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It s used in headlines.
It s used in everyday conversation (your friend/colleague/sister who just seems to somehow get everything and more done).
It s used to describe the ever-elusive balance mothers often chase. ( Supermom is even in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.)
As a first-time, full-time working mom, I ve had plenty of people call me superwoman or supermom in the year-and-a-half since I ve had my daughter. And I ve never quite known what to say in response.
It s the type of terminology that seems benign positive even. But experts suggest it could actually be problematic for womxn s mental health, promoting an unrealistic ideal that s, at best, unachievable and, at worst, damaging. (BTW, here s what the x means in words such as womxn. )
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Luckily, society has moved on from long-standing, harmful terms such as bikini body,
finally recognizing that all human bodies are bikini bodies. And while we ve mostly put this kind of toxic terminology behind us, some dangerous words have stuck around, clinging to outdated perspectives on health. Example: bikini body s wintertime cousin holiday detox. Blech.
And despite what celebs such as Lizzo (and her recent smoothie detox) and the Kardashians (um, remember when Kim endorsed appetite-suppressing lollipops?) might post to social media, you don t need to detox from food be it Christmas cookies or a weeklong diet of comfort foods (thanks @ PMS) to be healthy.