While the internet is rife with trolls and nasty comments, good people push back. One of them is raspy-voiced singer and professional badass, Pink, who wore an elegant, ankle-grazing evening frock to the John Wayne 30th Annual Odyssey Ball in Beverly Hills. Once the photos hit the internet, the usual suspects flung meanness and fat jokes her way.
But Pink did not shrink away.
RELATED: When Even Good Moms Fail
Neither did she fight nastiness with nastiness. In a paragraph shared on Twitter, the star shifted attention back to the cancer research, which the event supported, and added, "But, unfortunately, my weight seems much more important to some of you."
She wasn't finished.
"I feel beautiful."
With a few strokes of her keyboard, Pink took back whatever it is that these critics want from women when they try to make us feel insecure. She went on to say, "Don't worry about me, I'm not worried about me. And I'm not worried about you either. I am perfectly fine, perfectly happy, and my healthy, voluptuous and crazy strong body is having some much deserved time off. Love, cheesecake."
Although social media makes us more accessible, it seems to make us more vulnerable too. This is something I think about as I'm raising a daughter in the thick of the digital age. Naturally, I wish to protect her. Pink's retort may offer some guidance to moms with similar concerns: raise a self-assured girl who can hold her own and rise above the detractors—with a little bit of cheekiness for good measure.
Pink also shared an image of herself with her daughter Willow, who she said grabbed her mom's belly asking, "Mama why are you so squishy?"
Pink's answer? "Because I'm happy, baby."
What a great example of taking a situation that could potentially teach her daughter a very different lesson had she responded with something like, "That's not nice to say" or "Because mama needs to eat less." Instead, squishiness was equated with happiness and everything is right in the world.
Pink may have started a trend, as mamas on social media are proclaiming that they, too, are squishy.
RELATED: The Moms Left Out of Working Mom Conversations
Perhaps it's appropriate that Pink is using her social platform to shut down the criticisms facilitated by the same medium. While we must understand the unfeeling nature of the internet, we can still push back when our space has been invaded. The world isn't always soft and squishy, but we can try to raise happy girls who are strong, healthy and bold.
Just like Pink herself.
Images via Twitter
