“Let’s change societies view that beauty isn’t in our appearance and remind the world that it comes from within!” writes Shelly Proebstel on her Facebook page Bald and Beautiful. Sure, there are many inspirational people out there, leading the fight against a false and unhealthy body image promoted by airbrushing and photoshopping media and fashion outlets, but few are as eloquently blunt as Shelley. She certainly practices what she preaches!

Image credits: Bald and Beautiful

Because as we all know by now, a ‘bikini body’ is simply that: a body with a bikini on it. Shelley was out enjoying the sun at Mt Maunganui Beach, a lovely spot near Tauranga on the north island of New Zealand. Suddenly, she noticed the jeers and sniggers of some men nearby. Refusing to be shamed by the incident, she instead decided to turn it around by penning a powerful response about body positivity.

Image credits: Bald and Beautiful

“To the guys who pointed and laughed when I took my sarong off today at Mt Maunganui Beach, bearing my soul (my bikini body) to the world, I just want to say (excuse my language but) F*CK YOU,” she wrote on an emotional post that now has over 60k likes and shares.

Image credits: Bald and Beautiful

“It’s because of dickheads like you that people are so incredibly insecure about their body image.”

“It’s because of people like you that women especially don’t feel safe or confident or comfortable to go out in society in something like a bikini, or a crop top (they probably aren’t even called that anymore!) or a short dress, or with their midriff showing. ”

Image credits: Bald and Beautiful

“It’s because of people like you that people starve themselves and make themselves sick in an attempt to maintain a ‘model-like figure’.”

“It’s because of people like you that people wear long sleeves all year round because they are scared to show their arms.”

Image credits: Bald and Beautiful

“It’s because people like you that people become anorexic, obese, bulimic, self-harm, commit suicide…I could go on… No, you are not responsible for the entirety. But YES, you have to take some responsibility.”

“So next time you see someone like me on the beach in a bikini or in a situation similar, before you laugh and point, take a moment to think about the damage you may just do, because not every person, young or old, male or female, will have learned to have the thick skin, or the resilience, or the self-confidence, that I do to brush it off.”

Image credits: Bald and Beautiful

“I won’t lie, there was a split second that I almost quickly covered up again, and then I reminded myself of all I have learned on this journey, and I held my head high and stuck my belly out and wore that bikini with pride.”

“Parents, I urge you to teach your children that there is no one body shape, but instead that there is a rainbow of beautiful bodies. I urge you to teach them not to stare directly at a bigger stomach than they might be accustomed to seeing on tv or in society, but instead, to look at a persons face and into their eyes. I urge you to teach them to be kind to all types of people, regardless of their outer appearance. I urge you to teach your children to accept people for exactly who they are on the inside. And I urge you to teach your children to be role models to those around them who aren’t being taught this, and to be the positive change we need to see in the world, so that in 5 or 10 or 20 years time, no more people are pointed at and laughed at by the way they look when they wear a bikini on the beach.”

People were full of praise and support for Shelley’s heartfelt message

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