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Plus-Size Woman Shamed for Wearing Shorts Sees Rant Go Viral

Social media has evolved into so much more than a way to share vacation photos, keep in touch with your friends overseas, and poke your crush. It’s now a way for those who’ve been wronged to put bullies in their rightful place — publicly.

One of the latest people to use this function of social media to her advantage is Brynne Huffman — a woman from Frisco, Texas — who, this past Friday, wrote a lengthy Facebook post detailing an unpleasant experience she’d had while running errands around town. Huffman’s offense? Wearing denim shorts while being plus-size.

It all happened while she was standing in line at the UPS store — which actually began quite pleasantly. Wrote Huffman,

“I stood in line between two women. Woman #1 in front of me was about sixty. As I took my place in line behind her, she smiled and complimented me on my tan and my hair. We chitchatted about the weather and children until it was her turn at the counter. [In] the spirit of paying it forward, I turned to Woman #2 behind me and smiled. Woman #2 was probably about 30-35, very attractive, about a size 8, wearing a shirt that says “COEXIST.”.She says: “Your hair really is amazing. ::cocks head to side:: “You should probably rethink the shorts though.”

Yikes.

Huffman continues:

My face instantly flushes, not out of embarrassment but anger. No, not anger. Rage. This as my head slowly tilts to the side. If you’ve seen me really angry you know what I mean. My fists clenched up. I know this because I felt my nails digging into my palms. So many things ran through my head. Because I don’t have time to get arrested today, what came out was this: “You should probably rethink your shirt.” 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.

But instead of letting her anger get the best of her, Huffman, who’s an actress, decided to use the experience to rally people — particularly women — together to stop the vicious cycle of negativity that leads to tearing each other down.

Listen, people. Especially women. Plus sized doesn’t necessarily mean unhealthy. Plus sized doesn’t necessarily mean lazy. Plus sized doesn’t mean ugly or undesirable or untalented or uncoordinated or LESS. THAN. HUMAN. 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. Women. Do not tear each other down. Celebrate each other. Every day.

And Huffman’s post has clearly resonated with others. At press time, it’s been shared nearly 4,500 times and has more than 9,800 likes and “reactions.” She may not have gotten an apology from Miss Coexist, but she found the support of thousands of people who were on her side.

Facebook rants about so-called size-ism have become increasingly common. In late May, a teen named Missy Rogers saw her post about American Eagle’s shrinking shorts sizes go viral. It began with the words, “I’m not one to be big about Facebook rants … But I do feel that this needs to be shared.” To date, more than 76,000 people who have shared her post seem to agree. Leeds, U.K., resident Ruth Clemens‎ saw her mid-June rant against the bogus sizing at H&M get shared 12,670 times, which eventually warranted a response from the clothing brand itself.

And ranting, of course, isn’t exclusive to females. A guy named Benjamin Ashton Cooper made headlines in March for posting photos of himself trying on his girlfriend’s tank tops to prove how whack the sizing of women’s clothing is. That post has been shared more than 306,000 times. And in May, a stay-at-home dad named Michael Jammer received more than 76,000 shares after posting about the same sentiment.

In other words, social media has given the masses a platform on which to be heard, ensuring that their complaints won’t end up discarded before they’re seen. And in being shared by others who agree, each post is turned into a petition — even if that petition is against a single rotten person, a brand, or society as a whole.

Speaking up about what’s wrong is the first step to making a change in the future. And as more and more people continue to voice their upset on social media, something’s bound to change — even if it takes a while.

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