America is currently in the throes of a major obesity epidemic. While processed junk food, refined sugars, and a sedentary lifestyle are typically to blame, there is more than meets the eye behind this growing problem (no pun intended). Yes, videogames, the Internet, and television have discouraged mobile activity. Yes, our nation-wide obsession with fried foods, sugary sweets, and packaged snacks have led to our burgeoning waistlines. But there are other factors to consider. Americans are working longer hours than ever before, with this premise of trying to ‘have it all’ looming over our heads. Ask anyone: juggling a career and a family is hard work! Well, ask anyone except Maria Kang.
While most of us find it hard to carve out time for the gym amidst our crazy busy schedules (and we’re only in college!), fitness blogger Maria Kang, who has been labeled ‘Fit Mom,’ insists we’re just making excuses. The above photo, which she posted to her Facebook page, was a call to arms for women—especially mothers—to make fitness a top priority. While at first this photo might seem inspiring, I find offense with her self-righteous caption, “what’s your excuse?” Though I am not a mother myself, I empathize with those women who struggle to balance the responsibilities that come with children, along with their own interests and concerns. While health should of course take precedence, pushing a child around in a stroller, or chasing kids around the house—both great forms of exercise for new moms!—will hardly beget Kang’s washboard abs and tightly toned physique. That kind of body takes a lot of time and a lot of dedication, which probably means less time spent with her kids, and more time spent in the gym.
The photo, which implores audiences to justify why they too have not attained this rock hard bod, has obviously been met with a lot of controversy and criticism. On the one hand, Kang’s proclamation is motivating and inspirational. Admittedly, a lot of us can be lazy sometimes! We could totally use that extra push to make it to the gym on days when we’re feeling tired and listless and just want to give up. But on the other hand, Kang is making a pretty ignorant and insensitive statement. Essentially, she is bullying and fat-shaming the women of America, who already struggle with a warped sense of body image.
As people sounded off in response on various blogs, the reactions were varied. One woman on the blog Circle of Moms insists:
“People get so threatened about this [because] they feel judged. Why can’t you just be like “damn girl- you did an awesome job and look great!” instead of shredding someone up?”
Likewise, Bonnie Fuller, on her blog Hollywood Life, proclaimed:
“Many women see workout time as a luxury that they don’t feel they deserve and they get angry at other moms, like Maria, for actually prioritizing exercise. But instead of hating on Maria Kang, her critics should tell themselves that they deserve to have an hour a few times a week to focus on their own health — they’ll feel and look better, they’ll have more energy for their own kids and they won’t feel the need to bully Kang!”
Others were more irate. Negative comments on Yahoo Shine included:
“Not that I *NEED* an excuse for not working out, but here’s mine you self-righteous idiot: fibromyalgia.”
“What’s my excuse? Cancer. If you really cared to promote health you wouldn’t need to be half naked.”
“I can give you many ‘excuses’ to why a woman’s body does not snap back, or look like yours after having kids. Your comment is not only judgemental it’s biasly based on your own specific situation, body type, education, income, etc…. Why would you think that your comment is positive or motivational? Maybe something like – ‘You Can!’, ‘It’s Achievable!’, ‘It’s Worth It!’, would make more of a statement that appeals to more women without assuming we all are making excuses!”
I think that the commenters all make valid points. I myself am divided on the subject. I don’t think Kang had any malicious intention in posting the photo—I truly believe that she intended to do good, to motivate, to instill the same can-do sense of attitude in others that she ultimately found in herself, even as a mother of three. In an interview with Fox News, Kang sums up this point perfectly:
“My intention and where I stand my ground is, you know, if I can do it, so can you. Here I am with three kids, 3, 2 and 8 months. I’m able to make fitness a priority, maybe not my first priority. Maybe it’s my fifth, but it gets done.”
On the flip side, as a self-proclaimed feminist woman, I find fault in her implication that without a body like Kang’s, women are somehow lacking or lesser than she. In the online ‘apology’ she later issued (if we can even call it that…), Kang insists:
“I didn’t give into cravings for ice cream, french fries or chocolate while pregnant or use my growing belly as an excuse to be inactive…What you interpret is not MY fault. It’s Yours.”
Kang engages in some serious fat-shaming here, implying that those women who do listen to their bodies and feed the occasional craving are somehow at fault, and even worse, that they are simply jealous. While health should clearly be a priority, it is entirely possible to be healthy at a size 2, a size 8, or a size 16—one’s waistband is not an explicit indicator of one’s health. I do not support fat shaming, nor shaming of any kind. Many of us already struggle with developing a positive body image, and I think Kang is ultimately sending the wrong message by instilling even more negative self-worth in the already damaged psyche of American women. Not every woman will look like Kang, even if she exercises constantly or takes extreme diet measures. I feel like this is a pretty elementary lesson, but we are all built differently. We come in different shapes and sizes, just like we have different thoughts, beliefs, dreams, and ideas. We should celebrate our bodies, rather than compare ourselves to others. This means that we need to treat our bodies right—with proper nutrition and exercise, as Kang would suggest, but also with self-love, self-esteem, and self-worth.
However, we must admit to ourselves that too often, we do make excuses. We ourselves shouldn’t bully Kang for suggesting that women make exercise a priority. Instead of ‘hating’ on Kang, or insisting that Kang is ‘hating’ on us, I think its best to take this photo at face value—after all, it is pretty amazing that Kang was able to achieve such an incredible level of physical fitness with three very young children! What do you think: do you find Kang to be an inspiration? Or is she just a big bully?