Maria Kang of Sacramento, Calif., shared a photo of herself in an ab-revealing workout gear along with her three boys, ages three years and under, below the caption "What's your excuse?" Though she first posted the photo to her Facebook page a year ago, Kang noticed it was being shared a lot more recently and that it was generating a swell of negative comments toward her, some accusing her of fat shaming, calling her a bully. Kang says she understands that people are angry, but the negative was frustrating. Kang chose not to respond to the backlash until she received a hurtful personal email. "It said I should be ashamed of myself and that I should take down my Facebook profile picture," Kang said. "It said I'm a shame to women. It was deep and hurtful."
In what she called her "First and Final Apology," Kang posted on Facebook September 25 that she was "sorry" her haters "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 business' [SIC], have no nanny, am not naturally skinny and do not work as a personal trainer. I won't even mention how 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," she wrote.
"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. You can either blame, complain or obtain a new level of thought by challenging the negative words that come out of your own brain. With that said, obesity and those who struggle with health-related diseases is literally a 'bigger' issue than this photo. Maybe it's time we stop tip-toeing around people's feelings and get to the point."
Kang, 32, is a former pageant queen and fitness competitor who founded the nonprofit Fitness Without Borders in 2007. She also owns a residential care home for the elderly and is a recovering bulimic. Kang says she understands why some people reacted so defensively. "I think people struggle with their weight," she notes. "When you add on being a mother - and the pressures we face to have it all and be everything, including fit - the expectations are so high. I think some moms saw the picture and just said, 'This is ridiculous.'" But still, she says, "I felt really frustrated. Being called a bad mother and a bad person definitely hurts."
"I felt that if others can overcome incredible challenges to be in shape, why would my story be any different?" Kang explained on her personal website. "I wanted to inspire people," she added, highlighting that the "What's your excuse?" part was simply a borrowed, popular phrase that's been used in various "fitspiration" campaigns. "I wanted to say, 'I know you think you don't have time if you have kids. But if I can do it, you can do it, too.'"
Do you think her picture is offensive or inspirational?
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