Woman is body shamed buying bikini, responds in empowering way
LONDON -- A woman who was told she shouldn't wear a bikini in a store's changing room has an empowering message for the woman who body shamed her.
Jess Portelli, 24, from Brighton, was waiting to try on a bikini in Matalan when a customer made a comment about her size; prompting Portelli to share her experience on Facebook to raise awareness about body shaming.
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"The girl at the store today said that 'girls like me' shouldn't wear a bikini!," wrote Portelli on Facebook.
Portelli posted a photo of herself wearing the bikini she'd been told not to wear, along with a message for the woman who'd attempted to shame her.
"Well, girl let me tell you something, I'm happy with myself and my biiiigggg tummy with tiger stripes, but you could have said the same thing to the girl who finally got out there and had the courage to wear a bikini and you just killed her confidence with one stupid comment," Portelli wrote.
"You can be any size and look good! Confidence is what makes you sexy and not just being a size 6!
"Thank you for fat shaming me, thanks to you I got an awesome discount on my bikini. Much love, #fat, #confident girl! Xxx"
According to Portelli, once Matalan staff heard what happened they gave her a discount on the bikini.
"I got a discount because they heard what happened and I guess they were proud of me," wrote Portelli in the comments.
Portelli's post was shared more than 1,700 times, with commenters praising her for her empowering message.
"Legend. Love you for this Jess! No one should be ashamed of their body!" wrote one commenter.
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Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
