My own daughter commented a variety of offensive things beneath our bikini photo, so I made the decision to discipline her 
I’ve never been self-conscious about how I look. I’m sixty years old, not a youthful magazine cover girl, and my body is far from ideal, but I’ve always been comfortable with who I am.
My once-proud hips, soft stomach, and wrinkles all reflect the years I’ve lived. However, all of this is a part of my life and experience. In addition, my hubby has constantly praised my beauty. He can still gaze at me as though we just met, even after 35 years of marriage.
However, things have changed recently. I began to feel ashamed of myself for the first time in my life.
It all started with an innocent-looking picture. I had a rare opportunity to get away from the everyday grind when my spouse and I traveled to the sea. I was grinning as we stood on the beach in our swimwear and he gave me a waist hug. I wanted to record the moment so I could post it to social media and share it with my friends.
Yes, I was aware that the bikini emphasized all of my “flaws.” That’s no excuse to hide from everyone, though!
Likes and kind remarks began to surface a few hours later, with posts like “What a lovely couple!” and “How wonderful that you’ve been together for so many years!”. I grinned till I noticed the remark made by my own daughter.
“You shouldn’t dress like that at your age,” she wrote. Additionally, avoid flaunting your chubby sides. You should remove the picture.
I went cold. As though I had been doused with a pail of freezing water.
It wasn’t a joke. It was serious. My heart fell. I stayed up at night to give birth to this girl, feed her, take her to school, and help her get into college. She writes this to me now.
I don’t regret what I did because I couldn’t stand it any longer. Regretfully, I must now relearn how to love and accept who I am.
I spent a lot of time looking at the screen. I then started typing slowly:
— “These are our genes, dear. You’ll look the same in 20 years. And I sincerely hope you’ll be mature enough to stop feeling self-conscious about your appearance by then.
I sent it. Her comment was removed.
However, it was insufficient. I made the decision that I had every right to establish limits if she permitted herself to openly humiliate me. I stopped taking her calls. Two weeks later, she requested for money, and I gave her a chilly response:
I apologize; I’ve already used it all for food. That’s the source of my fat sides.
She felt insulted. But to be honest, I didn’t give a damn. I may have gone too far, but I was defending myself at the time.
Indeed, I still catch myself examining my reflection attentively ever since. I occasionally use a towel to cover my stomach when I’m in a swimsuit.
I’m upset with myself because I know that it has less to do with the body and more to do with the way that women far too frequently allow other people to define how we should live and look.
I think I still need to master the most crucial lesson of all: how to quit feeling ashamed of who I am. I taught my kid this lesson.
