I guess what I don’t get is why other people are so up in arms about it. I just can’t imagine being offended, or worse, insulted by a picture. I take that back, there are some pictures that I can imagine be offended or insulted by, but this one, no. IMO, if you’re getting insulted/offended by it you’re taking it way too personally.
Also, she didn’t say “what’s wrong with YOU” that’s called ‘putting words in someone else’s mouth’ and something I’m working on teaching my 7 year old not to do. She said "What’s your excuse and just like any excuse you have for not working out is really only your problem, so is anything you infer from those three words. We can have a 500 post thread about what we think she meant but that doesn’t make it so. Maybe she just saw similar picture that said “What’s your excuse” and copied. Insulted? Your problem, not hers.
Gah, did you guys get like this about the early Nike “Just Do It” commercials. I mean, it was basically the same thing. No excuses, get off your ass and just do it.
It’s not the photo people are insulted at, it’s the message. Popular meme or not, doesn’t mean it’s going to be useful or appreciated by a lot of people. I am trying to answer, as merely one of those people just why it is so irritating.
What’s your excuse" is just another way of saying “what’s wrong with you” or “why are you failing at X”. THAT is why people are, as you say " up in arms". As others have explained several times, the word “excuse” has negative connotations. That’s what makes the phrase, then coupled with the photo of what you (collective you) are supposed to look like, so aggravating to people.
For me alone? Not really, because there was a specific “it” that could be different things for different people. “It” could be very specific personal “it”. Like just do “gardening and weeding” just do “morning walk with the dog,” just “choreograph your new dance”. “IT” didn’t appear to require perfection, just participation. I can’t speak for others re: that ad campaign though.
What are you talking about now? How is the man who lost 100 pounds and his completely different caption, that of “I lost 100 pounds in 6 months” in any way comparable to what I’ve described re: the “excuse” meme?
And “because I don’t fucking care” is a valid answer. Move along, nothing to see here. Why bother acknowledge it with a response or be pissed off by the implied message?
I was answering your question. You need to at least follow your own posts and questions and the answers given. Why are you asking if the women in the photos are bitchy? How would I know?
The caption says “what’s your excuse” right? That was enough to make you think Maria Kang was bitchy right? So are the women in posts 218 and 220 bitchy too, or no? Or since you base sentiment on looks, maybe just the 218 lady is bitchy, or do you think her AFOs make her ugly enough to not be bitchy?
Because you left ambiguity regarding the previous postings and never responded specifically to 218 and 220. So I ask you again, are they being bitchy? A simple yes or no will suffice.
Those healthy pics are a subversive breath of fresh air in this weird era where you can witness that kind of absurdity. “Fat is beautiful”… well Orwell didn’t see that.
Well, one obvious difference is that in Kang’s case, she’s asking “What’s Your Excuse” for not being a super-hot, ripped, mother of three young kids. No matter how hard a person works, there may be real reasons why it’s literally impossible for them to be like that.
Your other example of the meme has a 70 year old trainer working in a gym with a 102 year old client. So it’s asking “What’s Your Excuse” for not working out. This is actually a goal that anyone can achieve at some level. It’s not asking why you don’t look as if you could be a cover model - it’s just asking why you’re not exercising. Nearly everyone is capable of doing some type of physical activity, even if it needs to be heavily modified to their capabilities/limitations.
See, that’s a great point. But her picture didn’t say “What’s Your Excuse” for not taking steps to be more healthy. It was going to a much higher standard of physical fitness, and frankly the only message I took away from her picture was asking what your excuse is for not focusing on being attractive and extremely fit. She appears to be focusing on attractiveness as the end goal, not overall health. You don’t need to work out nearly that much to gain health benefits. She has repeatedly said that her goal is to be a “hot mom” and to be physically attractive when she’s 60 - only paying lip service to actual health.
And for someone with her history of bulimia, I would think that making fitness your lifestyle and having such a regimented diet and exercise routine probably isn’t the best thing for her mental health and possibly triggering disordered eating.
Here I don’t agree with you. Especially if you want to maintain your habits long term, exercise should not be an oppressive chore that you absolutely hate. If you hate running, or swimming, or team sports, or whatever, then you should try to find a form of physical activity/movement that you actually enjoy - then you’re far more likely to stick with it and do it more often.
Also, people are allowed to make different priorities in their life. If they choose what they want to do with their life, and they choose to live with the consequences, then it’s none of your business.
It reminds me of a guy I used to know who was seriously getting into weightlifting. He totally hated eating tuna, but his mantra was “food is fuel” and he would force himself to eat a can of tuna every day for lunch. Not in the thought that eventually he would grow to like it - he never did. I asked him why he didn’t try to find another source of lean protein that he actually liked to eat, or at least didn’t hate. But he never could really describe his reasoning.
Repeatedly, most people in this thread who don’t like the way she phrased her message have stated that they hold nothing against her achievements. It’s great that she’s accomplished what she had.
However, her message appears to have been originally targeted at those already in the fitness community or aspiring to be there. If she’s trying to reach a broader audience (e.g. those with more than 25lb to lose like she did, those who don’t work in fitness or have the flexibility in their jobs to devote a lot of time to working out or scheduling their meals every three hours, those with a ton of other [del]excuses[/del] valid reasons why they can’t look just like her) then she’s failing to do so.
No one’s saying that “her achievements [are] invalid because she… has a pretty face.” But I think it’s pretty fair to point out that due to genetics, age, past history, etc… it may be physically impossible for people to look like her no matter how hard they work or how many hours they devote to it.
Also, what’s her excuse for not even looking like she does in that picture? Either she used very careful lighting or Photoshop, because after three kids her abs don’t really look like that picture. She has some loose skin/stretch marks. This is absolutely not to denigrate her - virtually everyone who’s had a child has to deal with changes to their belly. But I think it’s strange that she’s exhorting people to look like her, when even she doesn’t really look exactly like that.
I actually applaud her for posting that picture online that I just linked to - it shows the magnitude of her physical accomplishments while still acknowledging reality. It shows that she’s human too and not totally physically perfect.
No, that’s what you infer from the picture and to assume makes an ass of u. It’s not fair to look at that picture and assume that she’s asking what your excuse is for not having three kids. You’re allowed to interpret the picture anyway you chose but your opinion is not fact.
I think a bunch of you are missing the real impact of the picture. There are lots of women out there who are reasonably healthy and fit who don’t have nearly the figure or 6-pack abs that Ms. Kang do, and this photo and caption doesn’t make any distinction between them and some 400 lb waddling mu-mu wearing person.
It paints EVERYONE who’s not basically a fitness model as lazy and slothful, not just the obese and/or non-physically fit.
And that’s what’s pissing people off. It takes a LOT of commitment and time to look like she does, and many (most?) people resent being told that they’re lazy and worthless because they don’t put the same priority on looking hot as a professional fitness model and trainer does.
This post is so very stupid. The question posed by her photo wasn’t “Why aren’t you perfect?” It was “Why aren’t you fit?” You took it as a demand for perfection for reasons that mystify me. Again, for the bajillionth time, there are plenty of these fitness memes circulated on the internet. Many of them feature someone who’s elderly or with some physical disability. In her case it did not, big deal. The point is many of us have obstacles to overcome in order to get in shape, and these memes serve as a “You can do it.” Some people may say it’s harder to get into shape as they get older, and a meme featuring a fit 80 year old might appeal to them. Some may find it hard to exercise due to their disability, so a photo of a guy with no legs might appeal to them. There are A LOT of mothers who find it hard to get back into shape post-baby, so a picture of Kang with her three young children might appeal to them. Some people might have any of these hurdles and still find the memes appealing, as it puts their obstacles into perspective. It’s as simple as that.
I think you must have missed this post. According to some:
So competitor in Paralympics is “driven” and that’s fine. Someone with no disability who is fit is “driven,” but that’s a bad and reflects poor attitude, vanity, and intolerance. Wow, a lot to take away from “What’s your excuse?” Please forgive her for being good looking and without disability.
It is just as much an assumption to say she means her slogan in the kindest, most encouraging way possible as it is to say she means it in the most judgmental way possible.
The vanity comes from the the half-naked pose and the distribution over Facebook. The competitor in the Paralympics (or any top level athlete) can be as driven as they want, I am never going to come into contact with them. I meet people like her (look at me, I’m awesome) in my local community. I don’t know if there are more of them at the gym than anywhere else, but if she is normal in the fitness community, as everyone seems to be saying, then there probably are, and that would be unpleasant to deal with if I went to the gym. The idea of her being intolerant is because of the ‘your excuse’ part. What does her fitness have to do with me? Why is she bringing me into it at all? Yeah, I don’t care what a Paralympian says, cos I am never going to talk to one. Ms Kang personally, no I am never going to talk to her, but I do talk to people like her.
Probably a lot of people who were upset by her didn’t know it was a meme (I didn’t), didn’t know her post was aimed at an in-crowd. If she’s not talking to me then that’s fine, I don’t have a problem with her doing her thing, whatever that is.
I don’t like “What’s your excuse” either. I don’t like the competitive spirit that’s associated with it, nor the brag-casting disguised as inspirational testimony.
But does it really paint everyone as lazy and slothful?
I don’t look like that woman. I’ve got stretch marks (hideous ones of mysterious origin) and dimply thighs. I’m skinny and physically active, but don’t have great muscle tone. My belly pokes out a little. My face isn’t all that. I’m not going to be gracing any magazine covers any time soon. I haven’t worn a real bathing suit since before puberty because I’ve never felt comfortable enough to show off my body. And I don’t have kids or a husband to point to as personal achievements either. Compared to Kang, maybe I look like a loser.
And yet I don’t feel lazy and slothful by that picture. That’s cuz I know I’m not lazy and slothful. No one, especially some stranger on the internet, can make me feel this way. If you know you aren’t lazy and slothful, then that picture really shouldn’t make you feel that way. If it makes you feel lazy and slothful, then you were probably already feeling that way. Which is sad, but still not her fault.
I am the biggest proponent of the idea that one can’t help how he or she feels by something. And I still feel this way. I think messages like hers aren’t as effective as they could be with just a tad more thoughtfulness. But I also say you can help who gets into your head. You can decide whether she’s talking to you or someone else.
To me that piece reads like a satire on bad excuses. Six of the reasons she gives for being overweight are “it’s someone else’s fault”: her church, her father, her boyfriend, even her social class and the fact that she doesn’t take drugs is blamed; everybody else except her is responsible for how she chooses to live her life. It’s the complete abdication of responsibility for continuing to make bad choices.
