A woman has bravely shown off her naked chest after going through with a life-saving double mastectomy, but says vile trolls call her a man.
Marisa Kimmel was left heartbroken when she was told that she had BRCA1+, a genetic mutation that increases the risk of developing breast, ovarian, and other cancers.
The 31-year-old was told by her obstetrician gynaecologist that she had up to an 80% chance of getting breast cancer, and around a 60% chance of ovarian.
At the time, Marisa was six months postpartum, after having her son, Abraham, leaving both her and her husband, Drew, devastated.
“I was told that I could either see my doctors every six months for checkups for breast and ovarian cancer or have preventative surgeries,” Marisa, a photographer, told Need To Know.
“I wanted to continue to breastfeed my son for a while longer until my chosen preventative mastectomy.
“In 2020, preventative surgeries were not accessible so I continued to breastfeed.
“In February 2021, I breastfed my son for the last time, the night before my mastectomy.”
But the mum-of-one, from Michigan, US, also has a history of Alopecia.
She said: “When I was young I had a small bald spot on the back of my head, my parents took me to the dermatologist and I was diagnosed with Alopecia.
“When I was 19 years old, I had about half of my hair left on my head and wanted to finally just be done with trying to fix myself.
“I wanted to shave all of my hair off. “
Her then-boyfriend, now husband, who was in barber school at the time, brought his shears and clippers and shaved her head.
She said: “I tried wigs a few times, but just didn’t feel like myself.
“So I hid my bald head under hats while I got comfortable with my new appearance.”
But she says she wouldn’t take any of her decisions back, the double mastectomy or shaving her head.
However, she is now often met with trolls who call her a man, and even a bad mother.
She said: “Every day since I shaved my head, I have vowed to not change anything about my appearance to make anyone else comfortable.
“It’s not always easy but it’s an intentional choice that has led me to be so unshakeable.
“I have been called so many nasty names, told that I’m a bad mother, people like me shouldn’t have kids, that I should off myself, that I’m only seeking attention.
“What I look like does not affect any of these people’s lives in any way, but somehow my existence is bringing the worst out in them.
“Posting content makes me feel like I’m doing something right, and I want to show that a woman can have no hair and no breasts and still live a life full of love and joy.”
Marisa shares her journey on Instagram, where she has 46,600 followers.
She often shares selfies, videos and snippets of her day-to-day life.
And one recent video caught the attention of some users, gathering 194,000 views.
In the clip, Marisa can be seen singing along to a song, wearing just a pair of trousers and showing off her bald head as well as her naked upper half.
At the beginning, she is covering her chest area with her arms.
Then she reveals it, showing her beautiful tattoos and naked body.
She captioned the post: “And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like.
“I’m a woman I just have alopecia and a preventative mastectomy.”
Since posting, the video has gathered over 9,400 likes and hundreds of comments from adoring fans.
Frankie said: “As a transgender man, I love to see this! Still a beautiful woman, no one can take your identity away from you!”
Ramona added: “The amount of actual awe, words have lost meaning through overuse but I really do mean “full of awe”, truly awesome.”
Someone else wrote: “SO strong, radiant and unique!”
Sola commented: “You’re completely gorgeous and I love your tattoos!”
Adrienne said: “So beautiful. Truly.”
