Take That, Bullies: Woman's 'Fierce' Selfie Goes Viral

Her photo and story of body shaming nabs 257K likes
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 8, 2015 12:22 PM CDT
Take That, Bullies: Woman's 'Fierce' Selfie Goes Viral
Sorry, bullies, Rachel Taylor looks "fierce."   (Facebook)

Rachel Taylor of Haughton, La., was browsing an Old Navy store Friday when she overheard a mom and teenage girl joking about the width of a plus-size tank top. "The girl ... showed it to her mom and said, 'Look! Me and So-and-so can fit in this tank top!'" Taylor says, per KFOR. "Her mom laughed and said, 'Yeah, you could! That thing is huge!'" As a plus-size woman, the words stung. She started crying, then went to her car and sat sobbing "for a long time." But instead of driving away, the 25-year-old photographer pulled herself together, marched back inside, and took the top to the dressing room. There, she snapped a selfie she later uploaded to Old Navy's Facebook page, along with her story. "I ended up buying that tank top because, it turns out, I look fierce in it!" she writes. "Old Navy, thank you for having adorable clothes for all shapes & sizes."

The photo and accompanying post have since gone viral, nabbing more than 265,000 likes as of this writing. Despite Taylor's message to "be kind" and "think about others before you speak," she says not all the feedback has been positive. In a second post, she says people called her a crybaby and told her "to save my shopping money for therapy." But "I have received so many messages from other men and women who've said they've had similar experiences, and they're so glad that I shared my story," she tells People. "I just wanted men and women to know that they're not alone in struggling with their self-image, that they're not alone in getting stressed out over shopping for clothes." Old Navy was certainly inspired. "Rachel, you are amazing," the company wrote in response to her initial post. "We want to celebrate your fierce style by sending you a gift card." (A mom's "flabby belly" photo also made waves.)

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