Bullies of Online Fashion Media

The fashion industry is under constant criticism for the way women are perceived and while most now strive to create better body images, unfortunately, it's sites like Skinny Gossip that continue to create this scrutiny.

Kate Upton got a lot of praise after her Sports Illustrated cover, but she also got some bashing. As the "Rookie of the Year" in 2011, the 19-year-old blond, all-American bombshell, landed the February cover, showing off her curves in a string bikini. The model's figure created quite a stir in the fashion world, but Upton doesn't seem to let it bother her. "I love my curves. You know, I'm healthy and I think that's what Sports Illustrated represents: healthy, confident women who love their bodies," Upton said in an interview.  

Photo from Huffington Post

After reading a tweet from Independent Fashion Bloggers last night, "Bloggers gone bad - Anyone who calls @KateUpton thick, vulgur and pornographic is clearly insane: http://bit.ly/LKoMM0,"  I was beyond curious to see what it was all about. I clicked the link and read the Elle write up. The woman in me was disgusted that anyone could write such hateful, horrible things, but the journalist in me said it's time to start writing.

I've always tried to write about hard-hitting stories in the fashion industry since I went to school for journalism and focused many of my pieces on fashion. It's the industry I love working for but, people need to know the good, the bad and the ugly in any industry. I knew this write up was a perfect example of why girls and women all around the world have such insecurities about their looks let alone themselves as individuals. I've always kept up with the body image issue vs fashion industry because every girl I know, including myself has had self-esteem issues.  

So, I went straight to the source: Skinny Gossip, Kate Upton Is Well-Marbled. The post started off comparing humans to cows and then insinuating that Kate Upton is one... Did you know that humans are 80% genetically identical to cows? Well, allow me to prove it to you…  The blogger goes on to joke about Upton "lumbering up a runway like there’s a buffet at the end of it," and that's just the first couple sentences.....  

Photo from Skinny Gossip

Not only does SG bash Upton's weight, the blogger bully tears Kate down about her style and class saying, "She looks like she would work in the back of a motorcycle shop in Nashville and give (bad) blow jobs for $25."

Photo from Huffington Post

Everyone has the right to their own opinion, but it's people like the blogger of Skinny Gossip and Maura Kelly, who create this constant bullying for others when they know they have at least a national audience. What good does it do to ramble on about how others looks, weight, ect, and bash them? It only shows that YOU, the bully, have deep issues that you need to battle yourself. 

Anytime someone bullies another it's because that person doesn't want to face reality and deal with their inner problems/demons. The writer of Skinny Gossip needs to take a look into what's really causing the attack on Kate Upton. Writing things like, "This girl belongs deep in the gutter of American commercialism – so don’t get any crazy ideas about her being a fashion model, OK?" only shows the world that you have deeper problems than you lead on. 


Two years ago, I wrote a piece about the Maura Kelly rant, a Marie Claire blogger wrote about the show Mike & Molly, attacking the show and people a like. Kelly compared overweight people to alcoholics and heroin addicts but as you read on, she apologizes and opens up about her struggle with anorexia. While it wasn't a valid excuse at all for the down right horrible things she said, it did show she had her own struggles that maybe caused her to not be fully happy with herself. 

There are some people out there that are taking the same steps as the Skinny Gossip blogger, sending SG hate mail and death threats, but what does that do? While yes, SG did something horribly wrong, and should not have shared the hateful rant with the world, I sit here writing this not to bash back but to make people aware of what's going on in the world around them.

So with that said, take a moment and think about what you write, text, post or say. You never know what someone is dealing with, everyone has their own battles to fight. And while celebrities are supposed to have "tough skin" and deal with haters all the time, remember....