Ariel Winter Posts An Instagram Note To Her Online Bullies
Ariel Winter posts Instagram message addressing her online bullies
Modern Family actress Ariel Winter may only be 18, but when it comes to how to handle your naysayers, she’s wise well beyond her years. Winter has long been a fierce advocate for positive body image but she can now add “how to handle online bullying like a boss” to her resume as well.
The actress recently posted this thoughtful note on Instagram to her followers, both the ones who adore her for the awesome chick she is, and the haters who just like to hate.
Much of the controversy surrounding Winter’s photos have to do her clothing choices or, more specifically, how her breasts look in said clothes. She’s body-shamed pretty much constantly, both before she had a breast reduction and even since, because the internet is full of assholes who like to judge people they don’t actually know.
Rather than sink to their level, she’s taking the high road. Instead of firing back at the trolls, she’s thanking them for giving her a platform to spread a message of self-love. “Every time someone bullies me online,” she writes, “it gives me the chance to re-emphasize to my fans, and even to myself, how important self-acceptance is. Those who say such harsh things on my Instagram, thank you for this opportunity.” Pretty sure this is what the kids call an epic clap back.
“But the question I ask myself each time I read the mean comments is if this is how you talk to a stranger online, I can only imagine how cruelly you speak to yourself.” Winter raises a very valid point. When you’re on the receiving end of a negative comment it’s so easy to internalize what’s being said that you forget to consider about what might motivate someone to be so mean in the first place. It’s an extremely gracious thought for her to have, to think about her bullies as victims of their own negative self-image.
I was a big busted teen myself, so I both relate to Winter and desperately wish I had access to her closet when I was her age. But while she knows any negative comments people make about her are a reflection of their own insecurities rather than something that she’s doing wrong, at her her age, I did not. I tried to wear the same fashions as my friends simply because I desperately wanted to fit in, and when cruel kids or even adults made comments about my body, I took those words to heart. I only wish there had been someone like Winter for me to look up to at that age to show me that the problem wasn’t me and my DDs, it was them.
Winter is an amazing role model for young girls of all body types. Her message of loving yourself and knowing that any negative comment says more about the commentor themselves than it does about you is fantastic advice. “I love my fans and I love my bullies for what they truly NEED is love, ” she says. “Take the high road, there is less traffic.”
H/T Hello Giggles
