
Maria Thattil has taken a stand on Instagram.
Earlier this month, the current Miss Universe Australia shared exactly what happened when she was accidentally added to a group chat with 19-year-old men.
In a series of posts on her Instagram stories, Maria said she was "disgusted" to see messages of men talking about women "like we are pieces of meat".
"The comments included remarks from a man claiming to want women purely in the context of sexual gratification to defend himself when his friends joked about him falling for women easily," Maria told Mamamia.
"There was another comment from a participant asking the other men to send images of women through so that they could ‘bring them back to reality and hop them off their high horse’... and other comments discussing the appearance of women whose images were being passed around the group, mine included."
Image: Instagram @mariathattil But when she called them out on their "sexist" and "misogynistic" messages, only one responded.
"I was disgusted to be added to that group chat, I was disgusted to read those messages and disgusted that nobody had anything to say when I called them out on it. Apart from one of the people in the chat," she said in a video on her Instagram Stories at the time.
"I asked them did you realise you added me to a chat where I can see you talking in a sexist, misogynistic way about other women? That you are objectifying us and giving irrelevant opinions that's nobody's asked for, talking about us like we are pieces of meat with no other purpose than for men to cum in?"
In response, "They said that they were sorry and they would have a stern chatting to each other".
The messages left Maria with a sinking feeling in her stomach. They reminded her of a poignant experience when she was just 14 years old.