Tanis Jex-Blake of Edmonton, Alberta was just trying to enjoy a day at the beach. The mother-of-five has stretch marks on her stomach from child birth, which she rightfully thought wouldn't be a big deal to show in her swimsuit. But Jex-Blake claims that a group of men approached and started to pretend kick her while shouting insults about her stomach and bodily appearance.
The incident left Jex-Blake reasonably upset. But she took to Facebook and let out her anguish in a well-worded message.
Her status was posted with the following image below.
Jex-Blake's status has been shared over 3,000 times now, with people across the world offering their words of encouragement and support.
The story spread to a radio station in Edmonton, who shared Jex-Blake's message and photo. That post alone got over 1 million likes and 200,000 shares. The high majority of the responses have been nothing but supportive, with many users offering their own experiences with fat-shaming and feeling insecure about their body.
Jex-Blake is partnering with other mothers in the area to host a post-baby bikini sit-in in efforts to encourage moms to be proud of their bodies. Just goes to show that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.