Gigi Hadid shot down body shamers in a powerful series of tweets
Body shaming is never okay. Unfortunately, Gigi Hadid saw her fair share of negative comments after a few recent runway shows for New York Fashion Week. Hadid is no stranger to unsolicited comments about her body, but she just made it 100% clear she will not stand for it anymore.
Hadid, 22, has been modeling since she was a teen. Since then, she’s faced commentary about being either too big or too small from people who fail to realize that the human body takes on many forms — and bodies also undergo a lot of changes as we grow. For Hadid, she noted that she has Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune condition that causes the immune system to fight your thyroid. According to Endocrine Web, the disease is one of the most common thyroid issues in America and affects 14 million Americans, both women and men, in total. Common symptoms of the condition include inflammation and water retention.
Hadid tweeted that she had yet to be diagnosed when she started modeling back in 2012, and subsequent treatment after diagnosis caused her weight to fluctuate.
For those of you so determined to come up w why my body has changed over the years, you may not know that when I started @ 17 I was not yet diagnosed w/Hashimoto’s disease; those of u who called me “too big for the industry” were seeing inflammation & water retention due to that.
— Gigi Hadid (@GiGiHadid) February 11, 2018
Over the last few years I’ve been properly medicated to help symptoms including those, as well as extreme fatigue, metabolism issues, body’s ability to retain heat, etc … I was also part of a holistic medical trial that helped my thyroid levels balance out.
— Gigi Hadid (@GiGiHadid) February 11, 2018
Although stress & excessive travel can also affect the body, I have always eaten the same, my body just handles it differently now that my health is better. I may be “too skinny” for u, honestly this skinny isn’t what I want to be, but I feel healthier internally and (cont)
— Gigi Hadid (@GiGiHadid) February 11, 2018
(cont) am still learning and growing with my body everyday, as everyone is.
— Gigi Hadid (@GiGiHadid) February 11, 2018
The model also noted that people should have more empathy — especially since nobody knows the full story.
Please, as social media users & 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 u don’t.
— Gigi Hadid (@GiGiHadid) February 11, 2018
Hadid shouldn’t have to explain herself, but we’re glad she’s using her platform to spread much-needed awareness about both the condition and cyber-bullying.
I will not further explain the way my body looks, just as anyone, with a body type that doesnt suit ur “beauty” expectation, shouldnt have to. Not to judge others, but drugs are not my thing, stop putting me in that box just because u dont understand the way my body has matured.
— Gigi Hadid (@GiGiHadid) February 11, 2018
Let’s use this as an important Monday reminder to choose kindness over criticism and to judge less. As Hadid said, we often never know the full story.
