A mum in Australia has this week been forced to defend her online antics against thousands of disgruntled followers, who have this week branded her behaviour 'inappropriate'.
Gold Coast fitness influencer and social media star Sophie Guidolin took to Instagram earlier this week to share a snap of her 15-year-old son Kai to celebrate the youngster's birthday.
Whilst some may argue that the mother-of-four reserves every right to commemorate her son's special day online, some users aren't too pleased with the photo that Sophie used, being that she can be seen wearing a thong bikini.
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After sharing the snap - which has now been deleted from Sophie's online profile - hundreds of comments began pouring in, alleging that wearing such little clothing whilst posing with your underage child is 'inappropriate'.
In the photo, the wellbeing favourite can be seen wearing a blue strapless thong bikini as she hugs her oldest child, with some of her followers noting that her 'knee pop' pose is famed for accentuating curves and minimising the appearance of the waist.
Since the uproar, however, Sophie has now spoken out to defend herself, claiming there's nothing wrong with wearing a swimming costume in a photo with her own son.
In a subsequent Instagram outburst, hitting out at trolls for 'sexualising' her relationship with her son, she told viewers: "For those that have followed me for a while, you may remember, I posted a bikini workout and I had Kai in it and I got slammed for it.
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"And I think the good thing to mention here is that, I wear bikinis in front of my kids because my body is normal. Having a body is normal. Having body parts is normal.
Sophie went on: "It's not sexualised. It's not shameful, and it's something that I really, really reiterate and drive home here with my boys.
"So, when they see me in a bikini, they don't think anything other than, 'Oh, mum is tanning; mum is going to the beach; mum is going for a swim'.
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"They don't see me and be like, 'Oh, what a sexy bum you've got', so stop sexualising bodies, and bodies will stop being sexualised."
Sophie's response to the criticism was met with a mixed reaction from her followers, however, with some continuing to insist there is something inconspicuous about posing in a bikini with your child.
"I think it’s more the sexy posing than the swimwear that feels off," one penned.
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Despite this, the majority of viewers defended her behaviour.
"You shouldn’t have to edit this, nothing more than a beautiful mum and son photo," one wrote.
Another went on: "Sexy posing? I’m hugging my son for f***ks sake!"
Topics: Parenting, Social media, Instagram
Rhianna Benson