A day at the beach has turned out to be a disappointment for a New Zealand woman. When Shelly Proebstel wanted to go sunbathing in bikini on Maunganui Beach, she was laughed at by some guys because of her corpulent body.
The unexpected confrontation seized her so that she wrote a razor-sharp letter on Facebook. It has already been shared thousands of times.
“You followed me and laughed with me when I took out my sarong (a wraparound skirt that can be worn all over the body)”, begins Proebstel. “My message for you is a clear ‘fuck you’. It is because of acorns like you people feel insecure about their body. You make sure that women no longer dare to wear bikini, short dress or tops.”
“Because of this kind of behaviour, there are people who starve to be able to get that model line anyway. Some wear long sleeves throughout the year because they are too scared to show their arms. Or they become anorectic or obese and begin to mutilate themselves. That way I can continue for a while.”
“Ofcourse you are not fully responsible, but you are partly responsible. If this situation occurs again, I hope that you will reflect on the suffering that you can cause. Not everyone is equally strong in his shoes.”
“Have also doubted fraction of second”
“I’m not going to lie: there was a fraction of a second in which I thought to change clothes again,” Shelly continues. “But then I remembered the lesson in life that I learned as an experience expert. I held my head straight, stuck out my stomach and wore that bikini with pride.”
“Parents, teach your children that there is a whole spectrum of handsome bodies. Do not teach them to stare when someone in the street has a thicker belly, instead look at the face and eyes of that person. Be kind to every person, whatever they look like. Just judge the inside. Turn your children into role models so that no one has to be laughed at on a beach within five, ten or twenty years.”
“Train three times a week and follow dance lessons”
Proebstel was overwhelmed by positive reactions, but here and there the message that they are fat is not allowed to glorify. “I do not have to justify myself, but I want to emphasize that I am fit and healthy myself”, she responded. “I train intensively three times a week, follow dance classes and practice yoga. I also participate in running events, I walk with my dog and I also swim. In the weekend I sometimes walk six kilometres for fun.”
“I also spend a lot of time in preparing healthy and nutritious meals. I am much fitter than a lot of slim people. My overweight has nothing to do with bad life choices that I would make.”
“Can make a difference for one person”
“One of the reactions was that someone only gets fat when he stays in the chair with McDonald’s hamburgers. Never heard of puberty, menopause, medication, bad genes, slow metabolism, kidney or liver problems, allergies, …? There are so many reasons for weight gain, poor diet and lack of exercise are not the only factors.”
“Do not get me wrong: I certainly do not want to swallow children that it’s okay to be fat. Do not condemn anyone on his/her appearance, that is the core of my argument. I will never be able to convince anyone, but I can make the difference for one person. And that’s what I want to do.”
