A plus-size fashion blogger is hitting back at trolls by proudly posing in a bikini to prove their words and nasty intentions can’t bash her confidence.
Katie Sturino, 37, is a fashion publicist turned beauty entrepreneur and blogger who started her blog The 12ish Style in 2015 after she realized there was a gap in the market for fashion inspiration for curvier women online.
The New Yorker, who used to be married to meme king The Fat Jew, is no stranger to social media and previously turned their King Charles Spaniel Toast into an Instagram star.
Proud: Fashion blogger Katie Sturino, 37, is calling out trolls who have called her ‘fat’ by proudly posing in a bikini
![Pioneer: Katie launched her blog The 12ish in 2015 after she realized there was very little fashion inspiration for curvier women online](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/03/23/16/4A7A933600000578-5536403-Pioneer_Katie_launched_her_blog_The_12ish_after_she_realized_the-m-47_1521820979429.jpg)
Pioneer: Katie launched her blog The 12ish in 2015 after she realized there was very little fashion inspiration for curvier women online
![Acceptance: She has also revealed that she's had to learn to deal with negative attention, and how learning to love her body at any size was the key to finding happiness and self-acceptance](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/03/23/16/4A7A945B00000578-5536403-image-m-45_1521820963351.jpg)
![Acceptance: She has also revealed that she's had to learn to deal with negative attention, and how learning to love her body at any size was the key to finding happiness and self-acceptance](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/03/23/16/4A7A97E600000578-5536403-Acceptance_She_has_also_revealed_that_she_s_had_to_learn_to_deal-a-46_1521820973396.jpg)
Acceptance: She has also revealed that she’s had to learn to deal with negative attention, and how learning to love her body at any size was the key to finding happiness and self-acceptance
![Loyal: Since launching her blog and personal Instagram account, Katie has built a loyal fan base and she currently has 100,000 followers](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/03/23/16/4A7A943F00000578-5536403-Loyal_However_since_launching_her_blog_and_personal_Instagram_ac-m-40_1521820919504.jpg)
Loyal: Since launching her blog and personal Instagram account, Katie has built a loyal fan base and she currently has 100,000 followers
Since launching her blog and personal Instagram account, Katie has built a loyal following (she currently has 100,000 followers).
And she’s also become known for her outfit posts, which poke fun at the fashion industry by copying looks worn by models to prove plus size women can wear the same things.
However, despite her following and all the positive feedback she’s received, Katie has revealed she’s also been subjected to lots of name-calling online.
Taking to Instagram this week, Katie posted a picture of herself posing on the beach in a leopard print bikini, with various offensive names and phrases Photoshopped into the background.
These words included ‘whale,’ ‘fat,’ and ‘cover up,’ along with the phrases ‘nobody wants to see that’ and ‘lose some weight’.
![Mirror mirror: She revealed on Instagram that when she was thinner, she used to criticize herself in the mirror](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/03/23/16/4A7A989700000578-5536403-Mirror_mirror_She_also_revealed_on_Instagram_that_when_she_was_t-a-39_1521820904681.jpg)
![She is pictured with her Instagram-famous dog Toast](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/03/23/16/4A7A97F700000578-5536403-Mirror_mirror_She_also_revealed_on_Instagram_that_when_she_was_t-m-38_1521820899381.jpg)
Mirror mirror: She revealed on Instagram that when she was thinner, she used to criticize herself in the mirror (pictured right with her dog Toast)
![Shame: Katie also used to feel ashamed of her body in the past and hated feeling like 'the fattest girl in the room'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/03/23/16/4A7A946500000578-5536403-Shame_Katie_also_used_to_feel_ashamed_of_her_body_in_the_past_an-m-35_1521820880364.jpg)
Shame: Katie also used to feel ashamed of her body in the past and hated feeling like ‘the fattest girl in the room’
‘I always get a “troll” or two when I post a swimsuit photo, but it never bothers me because my journey to self acceptance meant I had to get over the opinion of my biggest troll… ME,’ Katie wrote in the accompanying caption.
‘When I was a lot slimmer than I am now, I used to criticize myself in the mirror, feel shame for being “the fattest girl in the room” and blame my problems on those final ten pounds I couldn’t lose.’
However, when Katie finally learned to accept her body and herself, she also started to feel good about her body at any size, and harsh words and criticisms became ‘irrelevant’.
‘How I feel is everything and it’s opened me up to focus on the good things in life vs obsession on faults I’ve been taught are there. That doesn’t mean I don’t look in the mirror and say YUCK once in a while, but I just try not to let it be my main narrative,’ she added.
![Any size: When Katie finally learned to accept her body and herself, she also started to feel good about her body at any size](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/03/23/16/4A7A931100000578-5536403-Any_size_However_when_Katie_finally_learned_to_accept_her_body_a-m-32_1521820842469.jpg)
![Any size: When Katie finally learned to accept her body and herself, she also started to feel good about her body at any size](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/03/23/16/4A7A97A300000578-5536403-Any_size_However_when_Katie_finally_learned_to_accept_her_body_a-a-33_1521820857083.jpg)
Any size: When Katie finally learned to accept her body and herself, she also started to feel good about her body at any size
![Beauty guru: Celebrating the 'perfectly imperfect,' her beauty brand Megababe sells products to help prevent thigh chaffing and under boob sweat so curvier women don't feel ashamed](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/03/23/16/4A7A9A7300000578-5536403-Beauty_guru_Celebrating_the_perfectly_imperfect_her_beauty_brand-m-29_1521820820738.jpg)
Beauty guru: Celebrating the ‘perfectly imperfect,’ her beauty brand Megababe sells products to help prevent thigh chaffing and under boob sweat so curvier women don’t feel ashamed
Katie has also channeled this spirit of self-acceptance and body confidence into her beauty brand Megababe.
Celebrating the ‘perfectly imperfect,’ the company sells products like Thigh Rescue and Bust Dust to help prevent thigh chaffing and under-boob sweat.
Explaining the concept behind the products, the brand revealed: ‘The truth is, being a woman is sometimes uncomfortable and even annoying but it should never be shameful!’
‘Enough is enough! We need solutions, and men’s anti-chafe sticks or the baby powder your mom used in your diaper just aren’t cutting it,’ it added.