STFU About Ilona Maher
Call me a follower, a band wagon-jumper, a whatever. I started following Ilona Maher on Instagram after the women’s rugby team beat Australia to take the Bronze Medal in the Olympics, and her subsequent posts about her body and the comments she’s received.
I’m going to lay this out there, and quite frankly you vitriolic keyboard warriors (yes, I used a big word - look it up when you take a break from writing your shitty comments about people you literally know nothing about) I don’t care. Go ahead and comment. If your comments aren’t thoughtful, informed and contextual, I have no time for you. If you think you’re going to hurt me or my business, the joke is on you. And if you’re really serious come see me in person. I know you won’t.
I love the content Ilona is posting. I love the fact that she is calling out those who shame her because she “looks like a man” or that she is not sexy or feminine, or her BMI is too high. Here’s a fact to chew on: BMI is a tool in an otherwise comprehensive assessment. It is not a level of fitness, it is not a standard by which any self-respecting trainer uses to gauge their athlete’s entire training regimen. It’s merely a tool. Just like you.
Here’s the deal: Ilona Maher is who she is. She has the body she has, and it’s hers to do with what she pleases. She is a rugby player, and if you have never been around rugby, it is a sport that requires strength, agility, and power. You all who want to criticize her for being who she chooses to be have no right to do so. How would you feel if the entire USA Rugby Team criticized your body - which I imagine is pretty soft and squishy. You at home have no right, no authority, no mandate, and no standing with which to judge her, or any woman for that matter on their body. You also have no right or provenance, or ownership over her body, her mind and what she chooses to do with her body. If you believe that you have the right to do any of those things, let me say the quiet part out loud: NO YOU DON’T. The only mandate or provenance you have over Ilona Maher or any woman is to STFU.
I’m a personal trainer, I’m a boxing coach, I help athletes with strength and conditioning. I have a Master of Science Degree in Fitness and Wellness. Do you? Have you ever played rugby? Have you ever left your couch long enough to do something that is considered exercise? Is your name Ilona Maher? Did you grow up and experience her life? If you can’t answer yes to any of those, refer to the last sentence of the last paragraph. You have no right to comment unless you are wiling to show her some respect for what she is (an elite athlete), who she is, and you DO NOT get to decide how she lives her life, much less comment on it. You have no right. Just because you can, does not entitle you to share your opinion. Your opinion is not fact, and you are under no obligation to share it. So if you have something to say about Ilona Maher - or any woman’s body for that matter - that is not thoughtful, insightful, respectful or praising her for being an exceptional person, then STFU.