Author Robbie Tripp took to Instagram on July 30th to share a body-positive message about his wife, Sarah, and the post, now with 37.9 thousand likes, went viral.

“I love this woman and her curvy body,” the post began.

Tripp, 26, wrote, “Guys, rethink what society has told you that you should desire. A real woman is not a porn star or a bikini mannequin or a movie character. She’s real. She has beautiful stretch marks on her hips and cute little dimples on her booty.”

In an exclusive interview, Tripp told E! News, “It is so exciting to see this post getting so much attention because it contains my favorite subjects to talk about – my beautiful wife and spreading positivity!”

When he first saw the photo, he said, “I instantly knew what I was going to post about because it was such a perfect shot of me holding Sarah’s cute curvy body and I wanted to celebrate how much I love her. I hoped people would see this post and maybe rethink the superficial and prepackaged image of women that they see in the media.”

The intention of the post, as Tripp explained to E! News, was to break down “society’s beauty myth that women have to be a certain size or a certain shape to be considered sexy.”

Of the post’s 4,000 comments and counting, most of them are positive. People are praising Tripp, his wife, and their love for each other.

“It’s been amazing to see how many men have commented and tagged their girlfriend or wife to say how much they love her curvy body,” he told E! News. “That’s been such a beautiful and unexpected result of this post and it’s awesome to see all the love being shown to the curvy girls and women out there who often feel so ignored and even shamed by society.”

His wife Sarah agreed, with only fond comments, describing the post and responses as both “humbling and beautiful.”

“I’ve been getting so many messages from curvy women all over the world,” she said, “sharing how the post made them cry and how it helped them believe that they deserve to be loved and adored just the way they are.”

Two things are very clear. First, Robbie Tripp is very in love with his wife and her curvy body. Secondly, he believed that this message and publicized note commenting on his wife’s sexiness would help other curvy women feel more confident.

But the following lines have also accumulated their share of criticism. “I was often teased by my friends for my attraction to girls on the thicker side […] girls that the average (basic) bro might refer to as ‘chubby’ or even ‘fat.’ Her shape and size won’t be the one featured on the cover of Cosmopolitan but it’s the one featured in my life and in my heart,” Tripp writes.

In an article for the Telegraph, writer Claire Cohen said, “Dating a woman who isn’t supermodel thin does not make you a feminist, chivalrous, or a hero.”

Cohen argued that while Tripp’s intentions were good, he was still promoting a century-old brand of misogyny that is simply harder to pinpoint.

“His bias is tricky to spot,” she said. “He probably doesn’t even realise it exists – the outdated views he holds about women, deep down. That it is his role to protect them. That by saying he finds his wife’s body shape ‘sexy’ that somehow solves centuries of sexism.”

She continues to point out that Tripp has promised to women that there are guys out there who will love their curvy bodies and encourage the same mentality that he claims a woman’s self-worth, and confidence, depends upon.

She called Tripp a “nice-guy misogynist,” because, “mansplaining on Instagram does not make you a male feminist.”

Tripp has also responded to the backlash in an interview with People, stating that his good intentions behind the post are really what matters. “At the end of the day,” he said, “if you’re hating on that post, you’re hating on a guy loving his wife.”



“Girls, don’t ever fool yourself by thinking you have to fit a certain mold to be loved and appreciated,” Tripp’s message ended, “There is a guy out there who is going to celebrate you for exactly who you are, someone who will love you like I love my Sarah.”

Positive and negative reactions alike, the post is still a hot topic.

Does the post’s message hit purely a body-positive note, or, despite his good intentions, was Tripp unintentionally mansplaining in a “nice-guy misogynist” kind of way? What do you think? New York Minute Magazine wants to know – so comment below!

Featured Image by Dee ♥ on Flickr

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