Mean Girls Hate Themselves More Than They Hate You

(I’m shopping with my older sister. I’m 16, going through a period of having body image issues, and I have trouble shopping alone. I have a rather skinny build, while my sister is plus-size and curvy. We’re looking at bras when two random women start making comments.)

Woman #1: “Check that out; the cow looks even larger with that pancake beside her.”

Woman #2: “Why are they shopping for bras, anyway? One has nothing and the other can’t possibly afford a custom that big.”

(Their comments make me sink deeper into my shell, while their obnoxious laughing irritates my sister.)

Sister: “Mind your own business, will you? You’re only making yourself look dumb.”

Woman #1: “Ever heard about freedom of speech, big girl?”

Sister: “Freedom of speech doesn’t mean you can go around insulting people without consequences.”

Woman #2: “What are you going to do? Sit on us until we say sorry?”

Sister: “I wasted enough precious air talking to you. I have better things to do than talking to two random b****es who need to insult people to feel better, and their cold hearts to keep their plastic bodies from melting.”

(My sister quickly pulled me out of that store and told me two things. One is that your body is a unique work of art; treat it with extreme care. The second is that people who insult you are so arrogant they’re miles away from reality, dumb, insecure, or simply rotten. People like that will fade away if you don’t give them the attention they crave.)