Tanis Jex-Blake had been waiting more than a dozen years for a chance to enjoy a day out. Tanis is a mother of five children, so “Me Time” is something that she had rarely had a chance to enjoy. So, the first chance that she had to visit the beach, the 33-year-old donned a bikini and laid back in the sand, hoping to get a tan.
What Tanis got instead, was body shamed. The 125 lbs. mother heard what she described as “a commotion” as she laid in the sand. She heard the voices nearby and raised her head to see what was going on. Tanis then realized that two adult males and an adult woman were circling her, talking about her appearance.
“That’s nasty,” they said, as they pretended to kick at her. “How gross.”
Tanis left the beach in tears, but decided to take to social media to address the matter. She posted an open letter regarding the body shaming incident on Facebook.
“I’m sorry my mom-bikini body grossed you out and that my body isn’t taught and tight. I have stretch marks, I am a real person. What I am not sorry about is that I gave birth to and nurtured five wonderful human beings. But tell me, what amazing feat has YOUR body done?”
Tanis’ was featured on the news in Edmonton, where she was flaunting her perfect, bikini-clad body along with other moms, women, and various supporters.
“This is what real people look like,” Tanis told news reporters. “If people don’t like it, they can just look away.”