Sharny Kieser isn't shy about posting photos of her stretch marks on social media. The mom of six is a fitness guru who runs a successful health business with her husband, Julius, and together they share candid photos of their family's life on Instagram. The photos often include snaps of Sharny in a bathing suit or workout gear, and she rocks both her stretch marks and toned abs with equal pride. But unfortunately other people aren't as accepting of Sharny's body as she is. Recently, her husband shared a typical beach photo of the mom, and she was subjected to a flood of abusive comments about her loose skin.
"Last week, I posted a photo of Sharny with her tummy out and a young girl said 'at least photoshop the disgusting stretch marks out,'" Julius wrote.
This is the photo he posted. In it, you see a strong, kickass mom with just a hint of stretch marks on her stomach. But apparently that's all it took to make haters on Instagram say "ew."
In response, the dad shared a second photo that had been adjusted to black and white so Sharni's stretch marks stood out even more.
"Enjoy, because I do," he wrote. "I think they’re beautiful. I think they symbolize the strength of a mother who brought 6 children into the world."
And that's not the only post the dad made defending his wife's right to wear her stretch marks with pride. In a separate post he wrote, "'Put those ghastly stretch marks away, nobody needs to see that filth.' I disagree with every fibre in my being … Mums, moms. Stretch marks or no stretch marks, please … On behalf of all men, we LOVE your body because it represents everything we hold dear to our hearts. And at the centre of that … Is you."
Needless to say, his heartfelt defense of women with stretch marks has gotten the Internet all weepy.
Sharny has also written about embracing stretch marks and ignoring what haters say.
"Your stomach is not disgusting, neither is it weird or different. YOU are not weird or different," she wrote in an earlier post. "You are a mum. Flat tummy, stretched tummy, loose skin, tight skin, stretch marks, tattoos, piercings, surgically tightened skin, C-section scars. It doesn't matter what your tummy looks like, it's F*CKING AMAZING!"
Amen, Momma.
