Bride Under Fire for Suggesting Nine-Year-Old Stepdaughter Wear a 'Girdle'

A bride-to-be is being slammed for "body-shaming" after she revealed in a Facebook post that she was considering making her soon-to-be stepdaughter wear shapewear to the wedding, according to 7news.com.au.

The woman referred to the nine-year-old as "thick" and "plus-size," descriptors that some commenters construed as derogatory.

Thhe woman wrote that she was finding it hard to locate a suitable dress for her stepdaughter because "nothing fit her," even "big girl youth sizes."

She added that she couldn't consult her partner's ex "'cause of the typical new woman situation."

Five days before her big event, the woman was still fretting about her stepdaughter's measurements. By then severely pressed for time, she again took to social media to solicit advice.

"Definitely not a body-shaming post," she wrote, seemingly anticipating criticism, "how do y'all feel about a nine-year-old wearing a body shaper (girdle)?" Elaborating, she wrote that the dress she'd bought for her stepdaughter was somewhat tight in the waist but could not be taken out.

"She's a plus-size kid. And her dress is a little snug. I figure why not try a body shaper to smooth out some of the edges to give that perfect fit," she wrote.

In response, thousands of commenters shamed the woman and expressed concern for her stepdaughter's body image and overall self-esteem.

"This right here is one of the main reasons girls have low self-esteem. If their mothers don't accept them, who will?" wrote one.

In the earlier post, the woman had written that while she would be willing to order a custom-made dress for her stepdaughter, but "it would be a fight for me to even ask her mother for her to be sized."

"Why people are so reluctant to buy the size that fits their kid?" one commenter asked in response. "Stop taking your body issues out on your kids. It really messes them up," wrote another.

"I can't even begin to imagine the long-term ramifications that are going to have on that child. I want to cry," wrote a third.

Some commenters warned that the stepdaughter could develop eating or body issues if her stepmother continued to overtly or covertly criticize her weight or figure.

While one comment came to the stepmother's defense, writing that she didn't think "a body shaper is a big deal at all," the overall consensus seemed to be that it's "never OK to put a child in Spanx – ever," as one commenter wrote, adding "End of story."

The woman has deleted both the posts in response to the backlash, but screenshots have continued to circle the internet.