A Teen Was Gifted A Too-Small Dress By A Friend's Mom To "Encourage" Her To Lose Weight, And People Are Applauding Her Mother's Reaction

Warning: Brief discussion of eating disorders.

Hey folks! We're back with another wild internet story about a mom who gifted her daughter's friend a dress that intentionally didn't fit so she would be inspired to lose weight. Well, the girl's mother found out, and let's just say it didn't go over well.

Here's the full story: "About two weeks ago, my 14-year-old daughter Bonnie was out shopping with her best friend Gigi and Gigi's mom Lauren. While they were out, Lauren bought them both dresses she thought were cute. Except she bought Bonnie a size 3."

"Bonnie said she picked out one that was her size, but Lauren put it back and said that the size 3 one would be her 'aspirational' dress to work towards fitting into."

"When she came home, she gave it to me and was upset but also didn't want to say anything bad about Gigi's mom, which I get. First off, Bonnie is a healthy girl. Gymnastics until she was about 11 (and grew several inches), dance in the fall, and track in the spring were all her choices. So she's got an athletic build. Gigi is a small girl, barely 5 feet, and so I thought at first she got them mixed up. She told me that Gigi's mom got it for her to aspire to try to get into by 'working hard.'"

"I said I'd take care of it and get her the right size. The next day, I called Gigi's mom, Lauren, and asked her why she would do that. She explained that she thought it would give Bonnie something to work towards because she heard Bonnie saying she didn't get asked out last year, but Gigi had several boys after her and that it seemed like it upset her."

"I told her it was inappropriate and asked her why she would tell a kid she needed to lose weight in order to get attention from boys?"

"She got defensive and said that it was obviously embarrassing for Bonnie to not have boys into her when all her friends do."

"She basically said I'm holding Bonnie back from growing up—like I won't help her with boys, won't drop hundreds at Sephora, still dress her like a kid, and buy B&BW sprays instead of fancy perfumes. She said it's messing with Bonnie socially and that she's the only one in her friend group who hasn't had a boyfriend."

"Then she got personal and said just because I've 'given up' and stopped trying doesn't mean I have to turn Bonnie into a nun."

"FOR THE RECORD, this is partially true. But it's also because Bonnie doesn't WANT that stuff. I have offered to get her more than Cetaphil skincare and she doesn't want it."

"She got straight A's last year, and I took her to Ulta for a 'spree', and all she wanted was some lip gloss and then ASKED for the body spray instead."

"I said that it's time for a break. The girls can still hang out, but I don't want Bonnie at Gigi's house. Bonnie got upset over it, but I can deal with that. Gigi's mom, however, has gone NUCLEAR over it, spreading poison everywhere she can about me being 'psycho' and doubling down on how it's all because I don't want my daughter to be happy with a boyfriend when I'm single and 'no man would touch me.' Which is just…childish."

"And I’ve been shocked to see how other people have reacted to this, so now I’m questioning my own parenting, which I NEVER do. Am I the asshole?"

Pretty much everyone in the comments was pissed and agreed that the original poster was absolutely NOT the asshole for sticking up for her 14-year-old daughter.

"Not the asshole. Good fucking lord it is absolutely wild to me that an adult woman would teach a 14-year-old girl that she has to sculpt her body for male attention. Absolutely apeshit, it's the 2020s, not the 1920s," said user CapoExplains.

Another commenter pointed out that Gigi's mom's "toxic" behavior could unknowingly be inspiring an eating disorder in her own daughter.

"That woman is lucky all you did was call her out," user MaybeitsMe0617 agreed. I would have lost it on that woman for the body-shaming, fatphobia bullshit, let alone everything else."

"Those people are toxic. Good for you for protecting your daughter from that, but it would also be a good idea to educate her on things like weight cycling, diet culture, etc, to give her more context on why that woman's mindset/dieting is so unhealthy and damaging for her long-term development."

User woodlinds also expressed that they felt it was "creepy" to encourage 14-year-olds to get into romantic relationships.

"On top of all the comments about how it's horrible to encourage a girl to change her body for a boy, encouraging children into relationships is super weird to me. 14 is under the age of consent for most places so it's wild that the mother is that invested in children's dating lives. While they probably aren't doing anything sexually active, it's extremely hetero-centric and creepy."

Another user shared their experience hearing similar comments as a child, and how it still impacts them as an adult.

Parents, what are your thoughts on this situation? Let us know in the comments below.

The National Eating Disorders Association helpline is 1-800-931-2237; for 24/7 crisis support, text “NEDA” to 741741.