An Ohio mom who was body shamed by a stranger while shopping has taken to Facebook to plead for respect this holiday season.
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Charli Stevens was shopping in the morning for Christmas wrapping supplies at a grocery store with her five-month-old son when she was approached by a random woman.
“I notice this woman, who was probably in her 50s, kept staring at me,” Stevens writes on her Facebook page of the encounter. “A couple minutes later, she came up to me and said, ‘I think your clothes are a little too small on you.'”
The horrified mother of two said she was caught so off guard that all she could muster was, “Excuse me?”
The body shamer doubled down on her statements, saying, “Well, no offense, but you’re just a bit big to wear those type [sic] of clothes,” Stevens wrote on her Facebook.
Stevens, who had recently lost 50 pounds, says she instantly started to cry from the rude woman’s words.
“Usually I’m so quick to lash out at rude people and I’m never shy when it comes down to speaking my mind. But I froze. Froze and cried,” Stevens writes.
Even after Stevens started crying, the woman continued with, “I’m not trying to be mean but maybe just reconsider your outfit before leaving your house from now on,” Stevens wrote.
“It’s no secret that I’ve gained weight throughout life. I’ve birthed two kids, so it’s bound to happen.”
After the woman left, Stevens says she gathered up her son and left without buying anything.
But now the humiliated mom is defending herself — and calling for others to think before they speak.
“It’s no secret that I’ve gained weight throughout life. I’ve birthed two kids, so it’s bound to happen. Do I realize I’m overweight? Yes. Do I want to be smaller? Yes. But am I okay with the way I look? Yes!!” Stevens writes.
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“Please, PLEASE, have some respect for people. You never know what someone is going through or if your one little comment, snicker, stare, whatever will be enough to break someone down or push them over the edge,” she added.
Though she is unsure what would prompt a complete stranger would go out of her way to insult someone else, Stevens is asking for others to think about their actions and be more considerate.
Steven’s young son was in the cart at the time, but she is thankful her five-year-old daughter wasn’t there to witness the cruel body shaming.
“We’ve gotta set a good example for our children,” she writes.
This Fox News piece is used by permission.
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