The internet is not the place to go if you’re looking for universal validation for your life choices. Sure, you may run into a lot of similarly-minded people who will tell you, “Oh, it is extremely cool that you’re having a Christian Slater marathon this afternoon, and you’re right — best not even to bother with pants!” But for every thumbs up, there’s an internet antagonist waiting to tell you how the only good Christian Slater movie is Pump Up the Volume, and you shouldn’t waste time with Christian Slater because he’s too populist, and you’ve failed at life for neglecting to wear pants.


This is basically what happened to a pregnant woman from California this week, only on a national scale and with bodybuilding instead of a pants-off Christian Slater marathon. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Lea-Ann Ellison attracted a lot of unsolicited judgment when a Facebook photo of her lifting weights at 33 weeks pregnant began circulating the internets. For the record, Ellison used to be a professional bodybuilder, which means that she knows what the fuck she is doing and doesn’t require the sanction of Random Internet Arbiter of Morality and Social Justice.

Still, for all the encouragement she received in the 16,000 comments on her photo, there were outcries of judgment from people who believed for no good reason that Ellison was somehow harming her unborn child. Ellison told Good Morning America that lifting weights makes her feel “really confident” and powerful, which is good for her. Some people don’t find hobbies that make them feel awesome, and anyone who can fill up their spare time with something that doesn’t make them panic at the thought that they just spent twelve hours on a perfectly sunny Saturday watching Christian Slater’s entire oeuvre has made the great trudge of life that much more bearable.


As for the concern trolls on Facebook, ABC News medical contributor Dr. Jacques Mortiz said that a weightlifting regimen — any exercise regimen, really — is safe during pregnancy, so long as it’s not a brand new regimen. Ellison is a former pro, so it seems pretty clear that everyone who wants to sneer at her life choices should shut the fuck up promptly and go back to living their own lives.

[SF Gate]