No big, fat deal

Elk Grove blogger Maria Kang is making news again. The self-described social entrepreneur made headlines in October after posting a picture on Facebook. It showed Kang dressed in a sports bra and booty shorts (toned abs on display), accompanied by her three young sons and the caption, “What’s your excuse?”

The take-away: If this busy mom can squeeze in exercise, why can't you? Not surprisingly, the post garnered backlash for its perceived arrogance, and Kang took to the national media circuit to defend herself.

“What you interpret [from the photo] is not my fault. It's yours,” Kang said during an appearance on Today.

OK, fine, point taken.

But now Kang is back. Last week, she claimed to have been banned from Facebook after a post in which she criticized Chrystal Bougon, founder of the Curvy Girl plus-size lingerie line, for encouraging customers to post lingerie pics of themselves on social media. Kang's take? She's “annoyed” by “news stories of how overweight, nearly obese women should be proud of their bodies.”

In reality, Kang was only temporarily prohibited from the site after her post was flagged as offensive—by none other than Bougon. Last weekend, the two women squared off against one another on CNN.

During the segment, Kang declared it “great” that obese women love themselves.

Wonderful. But why exactly does Kang care so much about other people's bodies? And more importantly, why does anyone (Bougon included) care about what she has to say about them?

While one's weight can contribute to poor health, it's not necessarily a surefire indicator of overall well-being.

And while one person's uninformed opinion may be hurtful, it's hardly a gauge of someone else's self-worth.