Mom of five with 'belly covered in stretch marks' was mocked when she wore a bikini on beach—her response is outstanding
Women's bodies go through significant changes when they get pregnant and become mothers. Although the change is part and parcel of growing a human inside the body, some women are shamed for the physical transformation they are left with after giving birth. A mom, Tanis Jex-Blake, faced something similar when she wore a bikini to the beach for the first time in 13 years. A group of people mocked her over her body and stretch marks and she was in tears on her way back home. But later, she responded to the ridicule with a raw and honest letter in a now-deleted Facebook post, per CTV News.
33-year-old Jex-Blake had worn a bikini for the first time in 13 years while at a beach in Alberta, Canada. The mom came to the beach with her five children and was sun tanning with her eyes closed. But soon enough, she heard a group of people talking about her as they stood above her. "I hear them saying, 'Oh my God, that's gross' and 'That's nasty, look at that.' And I was like, what's going on?" She added, "I open my eyes, and two guys and a girl are leering over me, pointing, laughing and pretending to kick me while I was sun tanning." She shared her feelings in the post, which has now been deleted.
"I'm sorry if my first attempt at sun tanning in a bikini in public in 13 years 'grossed you out.' I'm sorry that my stomach isn't flat and tight. I'm sorry that my belly is covered in stretch marks," the mom further wrote. "I'm NOT sorry that my body has housed, grown, protected, birthed and nurtured five fabulous, healthy, intelligent and wonderful human beings." She was sorry that her 125 lb body offended the group so much that they felt the need to point, laugh and pretend to kick her. "But I'll have you know that as I looked at your 'perfect' young bodies, I could only think to myself, 'What great and amazing feat has your body done?'" She shared that she held her head high as they mocked her and pretended not to care, but cried on the drive back home.
"Thanks for ruining my day. It's people like you who make this world an ugly, hateful place," she remarked. "I can only hope that one day you'll realize that my battle scars are something to be proud of, not ashamed of," the post concluded. After the incident, the mom joined a post-baby bikini sit-in with the local moms, per HuffPost. "I hope more moms feel confident about the way their bodies look after bearing children," the mom told the outlet.
"These aren't scars to be ashamed of. They are our badges of honor, and we should wear them with pride," the mom expressed. She also pointed out that mainstream media should stop forcing an idea of "perfection" on people. The average physique might look drastically different from what is portrayed in the media. Women in general might not measure up to supermodel standards and they don't have every picture of them edited to perfection either. "And there is definitely no Photoshop on the beach in real time!" the mom backed her stance.