Plus-size mom Brynne Huffman was dropping off a package at the UPS store on Friday, June 24, when she received some unsolicited advice about her mid-thigh denim shorts.
In a Facebook post that has since gone viral, the 39-year-old from Frisco, Texas, chronicled her exchange with the body-shaming woman who was waiting in line behind her that morning.
Huffman began by explaining that it “took some courage” to purchase and wear the shorts in the first place. “My legs, while tan from swimming and muscular from dancing are (1) not where I would like them to be and (2) are not up to traditional beauty standards (read: Photoshopped) because cellulite,” she wrote.
According to Huffman, the stranger first complimented her hair. Then she cocked her head to the side and said: “You should probably rethink the shorts though.”
The woman, “about a size 8,” according to Huffman was ironically wearing a COEXIST shirt, which are designed to promote tolerance.
“So many things ran through my head,” Huffman vented. “Because I don’t have time to get arrested today, what came out was this: ‘You should probably rethink your shirt.’”
The corporate recruiter continued: “I turned around and ignored her until I left the store. I wanted to say more but was afraid, of all things, that I would start crying. All I wanted to do was go home and change my clothes. And THAT made me angry.”
“You might have an issue with my body. I don’t. And I’ve worked very hard past judgmental family and friends, past divorce, past depression to NOT have an issue with my body,” she wrote. “Women. Do not tear each other down.”
The post has been shared nearly 162,000 times and garnered 70,000 comments on the Facebook page Love What Matters.
“My favorite ones are the people who told me, ‘I haven’t worn shorts in 20 years because I didn’t like my legs, but I read your post and put them on today!’” Huffman tells Us Weekly. “It’s not because I’m thinking, ‘Go, me!’ I’m thinking ‘Go, you!’ It shows we are on to something here, something big in conquering yet another form of bigotry.”
Huffman tells Us she refuses to shove her shorts into the back of her closet. “I’ve worn them every day this week and just yesterday launched the #shortsonsaturday campaign to encourage others to put on some shorts, leave the house and compliment someone else they see.”
