Mom's Fitness Photo Message Creates Internet Firestorm
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A woman in California has ignited an Internet firestorm with a photo she posted of herself and her three children.
It has less to do with the photo, than it does with the caption above the picture. It's a caption that some find offensive.
Maria Kang is in here early 30s, proud of her three boys and proud of her physical conditioning, especially just eight months after her last child was born.
That prompted the fitness enthusiast to post a picture of herself posing in a bikini surrounded by her three sons with the message, "What's Your Excuse?
"It really came out as a question as, what's your excuse for not working out. It wasn't meaning to be insulting; it was meant to be inspiring," Maria says.
But since Maria posted the picture and question, the reaction from women has been viral and often angry.
"I that she's giving women a bad name," says Mary Kay Modaffari, of O'Hara Township, "And I feel that part of it is that you have to be happy with who you are, and if you're not happy with who you are, then shame on you."
"I think it sends the wrong message that you must return to a size or a certain weight to have an attraction or an appeal," said Lauree Criss, of the North Side.
"How is she spending time with her children? Or is she more concerned about herself?" added Melissa O'Leary, of Glenshaw.
Maria tells CBS13 in her hometown of Sacramento that she works out 30 to 60 minutes a day, five to six days a week.
"I work out when they're sleeping, I work out when I have a babysitter. I'm a member at CalFit and they have a daycare there, so does 24 Hour Fitness," she says.
"I give her a lot of credit that she wants to strike out and tell people to be healthy and take care of yourself when things happen to your body that you can't control there are ways to control it," says Sandy Witte, of Aspinwall.
"I think the message, if packaged correctly, is an important one to all of us," added Christie Knott, of Hampton Township. "What is our excuse for doing anything? Women's health is important, and it should be at the forefront of a lot of our minds."
And show the photo to a guy, and the message received is a bit different.
"I'm a hot mom and I got three kids," said one man.
Watch Part 1 & Part 2 of Maria Kang's interview with CBS Sacramento here.
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