Sister who perpetually body shames women gets a taste of her own medicine. AITA?
'She can dish it out but she can't take it!' Sound advice but usually the ones that need to hear it don't listen.
Everyone knows body-shaming is wrong but, let's be honest, most people have made an insensitive comment in their lives. But one woman couldn't take her sister's comments on other women so she gave her a taste of her own medicine. After the altrication, she went to Reddit to ask:
'AITA (am I the a-hole) for telling my sister she has no a** and is built like a square?'
u/tireddayss writes:
I (F17) have a sister (F20) who has always been OBSESSED with pop culture. She always talks about the irrelevant celeb drama and all that. But above all, she criticizes everyone’s appearances. Especially women’s.
I had an eating disorder for YEARS and am in recovery, so her saying this to me is baffling in the first place, but I’m also just a girls’s girl. It frustrates me to always hear her mocking girls bodies.
She’ll call celebrities and models ugly, point out their pudge on their stomach, how they have no curves, how flat they are, etc. It’s every woman that comes on TV now and it’s infuriating.
I usually brush it off, but today she’d said Gigi Hadid wasn’t as famous as Bella cause she’s fat with no good shape? I don’t really know about pop culture so I googled Gigi Hadid and told my sister she’s crazy and has body image issues if she thinks THAT woman is fat.
How dare?!
She told me it’s not wrong to point out flaws and started to point the “flaws” of people WE KNEW????? Like what??? She literally said our mom has no butt or hips😭 OUR MOM????
I finally snapped and told her she is built like a square and quite literally has no a**, so she is in no position to judge other girls for that. She cried and told me I’m awful and hasn’t spoken to me since.
I feel kind of bad as someone in recovery from an ED… I know what body shaming can do to someone, but it’s also that exact reason I told her what I did. Am I the a-hole?
OP later edited to add:
Edit: Please note I have told my sister to stop with the bodyshaming politely. I’ve mentioned how triggering it is for me, how insensitive it is, and how disrespectful it is especially as a woman herself. I’ve played the “how would you feel if it was you” card. This is not my first time telling her to stop, she just never listens.
Sis got a lesson in mess around and find out, for sure. But did OP go too far?
Here's what Reddit had to say:
PracticalPrimrose says:
Normally I’d say YTA (you're the a-hole)( for commenting on someone’s body. And then in reading more, I have said ESH (everyone sucks here). But then I read it all and I have to go with NTA (not the a-hole). She thinks it’s ok to tear down everyone around her that she knows and even ones she doesn’t, despite polite attempts to redirect, but can’t take the heat herself …?! Nope. Nope. Nope.
Bi0maniac writes:
I also have suffered from an ED but youre NTA. Sometimes people need to hear the nastyness they throw back at them for them to realize theyre being awful. Also shes a super a-hole for dissing your mom like that wtf.
Wrong_Midnight_1618 says:
ESH (everyone sucks here). But like 20% you AH (a-hole), and 80% her AH haha. Sounds like you both have deep, psychological body dysmorphia issues. Have either of you ever seeked help or counselling for this? It seems to go beyond the typical 'vanity' so to speak.
You were ultimately antagonised and pushed to your breaking point and snapped and believe me I get it, but you shouldn't say that type of comment so someone with body issues, and two wrongs don't make a right.
OP responded:
I agree. I have been in rehab for 6 years for my bulimia. My sister hasn’t had an ED we know of. I always support women and am so against body shaming. I just snapped after so many times of her doing so after I politely ask her to stop and tried to give her a taste of her own medicine. It was absolutely wrong though
OP got a pass from most users and even the ones that didn't only thought she was 'kind of' the a-hole.
Sounds like everyone had something to learn here. Several Reddit users have pointed out that OP's sister probably has underlying issues that she doesn't know about. If that's true, hopefully her loved ones can help her through them.