion Instagrammer @sleepgrips has spoken out about the “nasty comments” she received from people accusing her of doctoring her images to make her thighs appear slimmer.

The Houston-based blogger posted a short video of her legs in response to prove that she had not edited her images.

“A lot of people feel it necessary to leave rude comments,” she wrote in the caption.

“Although many people might view this as a compliment (you’re so skinny it HAS to be fake!), I have gone my whole life being humiliated and judged by others who don’t understand that i am just naturally skinny and lanky.

“My weight is the first thing people attack.”

She explained that she has always struggled to put weight on and was asked if she was anorexic at the age of seven.

“I didn’t even know what that was,” she confessed.

Thanks her substantial following on Instagram, she currently has 34,000 followers, @sleepgrips revealed that a few weight loss brands have asked her to peddle their products.

Despite her awareness that lucrative sponsorship deals could give her “easy money,” @sleepgrips explained that posting for those companies would be misleading and she ultimately decided against accepting working with them.

“I decided not to because there’s nothing for me to gain,” she said.

Her comments come three years after the controversial Instagram account You Did Not Eat That was launched and immediately vilified for promoting bodyshaming.

Set up by an anonymous user, the account re-posted images of slim women posing with fatty foods.

It featured celebrities such as Miley Cyrus and Lara Stone and accused them of not actually eating the foods they had taken photographs with.

Though nothing has been posted on the account since 2014, the account maintains 124,000 followers.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in