Why is this even remotely controversial?

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

If you can't see how this victimizes women, then you're part of the problem.

I think people thinking they are a victim, is part of the problem.

her response

“I'm sorry you took an image and resonated with it in such a negative way. I won't go into details that I struggled with my genetics, had an eating disorder, work full time owning two businesses, have no nanny, am not naturally skinny and do not work as a personal trainer,” she wrote, in part. “What I WILL say is this. What you interpret is not MY fault. It's yours. The first step in owning your life, your body and your destiny is to OWN the thoughts that come out of your own head. I didn't create them. You created them. So if you want to continue ‘hating’ this image, get used to hating many other things for the rest of your life.”

Agree 100%.

couldn't have said this any better

I agree with all of this ^^^^^

Another thing that I find interesting is that many of the people that are hating on her are focusing only on her outside appearance....the fact that her body is tight and she is hot. My first thoughts? She is setting a great example for those 3 kids.....she is leading a healthy lifestyle and is promoting fitness and nutrition as being critical elements of day to day life.

Then again, maybe I just like to see the cup half full :flowerforyou:

spookiefox

With a body like that, I don't see why she shouldn't be proud of it. She works hard. Good for her! If I looked like that, and had three kids come out of me, I'd show it off too!

She has a right to be proud of it. She has a right to show it off. She even has a right to her self-righteous "What's your excuse?" comment. But that doesn't make the comment any less self-righteous. Never-the-less, her comment does demonstrate that the lack of self-esteem that leads to the kind of eating disorder she had (bulimia) is something she still has. And it also makes it about appearance and not about fitness.

servilia

Hmmm she's right. My baby's napping and I could be doing burpees right now but instead I'm on MFP having my second coffee of the morning lol. I'll be sure to get a workout in later today after seeing this!

To the person saying this victimizes woman... I really don't see it. I think we'd all like to look like our own version of her, if that makes sense. I mean there are many different body types but it is possible for the vast majority of people to be slim and toned.

IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym

I'm grasping here but all I can figure is that it's a bit weird that she is pretty much unclothed with a ton of makeup on and her 3 boys taking a photo with her. That's the only thing I can find remotely odd about this photo.

If people are offended by the message, they should never read a fitness inspiration post again because it's not like it's the first time the whole "What's your excuse" dealie has been used.

the kids look photoshopped in to me

She is in workout gear, not unclothed. Make up is irrelevant, as is them being in the pic with her.

haahahaha, tha's what I was thinking. Goodness forbid she wear WORKOUT gear, gah! What the heck?!?

jonnythan

Because people don't like to have their excuses shot down. Makes them feel badly about themselves.

Also: "MY METABOLISM" and "MY THYROID"

YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU ARE A YOUNG, RIPPED MAN AND YOUR ADVICE IS INVALID

Naturally thin people like me just can't understand.

(This is actually something someone said to me once.)

The_Enginerd

I think she is doing an awesome job and don't find any offense.

Mobilemuscle

Hmmm she's right. My baby's napping and I could be doing burpees right now but instead I'm on MFP having my second coffee of the morning lol. I'll be sure to get a workout in later today after seeing this!

To the person saying this victimizes woman... I really don't see it. I think we'd all like to look like our own version of her, if that makes sense. I mean there are many different body types but it is possible for the vast majority of people to be slim and toned.

MFP time is great to be on the floor doing mobilization work...Im actually practicing my half lotus while typing this

juliemouse83

The boys are all adopted.

:bigsmile: :laugh:

I'm kidding...

I don't see anything negative about that image at all. What it says to me is that if you want something badly enough, you will find a way to get it.

I also find it wonderful that the boys are going to see a healthy lifestyle from early on.

HardcoreP0rk

I get where you're coming from. A self-righteous, "look how much better I am than all of you" slogan can make all the difference on what was otherwise a cool pic. But of course, anyone who found it smug and off-putting must be some vindictive fatty. And naturally, this must spark all sorts of stories about what jealous *****es women are, and how "I don't have any woman friends because women are all evil and hate me for being beautiful--I mean, that MUST be the reason."

Maybe a "You can do it too!" quote would have been more successful

BeccaBollons

I think that women who are already happy with their body are not going to get any bad feelings from this picture. If we already know we are doing our utmost to be fit and healthy, we won't be jealous of others that are doing the same. If we are very insecure about our body or know within ourselves we could do more, or are actually excuse makers, we may get different feelings.
This is my perspective as a SAHM who is happy with her body, and knows that with a good hair and make up session could look just as pretty and smug as the lady in the picture. (But I never wear make up, and some days seriously have to put extra effort into remembering to brush my hair!)

UpEarly

I'm not offended by it at all.

That said... I'll never look as fit as she does, no matter how hard I work. First of all, I let myself get really fat. My body has some permanent cosmetic 'damage' from letting myself gain 66 pounds. Also, I'm quite a bit older than she is (42). (Maybe that's an excuse?)

Does that bother me or make me feel jealous that I can't look like a fitness model? Not at all! I'm healthy - weight, body fat% and my bloodwork are all perfect. I feel great and I think I look great. I'm the best me that I can be, and some other woman's success does not diminish that. It's not a competition. :-)

jonnythan

I get where you're coming from. A self-righteous, "look how much better I am than all of you" slogan can make all the difference on what was otherwise a cool pic. But of course, anyone who found it smug and off-putting must be some vindictive fatty. And naturally, this must spark all sorts of stories about what jealous *****es women are, and how "I don't have any woman friends because women are all evil and hate me for being beautiful--I mean, that MUST be the reason."

Maybe a "You can do it too!" quote would have been more successful

There are a billion of those and they don't seem to be helping all that much.

At least this ad is drawing attention and making people talk about the whole fitness vs busy life thing.

EddieHaskell97

This is all over the local news channels' FB pages and websites. Sadly, a majority of the posts I'm seeing there are all haters playing the victim card, or name calling...

It is so refreshing to fire up MFP and see the numbers inverted. Bravo, and thank you!

whierd

I don't think that's the message she intended to send, and I'm not personally offended by the picture and caption. But if you have
an analytical mind of any sort you can see that while she might intend her message to be about fitness and health it's obviously about appearance as her appearance is what's being referenced.

The OP wondered why the picture would be controversial and I've clearly explained why it is.

People seem to think its a "hater gonna hate" thing but its actually controversial because it's just another brainless message telling women they have to look a certain way regardless of health or fitness level.

And yeah... I'm sorry... if you can't see that, then you are indeed part of a greater problem in the war women fight against themselves and each other.

And that, my friend, is what is sad.

No, you are the one fighting against other women. You are trying to make it a negative that she has an attractive body and has worked for that goal. Would you be happier if she were 30lbs heavier? Is that a more positive image to send?


Telling women that it is wrong to want to look attractive or wrong to work towards that goal is YOU victimizing them.

Tell me where ANYONE says this woman is wrong by wanting to look any certain way. Oh, that's right - no one said anything like that. I love the irony in this post - it's alright for HER to tell others they should look a certain way... and somehow when people get upset about it they are doing the same thing and it's wrong? No women likes to be told they have to look a certain way but if that person happens to fit your ideal then it's ok? lolz...

Reading comprehension is hard.

HardcoreP0rk

Same here, most moms hate me at the school. They get all huffy when i mention going for a walk or to the gym or say no thank you to treats. They think i am :easy" and a few wont let their hsbands talk to me or their son come over to play with my son. Women are beasts. I don't look as good as the girl in the picture but in my demographic i will just say my hard work is evident, my town is very overweight.

Sorry you feel that way. If it makes you feel better, I don't feel threatened by your body or image in the slightest :flowerforyou:

admegamo

I don't see anything negative about it either. They remind of the people I work with and the community I live in. One of my friends/co-worker is super skinny. She has two kids, one of them just turned one and I think the other is three. Everyone hates on her because of this and when she wants to work out with a partner (usually some looking for one and her volunteering) someone always heckles her asking why she wants to work out when she's so skinny. People say rude things to her even if she sits on a chair and pulls her knees to her chest.

It's rude and I do help defend her because she's super nice. I hate how people are ugly toward fat people but fat people can be just as ugly.

Derpes

So based on all of the posts, is the final answer that women took exception to a self righteous former pageant contestant asking them why they do not look like her?

whierd

I get where you're coming from. A self-righteous, "look how much better I am than all of you" slogan can make all the difference on what was otherwise a cool pic. But of course, anyone who found it smug and off-putting must be some vindictive fatty. And naturally, this must spark all sorts of stories about what jealous *****es women are, and how "I don't have any woman friends because women are all evil and hate me for being beautiful--I mean, that MUST be the reason."

Maybe a "You can do it too!" quote would have been more successful

There are a billion of those and they don't seem to be helping all that much.

At least this ad is drawing attention and making people talk about the whole fitness vs busy life thing.

And it seems that many will just reinforce their belief that they cannot.

kordell70

The lady looks fabulous and has the right to post whatever picture of her achievements in getting back in shape. I don't think anyone has a problem with that at all, in fact kudos to her. However, she is acting in a self-righteous manner by implying "look at me I look great, why can't you do the same." People need to learn to be proud of their own achievements for the sake of obtaining their own goals without purposely going out and commenting that a comparison needs to be done between her and someone else. My friend does this a lot with his successful business. We are all proud of his achievement and frequent his store to give him business. However, at one dinner party he went out of his way to find an individual who had just lost his job due to a layoff and was so animated in telling him the problem with him and the rest of America is that we are all afraid to start our own business and are therefore Pawns in the game of life, while he was a king. The gentleman told him that he was proud of my friends accomplishment but that he did not need him throwing in his face his loss of his job, and that he should be more gracious because even a pawn can knock out a king. My friend being obnoxious that night laughed at him and continued to talk about him to others at the party and purposely trying to show a financial comparison. So while I applaud this woman and she is an inspiration to me, the whole purposeful act of the "title" in conjunction with the pic is a definite attention seeking grab and is somewhat unattractive in the need for attention, and is very self-serving. No need to comment on my opinion, it is just mine. I will respect anyone else's opinion posted. Thanks

Kamikazeflutterby

I don't think that's the message she intended to send, and I'm not personally offended by the picture and caption. But if you have
an analytical mind of any sort you can see that while she might intend her message to be about fitness and health it's obviously about appearance as her appearance is what's being referenced.

The OP wondered why the picture would be controversial and I've clearly explained why it is.

People seem to think its a "hater gonna hate" thing but its actually controversial because it's just another brainless message telling women they have to look a certain way regardless of health or fitness level.

And yeah... I'm sorry... if you can't see that, then you are indeed part of a greater problem in the war women fight against themselves and each other.

And that, my friend, is what is sad.

No, you are the one fighting against other women. You are trying to make it a negative that she has an attractive body and has worked for that goal. Would you be happier if she were 30lbs heavier? Is that a more positive image to send?


Telling women that it is wrong to want to look attractive or wrong to work towards that goal is YOU victimizing them.

Tell me where ANYONE says this woman is wrong by wanting to look any certain way. Oh, that's right - no one said anything like that. I love the irony in this post - it's alright for HER to tell others they should look a certain way... and somehow when people get upset about it they are doing the same thing and it's wrong? No women likes to be told they have to look a certain way but if that person happens to fit your ideal then it's ok? lolz...

So... what part of "what's your excuse?" directly translates to "you MUST work to look exactly like me!"?

I've clearly missed that, on every single reread. All I see is an advertisement to move your *kitten*, that people (self included) keep hanging different interpretations on.