Simone Biles stuck a completely different kind of landing this past Tuesday when she told off a couple of internet trolls via Twitter. In response to users calling her "fatty" and criticizing her muscular back, the 19-year-old gold medalist tweeted out a powerful message to any haters out there.
you all can judge my body all you want, but at the end of the day it's MY body. I love it & I'm comfortable in my skin ?
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) December 28, 2016
"You all can judge my body all you want, but at the end of the day it's MY body," Biles wrote. What can a hater say back? Nothing. The answer is there is nothing more anyone can possibly say to that.
Fellow Goddess Athlete/American Treasure Serena Williams said something very similar to Biles's tweet in an interview with Self earlier this year. "I'm not asking you to like my body. I'm just asking you to let me be me," she said.
Both of these women's comments hit upon a cornerstone of self-love and acceptance: Your opinion of yourself is what matters most. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. While it's sad that Biles and Williams have been criticized at all for the shape of their bodies rather than the incredible things those bodies can do (both women have multiple gold medals, remember), it's admirable that they both seem very comfortable as role models for body positivity.
If you need us, we'll be retweeting Biles's message.