2,000 women turn ‘dancing man’ into internet hero after he was fat shamed

If you think it’s just women that get body shamed, think again. A man in England was just happily dancing the night away when some mean people started filming him and laughing at him. He stopped and hung his head in shame. They posted the photos on 4Chan, making fun of the man. But what came next is proof of the immense power of the Internet.

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Once social media got a hold of the story, the story changed. A woman named Cassandra Fairbanks started the twitter hashtag #finddancingman and somehow, through the miraculous convenience of the Internet, was able to find him. His name is Sean. He lives in England. And his life is about to become a lot of fun.

In addition to the outpouring of love and support, some gave money, too. Now Sean is about to get the dance party of a lifetime thanks to the more than $36,000 a go fund me page has raised for him. More than 2,000 women got involved and now people like Pharrell want to be at the party. It’s amazing.See below:

I want to dance with you all, @CassandraRules! RT “@bedford_danes: the internet is cool sometimes http://t.co/rJ8RjktO1i”

— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 6, 2015

But why did these women get involved? We all know exactly why. Most women know exactly what it feels like to feel ashamed of our bodies or like we shouldn’t be moving in one way or another or that we aren’t allowed to do things — eat chocolate, dance in public, wear bikinis — because our bodies don’t fit some ideal.

Yes, all people can and do get body shamed. Sean is an example of that. But women probably have a special kind of empathy for it given it’s part of our everyday lives. And no one is throwing us a party. It’s not that I am knocking this party for Sean. He deserves it. And those people who mocked him? Deserve needles in their eyes. But as much as I feel for him, I also feel for the women who experience this kind of pain every single day. How about we all just stop it? How about he revel in the fact that our bodies can dance and groove and move and be in the world without focusing on what size they are.

All of us. Together. We all need a dance party where no one is watching us.

More on weight

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What we should really say to a friend calling herself ‘fat’
How to say ‘I love myself’ and really mean it