Month: March 2018

fitness · weight loss

Weight-loss surgery for teens: a disturbing trend

catherine w1 Comment

We bloggers and readers been writing and talking amongst ourselves lately about children, weight, fat shaming, and concerns about policing and medicalizing kids’ bodies. Once you start down this path, it’s really hard to stop. And where does this lead? To increased health and fitness, an end to worries about body appearance and function and social acceptability? Not if you read the studies.

The recent news (and blog posts like this, this, and this) about Weight Watchers targeting children with their new teen diet programs has been a hot topic around here. I wrote here about what I don’t like about diets for children even when they’re informed by extensive research. In short, I don’t like weight loss programs that set up kids with possibly unattainable goals that also may not be necessary for them to live healthy and long lives.

But in the realm of kid weight problem concerns, nothing worries me like the increasing push to use both weight-loss drugs and bariatric surgery on children.

Let me repeat this last part: bariatric surgery on children.

What?

No, really, this is a thing now. Here’s Columbia University’s Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery’s take on age minimums:

Our consensus is that adolescence is really the boundary for performing weight loss surgery, and the World Health Organization defines adolescence as starting at age ten. However, aside from age, we look at other physiological factors such as sexual maturity and bone age growth when deciding whether or not bariatric surgery is appropriate in adolescents. With all these factors taken into consideration, the average age of adolescents undergoing surgery in our program is 16 years old.

Okay, ignoring the horrifying idea that a 10-year-old child is considered both an adolescent and potential candidate for this surgery, what’s so bad about this idea? That is, what makes this kind of surgery so worrisome for teens?

You asked (well I actually asked myself), so I deliver– here’s a short list:

Nutritional risks: teenage children are still developing, and weight loss surgery permanent compromises their ability to absorb nutrients. In particular, bone density and skeletal development may be (and have been shown in some studies) to be adversely affected. Deficiencies in levels of calcium, vitamin D, iron, B12, are common, so patients have to take supplements and be screened.

No real informed consent: in order to be able to perform any surgery, health care professionals are required to get informed consent from patients. This means explaining the nature of the procedure, possible and likely outcomes, side effects, and other important features of what life will be like afterwards. Teenagers are demonstrably not developed enough cognitively/neurologically to engage in long-term complex decision-making on this kind of scale. It seems to me grossly unfair to ask them to make such a life-changing decision at this point in their lives unless they are in extremis.

Pregnancy risks: yes, you read that right. In one study, the rate of pregnancy in a post-surgery cohort was twice that of the regular adolescent population. That’s not enough to conclude this with confidence, but it is enough for the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery site to post this about that study:

This finding suggests that the risk of pregnancy in adolescents undergoing bariatric surgery might be increased. All female adolescents should be informed about increased fertility after weight loss and that pregnancy during the first 18 months after bariatric surgery has possible risks. These patients should be counseled to avoid pregnancy during this period and offered contraception.

In short, what are some things to worry about here? They are the usual worries about teenagers:

  • Teenagers can be short-sighted and lack perspective about long-term effects of actions.
  • Teenagers aren’t well-known for planning carefully against potential negative outcomes of actions.
  • Teenagers don’t excel at being perfectly compliant with rigid dietary or other behavioral regimens imposed on them.
  • Teenagers aren’t equipped to understand and process information to make the best decision about complex and emotionally fraught situations that they’re in the middle of.

That’s okay– this is part of what it means to be a teenager, and the rest of us are here to help them get through it. But putting them in a position to go through and deal with the outcomes from gastric bypass means exposing them to enormous risks and experiences they’re not equipped to handle and certainly will not want.

Tonight I’m going to this talk by a medical researcher who works with adolescents who get bariatric surgery. She’s going to talk about the complexity of weight and weight loss. I’ll report back later this week. Hope there’s a Q&A– I have a few questions for her…

athletes · team sports

Girls’ Hoops (Available Free for Women’s History Month!)

Sam B

One of the exciting things about my new job is meeting my wonderful new colleagues in the College of Arts at Guelph and finding out what they’re up to, where they’ve come from, and what they’re passionate about.

Of course, in getting to know me many of them are reading the blog and so sometimes we’re connecting about feminism and women’s sports. Justine Richardson is the project manager for the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation here at Guelph and they’ve just been awarded funding for an improv lab. Super good news for them and for us. You can read about our exciting new renovations here. Anyway, we were in a meeting the other day about space planning and we got talking about women’s basketball and this film Justine made about girls’ high school basketball in Kentucky. It also turns out it’s available free right now in honour of women’s history month. Just a few days left…

Here’s Appalshop in Kentucky: “Appalshop is dedicated to the proposition that the world is immeasurably enriched when local cultures garner the resources, including new technologies, to tell their own stories and to listen to the unique stories of others. The creative acts of listening and telling are Appalshop’s core competency.” You can also find them on Facebook.

“In honor of #womenshistorymonth, we’re sharing “Girls Hoops” – Directed by Justine Richardson, this film explores the history of girls’ high school basketball in Kentucky, from its first heyday in the 1920s, followed by a 42-year ban on statewide competition, to its rebirth into the fiercely competitive, popular sport it has become today. https://www.appalshop.org/media/girls-hoops/

Asked about her stance on the issue of femininity in a traditionally male sport, Richardson replies, “I think it gets misconstrued sometimes as being about trying to be more masculine. It definitely is not a traditional norm; you don’t learn domestic ideals when you are on the basketball court. You learn about competition, strategic cooperation, you learn a lot of things that aren’t molding you necessarily toward a traditional family life, or whatever that set of stereotypes about women includes. It’s different, but it shouldn’t be coded as unfeminine.” – from ACE Weekly magazine.

GIRLS’ HOOPS

Director: Justine Amata Richardson
Release Year: 1998
Running Time: 27:15
Original Format: 3/4″ Umatic
Color / B&W: color

In Kentucky, basketball is a cultural obsession. The enthusiasm of Kentucky fans permeates every community in the state. Communities draw a sense of pride and identity from successful high school teams, and people support these teams by the thousands, especially in the rural, Appalachian mountain region of the state. In the towns of Whitesburg, Jenkins, and Hazard, girls teams dominate the basketball spotlight.

Of special interest amidst the debate over the value of Title IX support for women’s athletics, Girls’ Hoops explores the history of girls’ high school basketball in Kentucky — from its first heyday in the 1920s, followed by a 42-year ban on statewide competition, to its rebirth in the 1970s and development into the fiercely competitive, popular sport it has become today. Filmed over the course of a basketball season, the program features exhausting practices, intense games, rousing half-time talks, championship performances and enthusiastic fans from small coal mining communities where a winning girls team is the talk of the town. Girls’ Hoops includes up-close interviews with today’s players and coaches, comments from a 94-year old player from a 1920s championship team, and interviews and game footage of the woman who broke the gender barrier in the mid-‘70s.

You can download it here.

In Kentucky, basketball is a cultural obsession. The enthusiasm of Kentucky fans permeates every community in the state. Communities draw a sense of pride and identity from successful high school teams, and people support these teams by the thousands, especially in the rural, Appalachian mountain region of the state. In the towns of Whitesburg, Jenkins, and Hazard, girls teams dominate the basketball spotlight.

Of special interest amidst the debate over the value of Title IX support for women’s athletics, Girls’ Hoops explores the history of girls’ high school basketball in Kentucky — from its first heyday in the 1920s, followed by a 42-year ban on statewide competition, to its rebirth in the 1970s and development into the fiercely competitive, popular sport it has become today. Filmed over the course of a basketball season, the program features exhausting practices, intense games, rousing half-time talks, championship performances and enthusiastic fans from small coal mining communities where a winning girls team is the talk of the town. Girls’ Hoops includes up-close interviews with today’s players and coaches, comments from a 94-year old player from a 1920s championship team, and interviews and game footage of the woman who broke the gender barrier in the mid-‘70s.

You can download it here.

aging · cycling · injury · walking

Celebrating things I couldn’t do four months ago

Sam B

Exhibit A: Since I hurt my knee in November my walking has been pretty limited. But I’m getting better. This weekend I attended the university’s Campus Day with my son. Look how much we walked! More importantly, no knee pain after.

Exhibit B: I haven’t ridden my bike outdoors since November either. I did ride in French Polynesia with Susan but that was on cruiser bikes with coaster brakes in the sunshine. Today, I rode to work. I’m still smiling.

Still doing a lot of physio. There’s still the reality that I’m managing symptoms and that I can’t grow new knee cartilage. I’ll never run again. But I’m so happy that I can walk and ride my bike that right now none of that matters. Whee!

Crossfit · fitness · fitness classes

Learning from CrossFit (Guest Post)

Sam B2 Comments

By Cassandra

CrossFit has always seemed like one of those ‘too intense for me’ things, even though I have been secretly envious of the limits to which the athletes can push themselves. Having got that out in the open, I’m in fact finally exploring CrossFit as a fitness option and finding it to be the psychological and physical challenge that I need in my life.

I am by no means a CrossFit athlete but I have been doing CrossFit workouts and challenges, such as pullups and powerlifting, for the past year. I take it at my own pace and I push myself when I feel like it. I don’t want this post to be specifically about CrossFit, rather I want to share the reimagining of fitness that it has allowed me.

Now 36 years old, I started going to the gym over a decade ago in an attempt to address body image and self-esteem issues. I got hooked and have been working out, weightlifting, and cross training, ever since. I have learned a lot from reading about different training techniques, mostly from fitness magazines, so-called ‘experts’, and blogs, but mostly I have based my workout routines on what my body is telling me any given day or week. Having followed different routines and 30-day workout programs, I feel like I’ve seen a lot.

Here is where CrossFit comes in. I first was exposed to CrossFit with a fellow gym-mom at a Goodlife gym in Orleans, Ontario last year. She had been doing CrossFit, in a serious way for over 5 years and persuaded me to try out a CrossFit gym for a free trial. I don’t like saying ‘no’ to a challenge so I went. The place was a warehouse that was outfitted with equipment and I did one regularly scheduled class with a crew of 10 other regulars. It kicked my butt, but I walked away with less of my tail between my legs than I expected.The take away was an enormous adrenaline high. This is nothing new to someone who knows the endorphin rush of a good pump or a muscle burning run. However, the difference here was the equalizing power of CrossFit in busting gender stereotypes of strength and endurance. The most impressive person in the class was a woman, easily ten years younger then me, and someone who was obviously able to crush the Workout Of the Day (aka WOD).

Here is what the workout looked like: 25 thrusters (80% maximum weight on a barbell, bring bar to your chin and push up, repeat), 100 pullups (with an assistance resistance band, but still horribly difficult), 50 wall balls (throw a 10-15lbs medicine ball to a point 10 metres up the wall, repeat), 200 double unders (skipping rope, spin the rope over your head twice in one jump- I could only do 15!). We had 20 minutes to finish and she finished in 14 minutes. Unbelievable.

The take away was an enormous adrenaline high. This is nothing new to someone who knows the endorphin rush of a good pump or a muscle burning run. However, the difference here was the equalizing power of CrossFit in busting gender stereotypes of strength and endurance. The most impressive person in the class was a woman, easily ten years younger then me, and someone who was obviously able to crush the Workout Of the Day (aka WOD).

Here is what the workout looked like: 25 thrusters (80% maximum weight on a barbell, bring bar to your chin and push up, repeat), 100 pullups (with an assistance resistance band, but still horribly difficult), 50 wall balls (throw a 10-15lbs medicine ball to a point 10 metres up the wall, repeat), 200 double unders (skipping rope, spin the rope over your head twice in one jump- I could only do 15!). We had 20 minutes to finish and she finished in 14 minutes. Unbelievable.

Returning to my workout routine at the gym after that exposure was strange. All the equipment that once gave me a sense of accomplishment felt boring, limited, and static. After that initial CrossFit workout I craved the full-body challenge and power I felt. I never signed up for the CrossFit membership, which is $100/month, hardly an affordable option for a working mom who doesn’t work out everyday. No, I took the lessons from CrossFit and started doing my research. I found workouts online and started making my own goals: learn how to do a CrossFit pull-up (aka kipping pull-up, look it up online), learn power cleans (also, look it up), and ultimately, do a single muscle-up (a pull-up where you bring your torse over the bar).

As I worked on slowly building my skill and strength to beat these new physical challenges, I found myself completely forgetting about my thoughts about body image. I was grunting and yanking my body around at the gym without a care for how silly I looked, how grossly contorted my face would get, or how loud I might sound. Not only had I discovered a workout style that pulled me further away from the image obsessed gym routine, but I felt more proud of my accomplishments then I ever had. I started thinking of my journey as an over-all athlete- getting stronger in a way that barbells and seated leg press machines had never given me.

Now, I should mention one of the major downsides to CrossFit style fitness- injury. My body is not a stranger to pain incurred during athletic activity but now that I’m a working mom, I can’t afford to lose my general physical abilities. I have been very cautious with how far I push myself to meet my CrossFit challenges and that is why when people ask if I do CrossFit I say, ‘I do CrossFit-lite,’ which suits me just fine. When I talk to other women about CrossFit I try to explain the way it has help me burst through the typical gym workout and the lessons it has taught me on functional fitness vs. image fitness. I don’t often use the much over-used term ‘empowerment,’ but CrossFit is part of my own journey towards greater physical and psychological resilience and strength.

Like so many other fitness blog posts, I would say I have learned a lot from CrossFit, but I can also say I have left a fair amount behind, only taking what seems to make sense to me, my body, and my lifestyle. I’m also not a particularly competitive person, so I don’t get much out of the official CrossFit workouts and culture, which are all about competing for ‘best times’. My CrossFit-lite is all about personal records and kicking my self-esteem issues to the curb, in the most sweaty, red-face, and grunt-y kind of a way!

Cassandra has been a feminist since she could remember – something about being raised by a political, feminist, engineer, single-mom. She studied environmental studies and wrote her Master’s on transnational muslim feminist organizing, and works in community engagement for non-profits. Though her dream was to become a chef and she worked many long-hours in fancy kitchens she prefers community building- oh, and maybe the macho kitchen culture didn’t help. Currently, she lives in Orleans, Ontario with her husband and two ridiculously busy toddlers.

family

Dad strength? Is there a mom version?

Sam B8 Comments

My son spends a lot of time at the gym strength training, building muscles. He’s got a schedule, theories about nutrition, and a plan for spring. But he’s part of a young men’s gym culture that cares more about looks than about function, I’d say. (Correct me if I’m wrong.)

That came home the other night when we were all carrying stuff from the house to a trailer to take it to our storage locker. Our house is going to be for sale soon and we’re moving out half the stuff. Don’t talk to me about staging. I’m annoyed and stressed.

Back to the carrying heavy household things…

My partner in parenting doesn’t lift weights. He’s in his fifties like me but he doesn’t go to the gym. So my son and I made a comment about being impressed with how easily he picked up stuff as he carried it out of the house. We’re talking big stuff like appliances and church pews. Family legends tell stories of him moving hot tubs, pianos, and dryers out of tight basement spaces.

My son said, yeah, that’s dad strength for you.

What’s dad strength, I asked.

Just check out his forearms. You get forearms like that from actually doing stuff, not from lifting weights at the gym. He’s got muscular hands and lots of grip strength.

And it’s true Jeff does a lot around the house. He does home renos, builds things, and lifts household objects. He also works on his boat. Last summer he hauled the motor with Sarah and the two of them worked on rebuilding it. That’s demanding too.

So the contrast seems to be between gym strength (bicep curls, bench press, etc) and dad strength (firm grip and strong forearms). I get it.

But it also got me wondering if there’s a mom equivalent, a contrast between gym fit and mom fit? (I’ve wondered that before about mom bods. See The dad bod? Fine. But what about the mom bod?)

Sure she can do the eagle pose in yoga, but can she wrestle a struggling toddler into a snowsuit? Yes, she can swing a 30 lb kettle bell but can she carry a heavy infant in a car seat and an arm load of groceries at the same time.

It’s not just wrangling children, of course. It’s also lifting bags of cat litter at Costco. It’s about shoveling snow. It’s about planting shrubs in your backyard. Like dads, moms do lots of heavy lifting. It’s not gym strength. It’s mom strength.

Personally I’m not much of a mom. I’m more of a parent. I prefer my parenting to be gender neutral.

But I like the idea of mom strength. Do you have any examples of mom strength at work?

A white woman with brown hair in a ponytail, wearing a green and white stripey sundress is holding a toddler in a pink hat. She's standing between two cars, one red and one green. Year? 1950-something?
Photo from Unsplash, A white woman with brown hair in a ponytail, wearing a green and white stripey sundress is holding a toddler in a pink hat. She’s standing between two cars, one red and one green. Year? 1950-something?
I'm not bossy-- I just know what you should be doing. Exploring bossy yoga
fitness · yoga

Exploring bossy yoga

catherine w15 Comments

It’s been fun over the past couple of years to explore different types of yoga offered at my studio in Watertown, MA, as well as other places.  They offer flow, restorative, ropes yoga, yoga and meditation, chair yoga, and many specialized classes for particular groups (like yoga for cyclists and runners) or particular body parts (like hip opener workshops and such).

My studio also features Iyengar yoga classes.  Here’s what Yoga Journal says about it:

By paying close attention to anatomical details and the alignment of each posture, Iyengar Yoga is the practice of precision. Poses are held for long periods and often modified with props. This method is designed to systematically cultivate strength, flexibility, stability, and awareness, and can be therapeutic for specific conditions. B.K.S. Iyengar founded Iyengar Yoga.

I was talking with a friend about Iyengar classes, and she said to me, “I like them, but the teachers are kind of bossy”.

This is so true, now that I think about it.  In an Iyengar class, the focus is entirely on alignment, which requires a number of small but crucial adjustments of inner or outer rotations of limbs, weight shifts, foot position, etc.  The result is a deep and often intense experience of what it feels like to be embodied.

But getting there is often not pretty.  In Iyengar class, I often feel like I’m trying to back a large truck into a small parking space.  This is not what the teacher says, but it is what I hear sometimes:

Okay, bend the left knee– not that knee, the other knee.  Now, rotate the left hip back and the right hip forward.  More.  More. Even more!  Stop. Pull the torso back– no, not that way– back!  Lift out of the ribcage.  Breathe.

It’s kind of an intense experience, my body being bossed around in class.  I have to surrender individual control and will to what’s happening.  There’s no place to hide.  I can’t soft pedal or adjust the tension like in spin class.  It’s all out there, and the teacher sees all and attends to all.

Oddly enough, Iyengar class doesn’t make me feel vulnerable.  It makes me feel attended to and seen.  It’s a place (one of the few places, actually) where I just don’t mind being bossed around.  The teachers see me, and are brave and caring enough to help me in a literal hands-on way to achieve alignment and strength.  I’m into it.

Readers, do you have experiences of being “bossed around” in physical activity classes or workshops or events?  Do you like it?  Do you not like it?  How does being seen, identified as doing what you’re doing, and adjusted, advised, etc.  affect you?  I’d like to know.

 

The author's right arm in a black cloth brace with lacing up the inner side. There is an orange wall and white window frame in the background. She is giving a thumbs up. On the Other Hand: Christine’s Plans Go Awry
fitness · martial arts · training

On the Other Hand: Christine’s Plans Go Awry

Christine Hennebury1 Comment

In my last February post,  I had great plans for how I was going to advance my Taekwondo training in the next month. I was working hard on my patterns and I had a 15-minute a day plan. The emphasis here is on ‘had.’

 

I did 4 days of great practice, Eui Am really came together and the first part of Juche was starting to seem feasible. Then this happened.

The author's right arm in a white plaster cast. There is a tile floor in the background.
Not getting your first cast until age 45 (and after 9 years of TKD) is a victory of sorts, right?

 

On Tuesday February 27th, I took three TKD classes in a row.  In the middle of the third class, while evading someone during a sparring  drill, my foot stuck on something on the floor and I fell backward and broke one of the bones in my wrist.

 

My right wrist. I’m right handed.

 

I had the above cast for a few days until I saw a specialist and now I have a brace until April 16 (at least).

 

I am not supposed to lift anything heavy with my right hand, and I am not allowed to drive. Those things are inconvenient but given that I work from home and I can use voice dictation, they are not a crisis.

 

I’m also not supposed to rotate my wrist which makes it a challenge to open cans, use a key to get into my house, and it prevents me from fully practicing my patterns. I can do the stances and left handed arm movements but nothing with my right arm at all.

The author's right arm in a black cloth brace with lacing up the inner side. There is an orange wall and white window frame in the background. She is giving a thumbs up.
The brace is a bit more badass.

And the fact that I am supposed to take care not to lose my balance* means that I cannot do  the complicated jumps in my patterns. It also means that many of my other kinds of TKD practice are off limits, too. Kicks, footwork, punches, drills, all out of the question.

Needless to say, that put a cramp in my plans for 15 minutes a day.

 

It’s annoying and frustrating but I am trying to focus on the things I *can* do instead of the things I can’t.

 

So, for the last few weeks, I have been focusing on exercises for my legs and my abs. And the narrowing of my activity choices is actually making it a bit easier to do that work.

 

Often, when exercising, I find myself wondering if I should be doing some other exercise instead. Having fewer options right now limits that type of thinking so I can just do what I’m doing instead of overthinking it.

 

I’m still going to TKD but instead of practicing myself, I do some exercises and then I help other students to figure out their patterns. Going through the mental exercise of explaining movements I can’t currently demonstrate has been interesting to say the least.

 

I recently read the following tweet and felt oddly inspired by it. I am hoping that my willingness to focus on what I can do will help me be a ‘fitter’ version of myself by the time this brace comes off. (Yes, I know the context is different but I’ll take inspiration where I can.) I am adapting to this temporary change the best way I know how. 

I’ll let you know how it works out. KIYA!

A screen capture of a tweet from Alex Flis that reads "That's the thing people get confused a lot about evolution. Survival of the fittest is a very misleading statement. Nature doesn't care if you're the smartest or the toughest, it cares how quickly you are to adapt to a changing environment."
Yes, I know my injury has nothing to do with survival per se but I liked this reminder about the importance of adapting to change.

 

I would like to note that I realize that being able to approach this recovery period with this attitude is a mark of my privilege.  My livelihood isn’t threatened by this. My family life isn’t greatly altered. I have health insurance so there is no huge financial impact. I am not suggesting that anyone else who gets injured *must* approach their recovery period in the same way, I am only writing about my own circumstances.

And, I fully recognize that this temporary injury is not at all comparable to a disability and I hope I avoided implying that it was. I do not intend to be ableist but, as a non-disabled person in our ableist society, I realize that I run that risk (and that my ‘intentions’ are largely irrelevant.)  I am prepared to change any inadvertently offensive language I have used in this post, please just let me know.

 

*This is to prevent a fall.  The small break in my radius will currently heal without surgery but, if I were to fall on it, an operation would be inevitable.

cycling · equality · fitness · inclusiveness · research

Gender Diversity in Cycling: Microaggressions and Continued Work

erineayala

As a woman who is new to the competitive cycling scene, I want to share a glimpse of my journey into this sport. I’ve had some incredible experiences in the cycling community and I love it more than any other hobby I’ve picked up over my lifetime. For me, there is something truly empowering (yet terrifying!) about racing bicycles at 23mph around street corners in a field of 20+ women, all while trusting and admiring each and every one of them. A year later, there is no better feeling than reflecting back on my journey and calling many of those women my new teammates and friends.

Despite how much I love racing bikes, I have experienced a number of day-to-day remarks, actions, and behaviors that reveal underlying biases and assumptions about men being the default and women being placed on the back burner in cycling. Commonly referred to as microaggressions, these experiences reflect subtle inequities, stereotypical remarks, or forms of harassment related to one or more cultural identities–including but not limited to gender. I’ve decided to share some of my experiences here and in a previous post because I want to continue the conversation that other cyclists have started for us, and I want continued progress on this important issue.

Before sharing, I want to recognize that many (but not all) of the actions I describe were likely unintentional. My goal is not to point fingers. Instead, I want to reflect on the broader culture and context. When these experiences happen time and time again by different people, I can’t help but recognize that the common denominator is the fact that I’m a woman on a bike trying to participate in a sport dominated by white cisgender men. Even if done unintentionally, such actions and subtle snubs provide preferential treatment toward men, exclude those of us who are not men, and/or focus on our physical attributes rather than our strengths as athletes. Here is some of what I’ve experienced:

  • During my second ride with a new group of men, I got a flat and fell off the back. One guy stayed back while I changed my flat, joking that he waited for me because he wanted my number. The others in the group went on without me.
  • During a cold February ride, I was in a pace line with several men working into a gnarly headwind. One of the guys shouted “Keep up the good work, fellas!” to boost morale.
  • Last fall, an acquaintance joked that I shouldn’t race in the Athena* category because no one wants to be “King of the fatties.”
  • In a recent fat bike race, two men passed me on the single track stating, “thanks, man” and “thanks, sir.”
  • At my first cyclocross race, I showed up early to get a feel for the race scene and watch the race before mine. The announcer did not announce the first place woman at the finish line, yet provided commentary on all podium spots for the men’s race occurring at the same time.
  • When commuting into work one morning for my new job, a security guard approached me to introduce himself. He proceeded to comment on my physical attractiveness.
  • During the cyclocross season, the women’s 4/5 field raced at the same time as the juniors. When course features were too challenging for 8 yr olds, the features were removed for their race. This meant that we often raced on the modified course with the juniors, rather than the course raced by all other adults.
  • After stopping at an intersection on my way home from a training ride, a car with three men pulled up alongside me. One of them stuck his head out the window and shouted, “Hey you wanna suck my dick?!”. They drove off with a car full of laughter. My morale, performance, and sense of safety immediately plummeted. I spent the rest of the ride feeling completely violated, tense, and worried they’d come back.

*Note: Athena is a cycling category for women over 160 lbs. Clydesdale is a category for men over 200 lbs.

Although the clear harassment is far and few between, and most of these acts are completely unintentional, they add up. I carry them with me on a daily basis and to each race. I use them to fuel my desire to dig deeper, to try harder, and to show women and gender diverse cyclists we belong. If we want to decrease gender gaps in this sport, we need more conversations about how to do better, as well as more feminists advocating for gender equity. Just in the past year, I have taken risks in a new community by speaking up about what I’ve seen and how I’ve felt. I will speak more about the progress in the next post, but I have only great things to say about the cycling federation, racing directors, and officials–particularly how open and receptive they’ve been. We’re seeing some really exciting changes. I think many people understand that it’s time for a culture shift, in which all cyclists are clearly valued and welcome. That being said, I can only speak to my own experience. I want to hear more voices and shine a light on the experiences of others so that we can make this conversation continue in and outside of the cycling world.

This month, I launched an international research project for women (cis and trans) and gender diverse cyclists (including but not limited to non-binary, gender queer, & two spirit folks) who have raced over the past 5 years. The survey asks about factors that have increased and decreased participation in competitive cycling, as well as motivations and experiences in daily living. I ask for stories of exclusion, harassment, and sexism—in addition to times cyclists have felt valued and included in their respective communities. After recruiting 250 participants, I’ll donate $500 to a non-profit organization (Cycles for Change) that works toward gender equity and accessibility in cycling. Findings will be presented in the community and submitted as empirical journal articles. Ultimately, my goal is to better understand the gender gaps and increase retention of women and gender diverse cyclists throughout the world.

If you are a woman and/or a gender diverse cyclist who has raced bikes in the last 5 yrs, I’d love to hear your story. The link to the 20 minute survey is as follows: https://goo.gl/BV72e7

—

Erin is a professor, psychologist, researcher, feminist, spouse, and cyclist. When she is not working, she trains for new cycling adventures, eats, laughs, and spends time with loved ones.

The author, a white woman in her mid forties, wearing sunglasses and a red tshirt that reads 'patriarchy got me drove' Grey siding is visible in the background. The Limits of Self-Defense Training
equality · martial arts · training

The Limits of Self-Defense Training

Christine Hennebury2 Comments

I have been in several conversations about the nature of self-defense training in the past few months and as a result I have been puzzling about how to address women’s real needs when it comes to self-defense.

(Please note: I have not included any self-defense photos in this post so I could avoid potential triggers for people. There is a video from 1933 posted at the end but the still image is staged so it seems unlikely to be a trigger. Proceed with caution.)

With my second degree black belt in Taekwondo I feel pretty confident about my ability to defend myself in a fight. I have a fair amount of self-defense training and I’m a pretty skilled kicker and puncher. If someone outright attacked me, I could likely deal with it.

The problem is, of course, that for most women, the ‘stranger in a dark alley’ is the dangerous scenario they are least likely to encounter. We’re much more likely to have to deal with someone we know or sort-of-know in a situation that goes from normal to needing-a-defense-strategy all of a sudden.

If my life was in actual danger, I know I could act.  If the situation was unclear? I’m not sure that my instincts would be sharp enough. I fear that my social conditioning to ‘be nice’ would override my instincts, especially if it was someone I know. And I would be reluctant to cause them any real harm until I was sure they meant to hurt me, and then it might be too late to use what I know.

The author, a white woman in your mid-forties with dark blonde hair, is wearing a martial arts uniform and holding a sign that says 'the push for equality takes many hands #WhyIMarch' She is wearing glasses. The background is grey cloth. I included this because I am in my dobok and because I think the push for equality – in this case, equality in personal safety – will take a lot of us working together. Yes, I often smirk in selfies.

I know that the big picture solution involves the social change all of us fit feminists are working toward but what’s the solution for while that change is in development?

How do we help women deal with the people who take advantage of the fact that we are trained to be ‘nice’ and agreeable? How do we get them past the fear of hurting someone they know but who is willing to hurt them?

It’s a huge issue, I realize that. In thinking about it, though, I have been tying together bits and pieces of my experiences and conversations with experts so I can start working on at least a piece of the problem.

 

A few years before I started Taekwondo my friends and I took this one time only self-defense class offered by a local martial arts school (not my current one). I learned lots of great moves and I enjoyed practicing them on people in full body armor. I felt like something was missing though.

 

The instructors gave us good skills but there was little or no mention of when and how to tap into our instincts. And the instructor did not seem to understand that as women in their thirties and forties we couldn’t necessarily follow the same rules for walking down the street safely as as he could as an advanced black belt male in his 50s. Basically, the class was great but limited. The instructor was missing the cultural and social context of when and how most women would need to use these skills.

 

The author, a white woman in her mid forties, wearing sunglasses and a red tshirt that reads 'patriarchy got me drove' Grey siding is visible in the background. My local women’s centre was selling these great shirts this past summer. I think ‘patriarchy got me drove’ sums up the basic issue here.

One of my TKD instructors is working on this issue already. She has lots of great self defense skills to teach but it is really hard to teach women to defend themselves in the sort of situation they’re most likely to encounter. It gets into that grey area where you need to teach skills beyond the physical.

After all, how do you learn to defend yourself against someone whose nose you don’t want to break or against someone that you’re going to see again (and probably not in a court of law)?

Last week I was talking to a friend of mine who teaches women’s self-defense and again she was concerned with that same gap. Her practice is able to address it a little more directly but since every student has individual things to overcome, it’s tricky to address in a wholesale way.

 

This is one of those situations where physical fitness and training will help. After all, both of those things bring confidence and give you physical leverage. However, the problem is broader than being confident and physically capable.

 

How do we teach women to further develop their instincts, to trust them and to act on them?

 

How do we find ways for women to defend themselves when causing physical harm will have additional social repercussions? (I know that defending yourself should be your first priority and the repercussions should be your last concern but that social conditioning to be a ‘good girl’ will get in the way.)

 

How do we help other women (and ourselves) to recognize that a threat is a threat, no matter who it comes from? That the harm that comes from someone we know is as bad as harm from a stranger? To recognize that we should be allowed to protect ourselves,  no matter who is hurting us?

 

It’s hard enough to learn that it is okay to say no.  And to understand, on a fundamental level, that we have the right not to be harmed in anyway. How do we help women to reinforce that no without creating further danger for them?

 

How do we address the fundamental changes in thinking (and in social  indoctrination) that all of this requires?

 

I know that the answer lies in the social change we talked about. I know that it is really men that need the lesson about doing no harm and taking responsibility for their actions. And there are tons of changes above needed above and beyond that.

But those are long-term changes and waiting for things to get better is not a viable option.

I want women to be equipped to deal with the things they have to face now. I want them to have the skills they need and the confidence to use them. I know a lot of people are working on it, I just want to be part of that working group, too.

 

 

 

The embedded video below shows a Women’s Self-Defence Tutorial from 1933. It is in black and white and features May Whitley demonstrating jiu-jitsu.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLIE1GKfluk%5D

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