A Fashion Blog By Gemma Talbot

Friday, 21 July 2017

Positive Vibes Only: Why Trolling Needs To Be Addressed

Whilst on a Sunday evening Twitter scroll during the ad break of Love Island I stumbled across someone I know who has recently become victim to trolling. In a nutshell, style blogger Callie Thorpe was recently featured in a Vogue article on 'the bikini style to be seen in this summer' alongside the likes of Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid. A massive achievement in itself and when I initially saw she'd posted this on Twitter I remember thinking.....GO GIRL!!!! What was to follow though was not so nice. This post is therefore a fingers up to the haters, trollers and nasty people who have ever personally victimised someone. Enough really is enough. Isn't it about time to spread positive vibes only?

Callie's heart felt YouTube video which you can see here practically had me in tears. Whilst I wouldn't go as far as saying Callie is a friend, I've met her a few times at various blogger events would always make time to speak to her when I see her. As such, I can definitely see she has a heart of gold. Callie promotes body confidence alongside plus size fashion and personally I think this is something she does incredibly well. If anything it really hit home that trolling is such a serious issue and it's happening right under our noses yet nothing is being done about it. It's really not ok to body shame someone or pick on someone for the way that they look and it's something that needs to stop. 

It's as though the fashion industry is taking one step forward and two steps back. I say this because it's such a great thing to see that plus size models are really becoming an integral part of fashion campaigns and that generally we're accepting women of all shapes and sizes. Many companies have fallen under massive scrutiny as of late for photoshopping and airbrushing images giving girls particularly unrealistic expectations about how they should look. I recently saw that ASOS had chosen not to airbrush out a models stretch marks and as much as I already love the brand I gained a whole lot more respect for them because it represents the everyday consumer who is actually buying the clothes in the first place

Someone once said to me "people think that because I'm fat, I'm unhappy" and this is definitely something that has always stuck with me. I say this because you could have the best, most toned body in the world and still deep down by unhappy so isn't it more important to have a healthy and happy mindset? I think so. Bodies come in all shapes and sizes and we should appreciate that they are each beautiful in their own right. With that said, personally body shaming someone can lead to massive insecurities and really these trolls needs to be confronted and publicly shamed for their disgraceful behaviour or shall I say comments. 

Social media in my opinion is giving people a back bone to sit behind their phone and computer screens and write these awful comments about people. Would they actually have the guts to say something so nasty to someones face? Probably not. Actually I could probably bet all my prize possessions that they would 100% not have the balls to do so. It would be a case of playing knock down ginger (if you ever played that as a child) where you knocked on someones door and ran away laughing but also slightly petrified at the same time. Moreover, people who collectively come together and write negative comments about others are condoning that trolling is ok. When it absolutely IS NOT. People have feelings and these personal attacks about weight, age and the way you look are hurtful and planting seeds that lead to massive insecurities. Trolling, in some instances has become so bad that victims of it have actually taken their own lives as means of escaping the feelings it evokes. When did this sort of behaviour become ok?! That's what we need to ask ourselves and definitely something that needs to be addressed. 

Another example that I stumbled upon recently was Sarah Ashcroft. At 23 years old, there's no denying that this girl is absolutely killing it. Whilst I know social media can create a facade generally I'd say this girl is SLAYYYYINNG. I know hands down many girls would kill to be in her position even if it pains them to admit it. With that said, Sarah posted a picture on her 23rd birthday on Instagram holding two balloons; a 2 and a 3. Underneath people had taken it upon themselves to go in on her age, some saying she looked as old as 50! I mean there's no way that Sarah looks this age but even if you thought it why feel the need to actively type those words out and post it onto her Instagram?! That's what baffles me. What kind of person are you and what does this say about you? The way I see it, composing a comment involves a thought process; click on comment icon, type comment, evaluate comment and then post comment. Thus you're well aware of what you are writing. So you want to go out of your way to make someone personally feel like crap? Cool, that really says a lot about you. It's as though people think that because you have a large social following it means you don't have feelings, but you shouldn't be anybody's punch bag. 

I wear my heart on my sleeve. FACT. At times, I can be incredibly sensitive and whilst this industry has encouraged me to develop a thicker skin equally I don't feel I should change who I am to adhere to these awful members of society. Whilst generally I have a very supportive network of followers and as such receive lovely comments on my Instagram and blog, I have been a victim of trolling. I undertook a campaign for New Look which personally was a massive achievement for me. It's not everyday you can say you get to work with a brand that you absolutely love and that has a key standing in the British high street. A photo they posted of me on their Instagram received some rather horrible comments about my physical appearance. I know they say you shouldn't look or entertain it, but curiosity really did kill the cat so to speak. Some of the comments went a little like this...

"She calls herself a blogger! She looks like a pumpkin"

"This girl looks so cold and miserable. Smile love."

"Strange head"

"No neck" 

"How awkward does she look"

"She looks like she's going to be sick"

"@anonymous and you say you're awkward in pics"

One girl even took it upon herself to visit my Instagram page and write abusive comments, attacking my physical appearance. I was shocked to say the least. Whilst generally, I only tend to receive lovely, positive comments from my followers it's always the one negative comment that seems to stick. I'm definitely not trying to make this post about me, rather show that trolling really is happening right under our noses and making people feel terrible about themselves. So with that said, it's really something that finally needs to be squashed. Don't you agree?

T-Shirt - Missy Empire
Skirt - New Look
Sandals - Topshop
Bag - She In

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  1. It's so funny I am reading this post today, as I had a similar experience happen to me just yesterday. I received so many mean and nasty comments on an interview I did with an online news site and was in such shock that people take time to post a negative comment. It seriously baffles me that these people think it is ok to attack someone personally from behind their computer screens.. What kind of human must you be to write mean comments to anybody! So yes, I am with you 100% on this, it really needs to be addressed and people need to stop being gutless trolls!
    PS. OBSESSED with this outfit. Gingham and pink.. my two favourite things!!
    x Emily

  2. I totally think that all this online hate must stop, we're only hurting people instead of spreading positive thoughts and happiness. Btw I really like your outfit! xxx

  3. YES Gemma, this is a really important subject to address. It really is astounding how some people find it acceptable to hide behind their computer screens and attack others for whatever reason - as you say, social media makes people feel they can do this and get away with it, but I wonder if they were in a room with the person how likely they would be to say out loud the sort of awful things they like to type. It's cowardly, it's not something we should accept and it's just plain mean! Such a disconnect nowadays on social, how can people not fully understand that there is a person, with feelings, behind everything. Can't believe the things you said people commented on the New Look photo - that is disgusting. Looking gorge in these photos btw and I love the outfit. Sophie xxx


  4. I don't understand why on earth people would ever want to write such nasty things about others! I would never want to upset anyone and say horrible things about their appearance. How boring would it be if we all looked exactly the same? I wish people would think about the effects what they say has on people x

    Jenny | LuxeStyle

  5. It baffles me how in this day and age people can still get away with this, let alone why someone to take it upon themselves to negatively target others. I can imagine how chuffed you were with your New Look campaign and how so quickly someone can tarnish your achievements by slagging you off. I've had some nasty comments on my blog and shamefully deleted them, I wasn't sure what to do.
    Jaz xoxo


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Gemma x

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