Bullying  is one of the most despicable aspects of modern society, Iâm sure we can all agree.
Prejudice against someone based on something as trivial as appearance is truly abhorrent behavior, but unfortunately social media has given people a platform to be nasty to one another while benefitting from relative anonymity.
Needless to say, Melissa was hurt by the comments, which came after she wrote an article for CNN back in 2019.
When the article went live, a YouTuber shared a photo of her, only for hundreds of people to then attack her appearance. Melissa, who has Freeman Sheldon syndrome â a disorder characterized by abnormalities of the head and face and defects of the hands and feet â was labelled a âblob fishâ and a âwhaleâ, amongst other things.
Rather than let the sick trolls bully her into depression, however, she decided to make a stand in a truly special way.
Rather than let the sick trolls bully her into depression, however, she decided to make a stand in a truly special way.
Melissa took to Twitter with a post that read: âDuring the last round of trollgate, people said that I should be banned from posting photos of myself because Iâm too ugly. So Iâd just like to commemorate the occasion with these 3 selfies âŚâ
That specific tweet gained plenty of traction online, with people flooding to Melissaâs defense. Yet the writer wasnât finished there. No, after she was told she was so ugly she should be âbannedâ for taking selfies, Melissa went on to post a selfie every day for a year.
As a result, her following on Instagram has risen from 7,500 to 100,000. Alongside the images she posted each day, 39-year-old Melissa also addressed topics such as disabilities. As per Refinery29, she said:
She continued:
âItâs a way of taking back my power and painting a more accurate picture of disability. Because the one we have now? Itâs more 1950 than 2020 â full of misconceptions that often only show disabled people as drains on society. On the contrary, we lead full lives and Iâm so proud that I was able to show that for an entire year.â
