Parenting & Family Quote by Kiana Tom

The line lands like a wink and a corrective at the same time: a fast pivot from self-deprecation to self-assertion. "Just kidding" is a social airbag. It lets Kiana Tom flirt with an expected joke about models being ornamental, then immediately puncture it before the stereotype can settle. The whiplash is the point. She controls the frame: you’re allowed to laugh for a beat, but only on her terms.

Coming from a model who built a public persona in a media era that loved to separate women into tidy categories (pretty vs. capable, decorative vs. disciplined), the sentence reads as a small act of brand self-defense. "I've been very athletic all my life" isn’t just a résumé line; it’s a counter-narrative. The word "very" matters. It’s not "I work out sometimes", it’s lifelong identity, implying training, routine, competitiveness - the unglamorous infrastructure behind a body that pop culture often treats as effortless.

There’s also a sly commentary on how credibility works. For women in image-driven industries, competence often has to be smuggled in through humor to avoid sounding "too serious" or "full of themselves". The joke provides permission for confidence. The subtext: I know what you assume about me, and I’m going to disarm you before you get comfortable.

As a cultural micro-moment, it’s a reminder that the fitness boom didn’t just sell workouts - it sold legitimacy, a way for women to claim physical authority in public without apologizing for taking up space.