Chloe Ferrari was trying to share how much she loved her new Kmart dress, but instead, she was body-shamed.
Ferrari, 26, is an online creator with over 4.7 million likes on TikTok, who shared that she’d purchased a new $25 dress from Kmart that made her feel “hot.”
“Seriously! Don’t tell me this doesn’t slay,” she said.
In the clip, the young mum does a twirl and poses as she shows off her new purchase.
She then reveals the dress she purchased is what she’d consider a “Skim’s dupe.”
Of course, Skims is the clothing brand owned by Kim Kardashian, but while her dresses cost over $100, the Kmart version is only $25.
It has become a significant trend on the internet for women to show off their Kmart purchases and reveal how they’ve styled them.
The TikTok clip has amassed over 300,000, and while so many women were cheering her on in the comments section or inquiring about the dress, she was also shamed.
“That is gross,” one man commented.
Someone else said her body looked “floppy,” another commented and said, “Please don’t wear this again,” and one person said the dress was too “clingy” and showed Ferrari’s “rolls.”
The bulk of the negative comments came from men.
Ms Ferrari, however, has learnt to brush off the negative attention.
“I don’t take these personally as I know that someone else’s view of me is only a projection of someone else’s inner thoughts and insecurities,” she told news.com.au.
Ferrari, who fits into standard sizing, was body shamed for wearing a size 12 in the clip.
She said the negative comments don’t impact her self-esteem but that doesn’t mean they don’t hurt.
“It does, however, make me slightly sad to see how hateful people are simply about someone’s body type in her real and how quickly people are to react in such a negative way,” she explained.
Initially, she replied to a few of the negative comments in a playful but educational manner. When someone commented on her “rolls”, Ms Ferrari wrote back and reminded her that it was 2024 and she loved herself.
For every awful comment that was left, there were plenty of women ready to jump in and defend her.
Mr Ferrari said one particularly nasty comment got over 300 replies from her followers, who all defended her.
“It’s full of women backing me up and I’m so incredibly grateful for such a strong online community,” she said.
So why is this happening? Why is it so normal that when a woman posts videos of herself online, it opens her up to being judged over her body?
Well, Ms Ferrari, who is chronically online as an influencer, reckons she understands why and said it is because there’s a culture of people being “hard” on women’s bodies.
“When I was growing up, it was the front page of a magazine if someone gained 5kg. We have only just started seeing real bodies in the media recently in the last few years. I follow so many incredible women who celebrate loving the body they’re in now. I think we have come a long way but still have a way to go,” she pointed out.