Stella Boonshoft Body Picture Goes Viral: Plus-Sized College Woman Embraces Full Figure, Lauded as Body Image Hero on 'Today Show' [VIDEO]

Plus-sized college student Stella Boonshoft recently posted an unedited underwear/bikini picture of herself on her Tumblr account, which was then picked up by photographer Brandon Stanton and published on his site Humans of New York (with Boonshoft's permission).The photo of Boonshoft (a size 12) soon went viral, prompting an online discussion (both positive and negative) about the 18-year-old's weight. Many individuals now laud Boonshoft (who fully embraces her plus-sized figure) as a body-image hero. Boonshoft recently appeared on the "Today Show" to discuss the impact the photo's viral popularity has since had on her life.

Here is the emotional post Boonshoft (who writes for her own Tumblr blog which promotes "self-acceptance," The Body of Love Blog) posted along with the photo:

"WARNING: Picture might be considered obscene because subject is not thin. And we all know that only skinny people can show their stomachs and celebrate themselves. Well I'm not going to stand for that. This is my body. Not yours. MINE. Meaning the choices I make about it, are none of your f****** business. Meaning my size, IS NONE OF YOUR F****** BUSINESS. If my big belly and fat arms and stretch marks and thick thighs offend you, then that's okay. I'm not going to hide my body and my being to benefit your delicate sensitivities. This picture is for the strange man at my nanny's church who told me my belly was too big when I was five. This picture is for my horseback riding trainer telling me I was too fat when I was nine. This picture is for the girl from summer camp who told me I'd be really pretty if I just lost a few pounds This picture is for all the f****** stupid advertising agents who are selling us cream to get rid of our stretch marks, a perfectly normal thing most people have (I got mine during puberty) This picture is for the boy at the party who told me I looked like a beached whale. This picture is for Emily from middle school, who bullied me incessantly, made mocking videos about me, sent me nasty emails, and called me "lard". She made me feel like I didn't deserve to exist. Just because I happened to be bigger than her. I was 12. And she continued to bully me via social media into high school. MOST OF ALL, this picture is for me. For the girl who hated her body so much she took extreme measures to try to change it. Who cried for hours over the fact she would never be thin. Who was teased and tormented and hurt just for being who she was. I'm so over that. THIS IS MY BODY, DEAL WITH IT."

The photo has received over four million views since posted last week. While Boonshoft was initially mortified and almost asked Stanton to take the image off his site, she ultimately decided that keeping the photo up was the right thing to do.

Boonshoft appeared on the "Today Show" on Tuesday and said: "I think people are cruel because they are uncomfortable seeing an image of people who are not thin. I found that after years of struggling with my body image that really there was no way to justify the bullying as a child and as a teen."

Boonshoft (who attends college in New York) continued with, "It took a lot of years of soul searching to decide this isn't right. I finally came to a place where I was really happy with the way that I looked. I wanted to leave a message to the bullies who tormented me."