Keeping Women Down

We've all seen it, and sadly, a lot of us have been on the receiving end of it: hateful comments. If you have a blog, you know what I'm talking about, that colorful comment left from Anonymous. 

Lurkers.
Hiding in the shadows.
Make me sick.

I love my blog! And 90% of the time, I love my readers. But, occasionally there are some hateful mofo's out there. Why they insist on visiting MY corner of the blog world if it pisses them off so much, is beyond me! It's not like I'm spoon feeding them my daily blog posts, hands tied behind their back, forcing their eyelids open.

And they're not just in the blog world, oh no, they're on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, you name it. I see them on blogs I follow, as often as I see them on my blog. I don't take the comments to heart, because I know that behind the hate is someone that's either a) jealous, b) threatened or c) both. 

 

In this instance, a follower on Instagram happens to be incredibly threatened and jealous of my rippling physique (read: sarcasm). 

But ah, pay back is sweet! 
 

I have some amazing followers on IG who came to the rescue (I didn't notice this comment until five days after he'd left it, whoops.)

 

"Thank you for being a role model, and helping me see that I don't have to be stick-thin to be beautiful. Strong is beautiful, and you are definitely gorgeous."

 

"Wow, what a ass! Keep up your hard work looking great!"

"What a f**king moron!! He must feel intimidated by a strong woman!"

 

"Wow. He is horrible! I admire ur strength and would kill to have your muscles! Keep doing what you're doing girl"

"He probably has girly arms so he's jealous! ;) keep up the good work!"
 

The photo is still up, and his comment is still there. No, I didn't block him either. I find that the best payback is allowing him to see that his comment did nothing, except make me want to lift more weight and run even faster, and that he is alone in his arena, while I have a ton of support in mine.

 

In my arena is Brandon, the author of Lift Big Eat Big. 

After seeing the comment, he messaged me and asked if he could use it in an article he's writing. Of course I said yes, and you can read the article here, "Keeping Women Down."

"Without sounding too much like a Pinterest motivational poster, weak men absolutely demand that a woman stays weak as well. Demanding that a woman not have muscle or get strong is implying that you as a man need to exert dominance over the women in question and if you cannot exert that dominance, then she is unattractive to you. Does this sound like a strong man to you?

These are the kinds of things that drive women to count calories, slave away on treadmills, and skip healthy foods for highly processed, fat-free foods. We will never advance as a society as long as we view women as a sub-species that is not allowed to pursue their own goals in strength, competition, and healthy living. If you simply cannot accept the fact that strong women are amazing, then it's time for you to crawl back under the rock from whence you came."

Men: You don't have to like women with muscles. But, that definitely does not give you the RIGHT to bash women who work hard in the gym to get stronger. Believe it or not, there is more to working out than aesthetics, waist size and a number on a scale. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the only number I care about is how much I'm going to squat.

 

I hope you read the article. Even more interesting, are the anonymous comments even HE received. Like I said, they're errywhere.

And the for manliest photo ever:

Yours truly, out to dinner with my girls my last night in Texas.

So manly we rock mustaches.

 

1. Have you ever been the victim of hateful comments?

 

2. Have you ever had to defend yourself when you tell people you lift weights or do CrossFit?

 

3. Are you afraid to "get bulky" ??