Bar Refaeli has been pretty vocal about getting back in shape after giving birth to her first child with her Israeli husband this August, having Instagrammed several videos and photos of herself in the gym. Because of this, media outlets like People, notably in Latin America, are giving props to the 31-year-old model.
People said her dedication to appeared to be “paying off,” citing her Instagram photo that she posted on Monday of her wearing a bikini. Which is totally fine in that she can post whatever selfies she wants (I’m no stranger to the selfie, and don’t think it’s a bad thing), but I do think the public pressure she’s putting on herself to get her “pre-baby body” back sends a wrong message to women, especially with some of the language she uses. The same goes to the magazines praising her for losing weight–as if that’s the most important thing a woman can do after giving birth.
For instance, this past Sunday, Refaeli shared a video on Instagram of her workout, which included doing weighted leg lifts while standing on a Bosu ball. She captioned the video with:
“As you can see, I’m all about getting back in shape #addicted.”
I don’t want to be a nitpicky Negative Nancy, but when I see tags like “#addicted” on fitness posts, it makes me cringe. Because many people suffer from eating and exercise disorders, as well as body dysmorphia, and that’s not something to joke about or desensitize with casual language.
While I’m sure this wasn’t intentional on Refaeli’s part–and definitely don’t think there’s anything wrong with working out–it’s important for everyone to be aware of how they use language, and how that language can be triggering and insensitive. In this case, Refaeli has a huge following–so she especially needs to be aware of the ramifications of what a seemingly simple hashtag can imply.
Read More:
Bracing Myself Against My Son’s Severe Mental Illness
Why I Don’t Want My Children to Grow Up in a Safe Space
Orthodox Women Take On ‘Vagina Monologues’ & Make it Their Own
