Powerful Hashtag Highlights The Body-Shaming Comments Women Hear In A Lifetime

Most women don’t forget the very first time they were body-shamed.

Founder and CEO of the athletic wear company Oiselle Sally Bergesen definitely remembers one of the first times she was body-shamed. “’Keep eating like that and you’re going to be a butterball.’ My Dad when I was 12,” Bergesen tweeted on May 25.

"Keep eating like that and you're going to be a butterball." My Dad when I was 12. Pls RT and share a body shaming comment. #TheySaid
— Sally Bergesen (@oiselle_sally) May 25, 2017

In the same tweet, Bergesen asked followers to share their personal stories of being body-shamed with the hashtag #TheySaid.

The hashtag quickly gained momentum with hundreds of Twitter users sharing their body-shaming experiences. Some women shared stories of family members commenting on their weight gain, while others shared being body-shamed for being too skinny.

Scroll below to read some of the #TheySaid tweets. (Story continues below.)

"If you're chubby all the boys are going to run away." An uncle told me that when I was 11 years of age. #TheySaid
— Alyssa Yeo (@AllyAshton) May 31, 2017

"danielle's butt is so big, it always looks like she is wearing a diaper" circa 2002, first boy i ever kissed #theysaid
— Danielle Prescod (@danielleprescod) May 31, 2017

"You should stop running. It's making your thighs big." -Ex bf to 18yo me
These big thighs win races now #theysaid #bigthighssavelives https://t.co/eEfcUmTsuA
— Anna Casto (@RunPipetRepeat) May 25, 2017

#TheySaid you're getting so fat you won't be able to come back from that... you should only eat as much food as you can fit in one fist.
— YC (@DatLatinaChick) May 31, 2017

My family CONSTANTLY asking me "you train so much, how come you're not skinny?" Because sport determines body type, right? >< #theysaid
— AdjustedReality (@Quixotique) May 25, 2017

"Not everyone can be effortlessly skinny like you." - Many people, to me, while I silently suffered from a severe eating disorder #theysaid https://t.co/dDJjSYv85l
— Krysta (@ktaninpdx) May 25, 2017

"Wanna see a picture of Biggest Courtney?" My now ex-husband. #TheySaid pic.twitter.com/jTaJgSAFQw
— Coco Renato (@coco_renato) May 25, 2017

1. You need to eat more
2. Once u hit twenty you'll get fat
3. Once u have a kid you'll start getting fat
4. Ew, go eat a burger #theysaid
— Marie (@Marie1Leigh) May 31, 2017

While eating cake on my birthday someone said "moment on lips, lifetime on the hips" #theysaid @Cosmopolitan
— Amy Lewis (@alewi854) May 31, 2017

"120 pounds!? I weighed that much when I got married!" - my mom to 13 yr old me #theysaid
— Cori Nelson (@CorinneENelson) May 31, 2017

"No one will ever love you until you lose 500 pounds.." words that have stuck with me since I was 12 #theysaid
— Callie Morlan (@CallieMorlan) May 31, 2017

"You don't have the curves to wear tight dress", my so-called feminist BFF when I was 13. I'm 17. Still worry about my waist size. #TheySaid
— Lívia Maria (@studyativist) May 31, 2017

"Suck in your stomach, it's getting big." My grandmother when I was 9. #Theysaid https://t.co/FT3L3SQFmJ
— Haiz❄️ (@Hailey_Mekus) May 30, 2017

"I'd kill to have your body." --other girls, when I was barely eating enough to make it through the day. #TheySaid
— 5k to Ultramarathon (@5k2ultra) May 25, 2017

An hour after Bergesen tweeted the #TheySaid hashtag, she created a new one: #SheReplied. The new hashtag was meant as a way to share responses to the body-shaming comments women experienced.

“To be honest, those types of comments have been shown to be really harmful to me and others,” Bergesen tweeted as an example.

(Story continues below.)

What replies can we arm our girls with? I'll start: "Actually, all bodies are different and I'm just right for me." #TheySaid
— Sally Bergesen (@oiselle_sally) May 25, 2017

"To be honest, those types of comments have been shown to be really harmful to me and others." #TheySaid #SheReplied
— Sally Bergesen (@oiselle_sally) May 25, 2017

"I think you mean well, but those types of comments are hurtful." #TheySaid #SheReplied
— Sally Bergesen (@oiselle_sally) May 25, 2017

Soon enough, more Twitter users started replying to the #SheReplied hashtag with their own awesome response to body-shaming comments.

“All bodies are amazing! Too bad your attitude isn’t!” one user tweeted.

Another Twitter user’s response touched on why it’s so important to not blindly congratulate people for being skinny: “Skinny isn’t always healthy. Please ask me if I’m OK,” she tweeted.

Scroll below to read more #SheReplied tweets.

"This body created two humans, ran 50 miles, and carries me everywhere I need to go. What has yours done lately?" #TheySaid #SheReplied
— rc reed (@mylo_cat) May 25, 2017

"My butt & thigh muscles mean I win 50-50 ⚽️s & outkick people @ the finish line. And I've got hops." #theysaid #SheReplied
— Gina Merchant (@DrGMerchant) May 25, 2017

"Skinny isn't always healthy. Please ask me if I'm ok." #SheReplied #TheySaid
— 5k to Ultramarathon (@5k2ultra) May 25, 2017

"All bodies are amazing! Too bad your attitude isn't!" #theysaid #shereplied
— Alex McGillivray (@audaciouslyalex) May 26, 2017

What my body can do for me is more important that how it looks to others. #TheySaid
— Ally Feldman (@Pofeldy) May 25, 2017

Head over to Bergesen’s Twitter feed to read more #TheySaid and #SheReplied tweets.

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