I’d imagine that the image of a super muscular woman would read words such as “masculine, obsessed, training disorder, aggressive” or other negative words that are tacked onto women who display seemingly “masculine” characteristics, as opposed to just, characteristics. The scrutiny of the female form never ends and you can be fat, skinny, super toned, muscular or whatever and someone will always find something to say about you. The real strength doesn’t lie in the amount of weight that you can lift, or the dress size that you can fit, but in being able to love yourself and to ignore all of the other people.
And, despite the fact that I like what this image represents, I can’t sign off without mentioning something about the typography. I hate it. I think it’s the gradient within the type that I dislike the most, but it could also just be the font face.
Here is a nice little article from Everyday Feminism on The feminist guide to non–creepy flirting. Just a disclaimer, as is already noted in the article, that it’s written with the image of cisgender, heterosexual interactions but it’s applicable really to all interactions.
I’m not sure about the experience of everybody, but likely, the experiences of being a woman who might happen to also enjoy fitness, you’ve likely been hit on/harassed. It might come in the form of cat–calling on the street while you are outside running, it might come in the form of a dude making a rather lascivious comment to you at the gym which he perceives as a compliment.
Either way, as humans, we understand that people flirt. If you’re attracted to someone, you might want to get to know them better. But remember that a person never owes you their time, attention or space and especially you are a woman. Respect boundaries and unless that person at the gym or the person taking a jog gives you the go ahead that they want to talk to you, most likely they just want to focus on their work out and nothing else.
I write this in light of transitioning from a training regime that is female dominated (circus) to one that is male dominated (boxing). So far, everything has been peachy keen but sadly, I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Wouldn’t it be nice if for once, I was proven wrong?
What is Fitspo? It’s a popular buzzword, short for Fitness Inspiration, and it’s used to inspire and motivate people to get fit and healthy. It usually involves photos of super fit, lean women, oft…
I just want to find some boxing gloves that aren’t pink. Is that so much to ask for?! Read on at Fit and Feminist about the paradox of pink.
Edit from Sweaty Ms.J:
R might be looking for boxing gloves, but I’ve been dealing with this pink paradox for ages when it comes to running gear. Eventually, I caved and I just started to buy pink stuff because it is bloody everywhere. I’m starting to wonder if the production of pink sporting goods is really just a self-fulfilling prophecy. Do sporting goods companies know that, eventually, women will just buy the pink because at least then all their sports gear will match? I’ve managed to pick up a few bits in blue, and of course the high viz yellow, but a significant portion of my running kit features at least some pink.
Women, too, have been socialized to believe that the ultimate arbiters of their appearance are men, that anything they do with their appearance is or should be “for men.” That’s why women’s magazines trip over themselves to offer up advice on “what he wants to see you wearing” and “what men think of these current fashion trends” and “wow him with these new hairstyles.” While women can and do judge each other’s appearance harshly, many of us grew up being told by mothers, sisters, and female strangers that we’ll never “get a man” or “keep a man” unless we do X or lose some fat from Y, unless we moisturize//trim/shave/push up/hide/show/”flatter”/paint/dye/exfoliate/pierce/surgically alter this or that.
That’s also why when a woman wears revealing clothes, it’s okay, in our society, to assume that she’s “looking for attention” or that she’s a slut and wants to sleep with a bunch of guys. Because why else would a woman wear revealing clothes if not for the benefit of men and to communicate her sexual availability to them, right? It can’t possibly have anything to do with the fact that it’s hot out or it’s more comfortable or she likes how she looks in it or everything else is in the laundry or she wants to get a tan or maybe she likes women and wants attention from them, not from men?
The result of all this is that many men, even kind and well-meaning men, believe, however subconsciously, that women’s bodies are for them. They are for them to look at, for them to pass judgment on, for them to bless with a compliment if they deign to do so. They are not for women to enjoy, take pride in, love, accept, explore, show off, or hide as they please. They are for men and their pleasure.
I recently completed the Men’s Health Survival of the Fittest in Edinburgh. It was a superb event, and I can’t fault the organizers aside from the very man-centric goodie bags (what I am going to do with a body wash sample that also doubles as shave gel and shampoo?) but I get that it’s an event put on by Men’s Health and that’s fine.
The casual sexism I’m talking about is happening on the Facebook page for the event. They’ve been posting photos from the various race locations and I’ve noticed an alarming trend. First up, there was a photo of a lady with an impressive physique at the Edinburgh event, dressed as Waldo/Wally, depending on your country. Rather than comment on the costume, or performance, the comments ranged from:
“8873 having a cheeky perve! Ha” (8873 being the bloke behind her in the photo who didn’t look at all pervy)
The clever reply from someone else: “Whatever keeps you running!
Top tactics!”
“Tidy!”
and someone tagging his friend followed by “there’s those two birds who we walked in next to…”
I thought it might have been an anomaly, until I viewed the photos from the Nottingham event. Another woman with a great body, and you get these comments:
“Doesn’t look like a man to me..not complaining”
and from someone who I thought might know this woman, but doesn’t seem to:
“She is stunning.”
Is there just no hope for women being able to compete in sport without being reduced to their body? I’ve looked through other albums, and haven’t come across a single similar comment on a man’s body or his overall appearance. Have we reached the point where some men see a photo of a woman on the internet and just assume that she’s there for their consumption and critique?
