Fitspiration hall of shame

[TinierTina]

Originally Posted by little bird

I detect some sarcasm with some of the photos. What's your excuse? Really? She could have said "You can do this too." To Me that would have sounded encouraging or inspirational and not sarcastic.

Yeah, well ... it seems that the #fitspiration school of memes were specially predicated to blanch out anything that did not have an agenda ..

Agendas being those things necessary for:

Reebok ads
Nike ads
The starting line of any race
Gyms
Fitness Retreats
Fitness Spas

and, yes, certainly

Saccharin ads ...

[yes, that's me saying that back to Meredith , who claims "I prefer funny over saccharine, with the exception of my chocolate..." It's no fun being a carbophobe ... ]

"You can do this too ..." is very Zen, so agenda-less. Does not inspire dissatisfaction .... guilt .... or that little woodpecker that nags ...

[leigh1673]

Originally Posted by cristinalatina

http://motherfigure.com/fitness-meme...ampaign=buffer

Great laughs from one of my favourite mommy bloggers, Meredith!

What do you think?

I love it!

Most of those #Fitspiration posts I see on Facebook or Pinterest are ridiculous. One like #3 make me particularly stabby. Because really? I know *plenty* of women that manage to eat a cupcake now and then and are still quite fit, healthy, and FAR from "huge."

All the “strong is the new skinny” memes are transposed over skinny girls.

This beautiful truth right here.

I don't understand the comments the blogger made. What point is she trying to make? Sounds like someone with self-esteem issues who is jealous of those in the pictures who should be proud of their hard work. Or, I'm just totally clueless.

Most of these "memes" that get posted on, say Pinterest, are NOT a picture of the actual person who posted it. People take pictures of fitness models, etc, and then post them with these inane "inspirational sayings" underneath them. It's not about mocking or being jealous of the fitness models.

[Chomper]

Originally Posted by Joni O

I don't understand the comments the blogger made. What point is she trying to make? Sounds like someone with self-esteem issues who is jealous of those in the pictures who should be proud of their hard work. Or, I'm just totally clueless.

Also, there's a typo in #8.

I think in reality, the women in the photos are genetically gifted, as models work out and eat sparingly for a living, on liquid diets before photo shoots, with makeup and hair professionally done, and lighting and photography done by experts, and I would even expect a certain amount of photoshop and other digital alterations in the pictures. But other than that, yes, they should be proud of their hard work.

I hope that doesn't sound snarky. I just think that's the point the blogger was making. As well as the fact that the texts over the pictures often contradicted each other.

[TinierTina]

Originally Posted by Chomper

I think in reality, the women in the photos are genetically gifted, as models work out and eat sparingly for a living, on liquid diets before photo shoots, with makeup and hair professionally done, and lighting and photography done by experts, and I would even expect a certain amount of photoshop and other digital alterations in the pictures. But other than that, yes, they should be proud of their hard work.

I hope that doesn't sound snarky. I just think that's the point the blogger was making. As well as the fact that the texts over the pictures often contradicted each other.

Great work deconstructing these memes!

[CoolGirlinFl888]

Originally Posted by Joni O

I don't understand the comments the blogger made. What point is she trying to make? Sounds like someone with self-esteem issues who is jealous of those in the pictures who should be proud of their hard work. Or, I'm just totally clueless.

Also, there's a typo in #8.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! My first thought was this was written by someone with serious self esteem issues. I did the same exact thing when I was very overweight too. Every woman with a nice body was probably a slut anyway or always something negative. All women with big breasts had implants. I could not fathom anything positive to say about women that had nice bodies. I had a terrible view of my body and myself overall. After therapy to deal with it and exercise, my views are totally different. I swear this is like the old me writing these comments. Shame.

[TinierTina]

Originally Posted by CoolGirlinFl888

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! My first thought was this was written by someone with serious self esteem issues. I did the same exact thing when I was very overweight too. Every woman with a nice body was probably a slut anyway or always something negative. All women with big breasts had implants. I could not fathom anything positive to say about women that had nice bodies. I had a terrible view of my body and myself overall. After therapy to deal with it and exercise, my views are totally different. I swear this is like the old me writing these comments. Shame.

Yeah, well, it is a bridge too far if you are not young or fashionably thin/cut/chiseled yourself; or other things like that. You don't see the disconnect there, in the presentation. You buy in. Nice going. Hope it works for you your whole life.

More than likely though, you susbscribe to wabi-sabi: you know you're not perfect yourself, you don't believe that there is such a thing:

They do they and you do you.

[Chomper]

Originally Posted by CoolGirlinFl888

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! My first thought was this was written by someone with serious self esteem issues. I did the same exact thing when I was very overweight too. Every woman with a nice body was probably a slut anyway or always something negative. All women with big breasts had implants. I could not fathom anything positive to say about women that had nice bodies. I had a terrible view of my body and myself overall. After therapy to deal with it and exercise, my views are totally different. I swear this is like the old me writing these comments. Shame.

WHOA.

No one is attacking the women in the photos. Those are fantasy women. They do not exist.

I assume what this blogger wants is REAL women in the photos. Someone who looks like someone you'd see in the gym or jogging down the street or in your yoga class. Or like you. That's certainly what I want.

Cellulite is normal, people. We can be beautiful with more than a 15 % body fat. That's a very different message than the one some people are getting from this. I am really confused as to why.

[TinierTina]

Originally Posted by Chomper

WHOA.

No one is attacking the women in the photos. Those are fantasy women. They do not exist.

I assume what this blogger wants is REAL women in the photos. Someone who looks like someone you'd see in the gym or jogging down the street or in your yoga class. Or like you. That's certainly what I want.

Cellulite is normal, people. We can be beautiful with more than a 15 % body fat. That's a very different message than the one some people are getting from this. I am really confused as to why.

Agreed. Not to mention what I've seen in locker rooms of the more upscale (non-spa) gyms in New York City before the individual decides to cut the deal with their doctor(s).

I've got hanging skin areas like waterfalls, where the 4 pack and thigh gap "should" be.

Not pretty at any weight. Aesthetically speaking, only.

If exercise (or even hitting the sauna ... owww! my aching arm!) got that sort of thing off, there'd be no such thing as #fitspiration to speak of.

Scarcity is what's being celebrated here ... this is a question of economics, not of individual moral failure ...

[Chomper]

I just wanted to come back and add that I certainly for one am admiring women's bodies probably more than is normal for a straight married woman.

I am not the blogger, but I understood where she was coming from and it made me smile. So I guess Joni O, Vintage VFer and CoolGirlInFL888's comments threw me for a loop.

I'm sure I'd even give you an admiring glance too, TinierTina. You certainly painted an evocative picture.

[Sollamyn]

Originally Posted by Eibhinn

I think the point, and I agree with it, is that these images tend to perpetuate a very narrow, and unattainable for most people, image of what fitness is, and they're often paired with shaming statements implying people who don't look like those images are lazy, making excuses, not attractive, etc. That is problematic in itself, but I think she makes a particularly compelling point in showing how objectifying most of those pictures are. While you are right that the women in those photographs should definitely be proud of all of their hard work, they are people and the way those photos are edited and text added does not celebrate them as human beings. It generally reduces them to some abs or breasts to be stared at (hence her pointing out how often they are headless/faceless). I wouldn't say it's jealousy: I'd say she thinks those women deserve better, and women who do not look like that needn't feel ashamed about that either.

That's what I thought, too. The blogger isn't picking on the women in the pictures. She picking on the messages these memes are trying to send to the average woman (who is 5'4" and wears a size 14!--or whatever).

Donna