What started as a typical internet rant for makeup artist Kristine Ramos became a public outburst on the rampance of fat shaming. She made a Facebook post about people commenting on her weight, pointing out exactly what's wrong with doing so. A week later, the said post has garnered more than 40,000 shares with many people reaching out to her to share their own experience.
Preview got in touch with Kristine to learn more about what triggered her post, and she revealed that it was written after she received a negative comment on a picture of herself. According to her, the comment said, " Oh, ano nangyari kay Tin? Ba't sobrang laki na niya? Ba't ganyan." The commenter, apparently, is someone she hasn't even seen in years. "He went [past] all my achievements and my personality just to comment on my body," she mused.
Sadly, as rude as the comment was, it also reminded her of something she regrets. "I recently just got engaged. It was in PICC during [my fiancé's] graduation and there were a lot of people," she shared. "The moment my fiancé popped the ring, I got so conscious of what I looked like—my hair, my outfit, my body." Kristine admitted not being able to enjoy the moment, thinking too much of what others thought of her. The memory of it was so fresh, and receiving that fat-shaming comment only added salt to the wound.
Instead of replying to the comment, Kristine was prompted to write her now-viral post to send a powerful message.
"Why do people feel the need or feel like they have the right to tell me I’m fat. I know I'm fat," she wrote. "Does being fat make me less of a person? Does that mean I can't post a selfie? Or I cant dress up nicely?"
She then shared her own struggles with her weight, like not wearing certain clothes to avoid getting comments about her body. "I used to love myself so much kahit mataba ako, and I am trying to lose weight. It's not like wala akong ginagawa pero why can’t I be happy with the body I have now?"
Kristine ended her post by telling everyone to watch their words. "You're not helping by telling a fat person they're fat. Or, 'sayang ang ganda mo pa naman kaso ang taba mo.' It's like [you're] going beyond their personality and forgetting who they are just because of their weight. Let's not put each other down. Love yourself. And let people love themselves."
After posting, people began messaging Kristine to make the post public so they can share it. She received an overwhelming number of messages from those who read it and empathized with her. "Reading other people's story made me cry. I honestly did not realize how much other people are hurting because of the damaging words their friends and relatives say," the makeup artist shared. "A lot of them said that my post gave them the confidence and hope to keep going and thanked me for being so brave."
So to everyone who's been on the receiving end of such negativity, let Kristine's words serve as a reminder: "You are not defined by your dress size, color, or gender. We just have to focus and what we are good at and keep moving forward."
And to the fat-shamers, she stresses, "I'm not saying this to encourage others to be fat. It has its health risks, but fat people aren't just fat because they eat way too much or because they just really want to be fat. Some are sick, [have] hormonal imbalance, thyroid problems, PCOS, [while] some are just really born big."
So the next time you consider leaving a fatphobic comment on someone's page, know that this person does not need your negativity. Let people peacefully live their lives as you live yours. It's not that hard, really.
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