Plus-sized blogger says she is 'not brave' for bathing suit photos

When someone applauded plus-sized blogger Jessica Kane's "bravery" for posting a photo of herself in a bathing suit, she thought that person totally missed the point.

"It made me angry because I know really brave people," she told ABC. "Calling me brave was demeaning to me but also those who display actual bravery daily."

In the photo, Kane, who on her blog says she weighs 310 pounds, is posing and smiling on a beach wearing heels and a bathing suit. She used it for a story on the website she founded, Skorch Magazine, in which she reflected on a time when she wouldn't have worn a bathing suit, much less posed for a picture, out of embarrassment.

She's thankful that has changed, she said, because she would have been uncomfortable in the heat.

"Honestly if I had any more clothes on I literally WOULD HAVE DIED from heat stroke," she wrote.

But when someone commented on her bravery, Kane felt the need to respond. In a Facebook post, she listed the types of people she considers to exhibit genuine bravery, including "a family battling tragic illness, a mother trying to beat addiction, a person trying to break free of domestic violence, reaching out for help when you have already planned your suicide."

In addition to citing those whose bravery she admires, Kane explained to ABC, she wanted the person who made the comment to understand why it was unfair to Kane to praise her actions.

"To be lauded as brave, while I know is meant as a compliment, is truly a jab," she said. "Because why would I have to be brave to just be me?"

Kane said her main motivation for posting the photo was to celebrate good things happening in her life: She just turned 35 and accepted a position as Creative Director of plus-sized retail company Cool Gal Blue.

"I was only thinking about how fab I felt and how much sun I was catching," she wrote in the post.

The post has more than half a million likes.

Images used with permission.