If strong is the new skinny, why are all the girls in your "fitspirational" pictures skinny?

Let’s be real.

I found every single one of these pictures on “Crossfit” labeled Pinterest boards or searching for crossfit tags. In response to the abundance of anorexic thinspo, there is a huge “fitspo” movement right now, touting the motto “strong is the new skinny.”

But let’s be real, these pictures are not about health. These pictures are simply holding up another beauty ideal unattainable by the vast majority of women.

I do not mean these aren't beautiful women, or that I don’t admire the hard work and dedication they've put in. They are undoubtedly gorgeous girls who likely eat well and train hard (though as all I’m seeing are pictures, I can’t rule out unhealthy habits as well; you cannot completely judge health by appearance), and I don’t question that they can perform the impressive feats to back up their appearance.

But if strong is the new skinny, why are all the girls in your fitspirational pictures skinny? Sure, they've got quads and abs and traps, and they certainly don’t look anorexic. But none of them are above a size 4, or MAYBE 6 (and then only because of the quads and glutes).

If you want to show strong girls, show girls doing strong things. Maybe they have low body fat percentage and muscle definition and flawless skin and flaxen hair and bright eyes like Camille Leblanc Bazinet and Miranda Oldroyd.

But it might be a picture of me, 200 some odd lbs and by BMI definitions morbidly obese, lifting over my body-weight  Maybe it’s a picture of a girl without makeup or who is wearing more than a sports bra and Lulu lemon shorts.

Maybe a woman who’s middle aged, or even past middle age.

Maybe someone with a disability.

For God’s sake, be impressed and inspired by the achievement of the muscle-up or clean and jerk, not the tan and oiled abs in a photo-shoot. If the focus is on how a woman LOOKS, (whether extremely lean like Kate Moss, curvy and voluptuous like Christina Hendricks, or strong and muscled like Camille and Miranda) we haven’t done away with beauty ideals, we've just switched them out.

I’ll admit I post pictures that celebrate beauty ideals; I love the world of plus size modeling and haute couture. Nothing wrong with celebrating the aesthetic of the human form, as long as it doesn't become obsessive.

But don’t confuse it with fitness.