A social media influencer went viral when she declared that she wouldn’t cover up her body, proclaiming it was “hot chubby girl summer.” Regardless of what her haters had to say, she let it all hang out in a video that she posted to social media, which quickly garnered national attention.
Emily Bispo, a popular body-positive influencer known to her followers as “Bunny,” made headlines when the then-23-year-old self-proclaimed “body-positive advocate and self-love enthusiast” declared that it was “hot chubby girl summer” in June of 2022. Bunny made her declaration via a video that featured her lounging by a pool, and it quickly went viral.
“You should probably cover up, that’s not very flattering,” the video reads as Bunny relaxes by the pool in a black and red two-piece swimsuit with flames emblazoned on the top. With her belly rolls on full display, Bunny then looks directly at the camera, raises her sunglasses, and says “No” with a bit of attitude and a glare before lowering her shades and returning her attention to her poolside paradise.
“It’s hot chubby girl summer, mind ur business!” Bunny declared in the caption of her viral video. According to the NY Post, the clip quickly garnered hundreds of thousands of views and tens of thousands of likes on TikTok as Bunny Bispo’s followers chimed in to share how they felt about the influencer’s natural figure and her “hot chubby girl summer” declaration.
Most let the body-positivity influencer know that she was doing a good job, praising and even thanking her for being so transparent and encouraging.
“I LOVE YOU SO MUCH THANK U FOR INSPIRING ME TO LOVE MY BODY,” one user commented.
“This makes me feel safe,” another replied.
“You make me feel so much better about myself,” one viewer wrote.
“THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTENT,” another commenter said, while yet another wrote, “You literally don’t know how much affect [sic] u have on me!”
Of course, this wasn’t the first time Emily “Bunny” Bispo used social media to show the world that she has no time for body shamers. Instead, she’s “keeping it real, spreading love and empowering all sizes,” according to the description on her Instagram account, which also features plenty of photos and videos in which the self-love and body-positivity advocate shamelessly shows off her tummy rolls.
After suffering from an eating disorder and mental health issues, Bunny began using social media to document her ongoing recovery, brushing off rude comments about her figure and encouraging others to do the same. In a “public service announcement” to her fans, Bunny informed her following that “all of you have a summer body,” simply because summer had officially begun at the time she made the post.
Indeed, influencers like Emily “Bunny” Bispo seem to be needed when “Up to 24 million people of all ages and genders suffer from eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating in the US, with 50% of people with eating disorders meeting the criteria for depression,” as the NY Post reported. Making matters worse, “According to the mental health service, eating disorders also have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness,” the outlet added.
With the vast majority of social media accounts only showing a “highlight reel” of their lives, influencers who base their posts on reality are a breath of fresh air. While others use filters, poses, and flattering angles to only show the most flattering representation of themselves, Emily “Bunny” Bispo joins the few who have chosen to make honest posts that embrace rather than hide their natural bodies in hopes of inspiring others to love themselves.
After all, women can be beautiful and valuable, regardless of their size and shape. Those who feel differently and believe only rail-thin women should post swimsuit-clad photos on social media should simply keep their hate to themselves. People of all shapes and sizes enjoy the water, and if you go to the beach, you’ll see a wide variety of figures. Why shouldn’t the same be expected on social media?
If you wouldn’t walk up to someone in person and advise them to cover up, don’t do it with a rude comment online. There is the option to just scroll on rather than trying to bring shame to someone who’s simply trying to enjoy life rather than hating what they see in the mirror and trying to hide it away from the world.
