Georgina McConnell, a teenage female bodybuilder from the U.K., says that she is “happy with who I am” following some critical comments that were directed at her online.
Reports this week said that McConnell, 19, was bullied online. But she told the Daily Mail that the reaction to her physique is mixed.
McConnell, who is from Houghton-le-Spring, is aiming to compete at the British Championships.
“My mum and dad are really into keeping fit, so there were always weights and stuff lying around the house when I was younger,” she told the Mail. “I was about 17 when I decided I wanted to take up bodybuilding properly, although I was already quite stacked by then.”
She added: “I knew it was an unusual thing for a girl my age to want to do - most girls want to be thin and dainty - but I really love it,” adding that it has greatly helped her self-esteem.
However, she said she has to cover up when she goes out because “people stare at me - especially at my arms and shoulders. I get a lot of compliments for my physique, but I get a lot of insults too - quite a few people have said nasty things about me in the past.”
On Facebook, she defended herself and lifestyle choice.
McConnel said she is “not just gonna sit back and pretend like a haven’t seen any of it, a don’t care I you don’t like what I look like that is fine!”
“That’s up to you but I personally don’t know where people get off being really really harsh about the way someone looks I could and wouldn’t dream of saying half of the stuff that gets said about me I have done nothing wrong at all, I’m just being me and I believe in [myself 100%,” she added. McConnell also said she isn’t “taking copious amounts of this and that,” as alleged by some of her critics, maintaining she never misses a meal and works out frequently.
Later, she posted on Thursday: “Would just like to say thanks for all the support and lovely messages I’ve been getting ... take the positive with the negative.”
