Maria Kang, otherwise known as “fit mom,” is no stranger to controversy. The 32-year-old mother of three caused a social media uproar when she posted a photo of herself in a sports bra and short shorts, surrounded by her three young sons. A caption reading “Whats your excuse?” sparked a fire of online debates questioning whether or not the image was insulting to other women.
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Many of those who commented on her picture considered her an inspiration and applauded her for being proud of what she worked hard to achieve. Others felt like the caption rudely pointed a finger at overweight mothers by saying they make excuses even if there may be various reasons for their weight gain.
Of course, that was not the end of it. She decided to re-post the picture with an “apology,” but admits that it’s actually a “non-apology.”
I’m sorry you took an image and resonated with it in such a negative way,” she wrote. “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.
Kang then made an appearance on the Today show to voice her opinion that she shouldn’t apologize if people misunderstood her picture. As you can can expect, her actions were met with both praise and criticism. Simply put, people either loved Maria Kang or hated Maria Kang.
More recently, Kang was in the hotseat for publicizing her thoughts when she came across an online article which featured plus sized women posing in lingerie. She wrote:
The popular and unrelenting support received to those who are borderline obese (not just 30-40lbs overweight) frustrates me as a fitness advocate who intimately understands how poor health negatively effects a family, a community and a nation. While I think it’s important to love and accept your body, I was a little peeved because I think that we’re normalizing obesity in our society.
Half the people said her words were a “hate speech” while the other half defended her and said everyone is entitled to their own opinion.Kang does not appear to be phased by all the comments. Yesterday she posted the following picture.
Already, the photo been shared nearly 1,500 times and has gathered nearly 15,000 likes. Once again, her photo was flooded with love and hate. Is she a show-off or is she inspiring? Is she a bully or is she simply trying to show the importance of exercise? Kang seems to have heard it all. She has even set up a page which answers most of the questions thrown at her. She has also started the No Excuse Mom Group which encourages mothers to prioritize their health first.
So tell us what you think. Do you love or hate Maria Kang?
