Fashion blogger and
marketing director Christina Topacio has an important message for anyone who has ever been the victim of bullying, fat-shaming, or sexist remarks: "SHUT. IT. DOWN." This rallying cry for self-empowerment was spawned from several abhorrent texts Christina recently received from a man she barely knew. When she shared the texts with her Twitter followers, it was Christina's perfectly poignant response that sent the whole world abuzz.
The evening started off like any other, with Christina anxiously awaiting the arrival of her roommate with their Chipotle dinner. That's when a man with whom Christina had only had sparse communication from a dating website contacted her out of the blue. For a reason we may never know (he has yet to apologize), this self-centered sexist bestowed his unsolicited opinion on her, and you won't believe what he had to say. (Warning - some of his language might be unsuitable for young readers).
He informed her that he would "seriously consider dating" her if she changed a few things. Now, that statement on its own serves as an egotistical declaration at best, but it's what comes out of his mouth next that has me in an uproar. "It fucking kills me to say this… And it’s nothing you don’t already know," he continues, "You need to fucking lose weight. It kills me.”
Wait, seriously?
It had been six months since Christina had any contact with his man, but she didn't let his vitriolic volley affect her. In fact, she shut him down in the best way possible; by bringing light to the fact that his words and opinions held no weight on her self-worth whatsoever. As she puts it, "I'm beautiful, I'm strong, I'm powerful, I'm 100% me."
Truer words have never been spoken, Christina. Read the tweets below to witness this inexplicable exchange in its entirety.
My mouth dropped when I read that last line. In fact, it still drops every time I read it. This may have been an unsolicited attack on her beauty, but her response couldn't have been cooler.She could have been vengeful, she could have been defensive, and she had every right to be both. Instead, she chose to take the high road and lay out the blueprint for how everyone should handle a similar situation.
She brilliantly diffused his malicious remarks by reminding him that his words are only that, "words." Better yet, she then chose to show him just what his ignorance was missing out on...
While it sickens us to hear stories of women being targeted by fat-shaming, sexist remarks, Christina's top-shelf retort sends a positive message to women all over the world. Love who you are, and don't let people who are filled with jealousy and hate bring you down. Christina turned a negative situation into a vehicle for change, and we here at SFG love her for that. Can you believe a man would do something like this in the first place? We'd love to hear your thoughts on what this man said and how Christina handled it. Help spread her empowering story if you believe that everyone is beautiful, inside and out. Below are some more photos from her fashion blog and instagram account.
The last thing she wants to remind people is that her "story is not a new story, this happens to women CONSTANTLY. I'm just happy to have been given an opportunity to share my personal experience in hopes that it empowers women to SHUT. IT. DOWN."
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