Olympic medalist claps back at troll bodyshaming her — and it's something women deal with every day

Ilona Maher (@ilonamaher), an Olympic rugby player, posted a picture wearing a stunning bodycon dress. Soon enough, a man commented on it: 'She looks pregnant in that dress," clearly bodyshaming her. Maher noticed it and responded with a savage comeback, only to watch the cowardly man delete his comment like it never happened. Later, the athlete posted a video on January 11 wearing the same dress to call out the troll and all those who ridicule women for their physical appearance. Her video has since been viewed 3.7 million times on TikTok.

Maher said that there isn't anything wrong with her body and that she looks absolutely normal. "You probably haven't seen a woman naked in a long time, if ever, and I hope you never get the privilege to again," she fired back, responding to the troll. Despite being a professional athlete who religiously follows a healthy lifestyle, Maher said she always had a naturally curvier body, specifically a visible belly. "So, please stop commenting on the dumbest stuff," she said. Women often have a higher overall bodyfat percentage, and they store more fat around certain areas like the hips, thighs, and lower belly, while men are more likely to have deep visceral belly fat. Since women's fat storage is more subcutaneous, they often look curvier than men, according to research.

Moreover, women biologically store more lipids/subcutaneous fat; that is, they are more likely to store more fat. Men, however, are biologically built to burn more fat for energy at a higher rate. The fat percentage in women is around 18-20%, whereas in men, it is only about 10-15%. The biological difference is seen for a reason; women tend to carry a baby at some point in their lives and nourish a new life through breast milk, both of which need excessive energy. When a woman gets pregnant, her body relies on these fat reserves to supply extra energy for reproduction and nurturing a baby, according to a report by Human Kinetics. In fact, most women, no matter how much they try, can't have flat bellies, Ashley Wood, a registered nurse, told USA TODAY Network. She said that a woman's anatomy is very different from that of a man. Along with digestive organs like the stomach, liver, and intestines, women also have reproductive organs that need extra padding to protect them. "This process of naturally storing fat cells in the stomach area begins during adolescence and young adulthood in preparation for childbearing later in life," Wood explained. 

Meanwhile, netizens went all out praising Maher, the athlete, for facing the troll with a savage reply; for example, @moth.at.heart said, "Can we also talk about the fact that somehow looking pregnant has been made into a NEGATIVE thing?" @tyees19 commented, "People are not used to real people anymore. All images these days have filters (mine is a great example!) or are photoshopped." Similarly, @emiliepeanut confessed, "My god, I wish I’d had someone to tell me it was normal in the 90’s. I think I might not have developed such a terrible ED if someone had even once told me."

You can follow Ilona Maher (@ilonamaher) on TikTok for lifestyle content.

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