“I trended while I was asleep” - OAP Toolz recounts how she almost quit her job because of body-shaming

#jaiyeorie 

Toolz detailed in a long statement how her body type was being used as a basis for body shaming. "So let me tell you about how I almost quit my whole career because of body shaming," the writer stated in her post. My work as a host at Beat FM gave me my first taste of life in the spotlight. At first, the attention was great; nevertheless, it soon became negative and became detrimental. I mean really badly. If I stated something that someone didn't agree with, it would turn into body shaming.

My breaking point happened one morning when I woke up and found out I was trending on (then) Twitter. I trended while I was asleep! It had been a tough week, and waking up to all sorts of horrible body shaming posts made me think that perhaps this career wasn’t for me. I just wasn’t used to all the negativity and at that point quitting seemed to be a great idea. At least that way, I wouldn’t have to deal with all the horrible criticism.

A day or two later, I thought about it some more and realised that I didn’t make the move to Lagos to let some trolls bully me out of a job, and many years later, I’m so glad I didn’t quit.

Honestly, whether you’re big, small, curvy, slim,
have a big booty, no booty, tall, short, someone somewhere will find something wrong with you.
What truly matters is what you think of yourself. You need to remember to keep trying to be the best version of yourself.And whatever changes you make should be foryou, not to keep a man like “aunty’ put it.”

Toolz's post demonstrates the extent of the stigma associated with her public persona. Her experiences must have been exhausting, and it undoubtedly took a lot of bravery to discuss them openly.

 

 

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