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Brooklyn told BuzzFeed she turned around to defend herself, but the harassers continued screaming and hurling insults as she and her friend walked back to their car and left the beach.
Couldn't have said it any better myself. You can follow Brooklyn on TikTok and Instagram for more great fashion content.
*And as a general rule, STOP commenting on other people's bodies, especially when no one asked you.
In Case You Thought Anti-Fat Bias Wasn't A Thing, This Influencer Just Proved It's Very Real By Sharing The Harassment She Faced Making A Sponsored Post In Her Bathing Suit
Brooklyn Allen is a 24-year-old content creator who's been sharing fashion content on TikTok and Instagram since 2020.
She's most known for her iconic Skinny or a Fit series, in which she recreates viral outfits and explores whether they're actually fashionable, or simply viewed that way because they're pictured on thin bodies.
Like most content creators, Brooklyn occasionally partners with brands to feature their products in her videos. This is exactly what she did in her "Pack a Beach Bag with Me" TikTok, which highlights an SPF brand.
However, shooting the sponsored post wasn't as easy and carefree as it appeared on the surface. Brooklyn later shared a second TikTok that gave a behind-the-scenes look at her being harassed and insulted as she tried to film on the beach in her bathing suit.
In the video, captioned "POV, you're a fat person trying to exist," people off-camera laugh and shout at Brooklyn, screaming reprehensible comments like: "You ain't cute" and "You're fucking fat."
People. It's 2022. Let's do better.
I wanted to get the full story, so I reached out to Brooklyn to learn more about her experience. She explained that when she removed her bathing suit cover-up to begin filming on the beach, the people in the water immediately began shouting and laughing. "Neither I, nor my friend, picked up on the fact that they were yelling at us until she started making out what they were saying. I tried really hard to block it out so I could get my job done, but it took a lot of patience. They screamed and laughed in the background of my photos and pictures the entire time I was there."
Brooklyn told BuzzFeed she turned around to defend herself, but the harassers continued screaming and hurling insults as she and her friend walked back to their car and left the beach.
"The entire experience felt dystopian," Brooklyn said. "I’ve been called 'fat' plenty of times, which is an observation at this point, and though it used to bother me, it doesn’t so much anymore. I’ve known that fatphobia is rampant, and have experienced it in several ways, so it’s like this experience was the cherry on top. ... I felt truly disgusted by them."
People rushed to the comments on Brooklyn's TikTok to support her, thank her for sharing something so vulnerable, and (rightfully so) call out the people in the background for being so cruel for absolutely no reason. "The response has been incredibly heartwarming and affirming," she told BuzzFeed.
When asked if something like this had ever happened to her in the past, Brooklyn responded, "Nothing this extreme has ever happened to me before. Growing up fat, I definitely faced those embarrassing moments of being treated differently from my thin friends, and just outright being insulted by people — but I have never been screamed at by a complete stranger, and I truly hope I never experience that again."
What's most upsetting about Brooklyn's experience is that it isn't at all unique. According to a 2020 study that surveyed 3,800 adults in the US, 57% reported experiencing some kind of weight stigma, and the odds of teasing and harassment increased for those with higher BMIs. In 2022, Allure reported on the challenges fat content creators face as opposed to thin content creators, including online harassment, limited pay, and their bodies being considered "against community guidelines."
"Fat creators' treatment vs. thin creators' treatment is black and white," Brooklyn told BuzzFeed. "We are ignored in the creator space so often, and as you saw in my video, ridiculed in-person by society. I think this definitely proves that fatphobia is rampant, and despite steps in the right direction, there’s still such a long way to go with unlearning that behavior and treating everyone with kindness."
In terms of what she thinks needs to change in order to stamp out anti-fat bias once and for all, Brooklyn said, "I think the people minding their business would have completely prevented this from happening, but on a wider scale, people need to learn to be more accepting of differences. There’s no good or bad bodies, and once people learn that, they’ll begin to heal and grow."
i want her bigger
