Mum defends wearing thong bikini in photo with son, 15

A mum who wore a thong bikini in a holiday snap with her son has hit back at trolls who called the photo 'inappropriate'.

In the picture, Sophie Guidolin, 33, from Australia, can be seen standing with her 15-year-old son Kai as they celebrated his birthday.

But Sophie was left having to defend herself after some social media users posted mean comments on the photo, with one person accusing the fitness influencer of being 'addicted to attention'.

Sophie was forced to edit the caption on the photo, explaining: "WE LIVE IN THE GOLD COAST, Australia. Where wearing a bikini to the beach is so beyond normal, that I didn’t even consider having to place a disclaimer on this photo.

sophie_guidolin/Instagram

"When Kai woke up, I was in the pool and yes – in a bikini (as I am most days!!!) I wanted a photo straight away as he wanted to ride his bike and go out riding all day immediately. Do I have a problem wearing a bikini in front of my sons? NO WAY.

"Why? Because I'm not sexualised to him, nor have I ever been!!! If you have an issue, maybe you should look into why you feel you have to sexualise a woman’s body instead of it simply being a mum and her son at the pool!!!"

Sophie later spoke about the post further, telling the Daily Star: "Having a body is normal, having body parts is normal, it’s not sexualized, it’s nothing shameful, and it’s something I reiterate and drive home here with my boys.

"So when they see me in a bikini, they don’t think anything other than ‘Hmm, mom’s tanning, mom’s going to the beach, going for a swim'.

sophie_guidolin/Instagram

“They don’t see me and be like, 'Oooh what a sexy bum you’ve got'.”

Despite the criticism, Sophie also received heaps of support on the post from other followers, who were shocked by some of the comments.

One person wrote: "You look great and you love your son. F**k the haters."

While another said: "So sick of smaller minded idiots making silly comments. If you have nothing nice to say then keep scrolling. If your mind goes to a sexualised place the maybe you need to work on yourself not attack mothers with their children."

And a third added: "Nothing wrong with this picture anyone who thinks otherwise needs to get there heads from out the gutter this is a mother and son picture ffs. [sic]"

Topics: Life, Parenting

Lucy Devine

Lucy is a journalist working for Tyla. After graduating with a master's degree in journalism, she has worked in both print and online and is particularly interested in fashion, food, health and women's issues. Northerner, coffee addict, says hun a lot.

@lucedevine