Fashion Week is prime time for online trolls. The judgment juggernauts are going wild over what they deem copycat clothing, bad fashion, and, worst of all, body shapes and sizes that aren’t up to their unrealistic standards. Thankfully, one supermodel is speaking out against the haters. On Sunday, Gigi Hadid sent out a series of tweets aimed at the social media communities who have been bashing her for being too thin (this, after she was shamed for being “too fat” as a teenager starting off in the business). She wrote: “For those of you so determined to come up with why my body has changed over the years, you may not know that when I started at 17, I was not yet diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease; those of you who called me ‘too big for the industry’ were seeing inflammation and water retention due to that.” Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disorder that sees your antibodies attack the thyroid tissue, causing inflammation of the gland. Symptoms can include hair loss, muscle weakness, extreme fatigue, depression, and weight gain. While it is about eight times more common in females than males, and more so in middle-aged women than adolescent girls, there is even greater risk for those who have other autoimmune diseases such as lupus or Type 1 diabetes. In short, Hashimoto’s affects a lot of people, some 14 million people in the U.S. alone, including the fashion models that succumb to so much shade, be they too tall, too short, too heavy, or too thin. Hadid’s tweet further explained that she’d been “properly medicated” to help alleviate some of her symptoms, and she was also “part of a holistic medical trial that helped my thyroid levels balance out.” She emphasized that she has always followed a consistent diet but that her body now breaks food down differently because of her health improvement. “I will not further explain the way my body looks, just as anyone, with a body type that doesn’t suit your ‘beauty’ expectation, shouldn’t have to,” she wrote. “Please, as social media users and human beings in general, learn to have more empathy for others and know that you never really know the whole story. Use your energy to lift those that you admire rather than be cruel to those you don’t.” It is cruel that Hadid—among other stars such as Gina Rodriguez, who told Vogueabout her thyroid disease and weight struggles recently—have to even defend themselves this way. Closing Brandon Maxwell’s show last night in a glittering ball skirt and hoodie, Hadid was all smiles, looking beautiful and comfortable in her own skin. She opened Prabal Gurung’s powerful runway just about two hours later. It’s unfortunate that her successful day was tainted in the slightest, taxed with having to confront people, likely strangers, who don’t have her best interest at heart, but it’s a good thing she stood up. The more women like her consistently speak out against online bullying, the more the body shamers will be silenced. Source
