We’ve had our fair share of blog posts about having to defend your boundaries and territory at the gym, the climbing gym, oh, and did I mention the gym? Yeah, it’s a problem. Staring, unsolicited advice, making you feel uncomfortable and like you’re invading a space you don’t belong in… all of it is regularly on the cards for female-presenting athletes. Confronting the starers, mansplainers and territory defenders of our sports spaces is annoying, nerve wracking, and, frankly, often scary.
So, wouldn’t it be great to have a tank top to do the talking for you (like yesterday’s candy hearts! <3 )? I’m crediting my co-blogger Marjorie with the idea: she came up with it in our FIFI-blogger internal Facebook group. “I’ve been thinking about making a set of gym tank tops with sayings like, ‘I’m not doing it for you,’ or ‘Look somewhere else during your rest periods.'”, she wrote. What a brilliant idea!
Photo by Thato Bole on Unsplash
I thought about what my own tank top would say and quickly realised I needed a whole set, depending on the occasion and how outspoken I’d be feeling on a given day. “Staring is rude”, “Fit feminist at work”, and “Mind your own business” are just a few ideas that instantly occurred to me. I also asked my fellow bloggers. Here’s the round-up:
- “I’m 55 and I can lift you” (Cate)
- “Frigger, don’t kill my vibe” (Christine – she’s actually already in possession of said tank top, which is just awesome)
- “Fitisafeministissue.com”; “Don’t be that guy” (Tracy)
- “Patriarchy got me drove”; “Eat, Sleep, Smash the patriarchy” (Martha) – she also added, “I often think about the marketability of “Do I l👀k like I need your ‘help'”?” and lamented the lack of a sarcasm font to make it feasible.
- Sam likes Fit and Feminist (another, sadly now defunct, blog)’s motto “It takes a strong woman to smash the patriarchy”.
- “My body, my business” was another entry from Marjorie, and she has actually made one saying “Action Figure” with a woman’s profile in double-bicep pose.
That’s quite a collection already – but how about you? What would your feminist fitness tank top say?
“Not looking for your advice or approval”
I like that one! “No advice please” is definitely one I’ve wished for while bouldering.
Great post! I missed the call for comments, so here’s mine: “This is what Fit looks like”.
I often wear a smash the patriarchy tee shirt to lift. I get noticeably fewer comments and looks. And I get to proclaim my feminism. Win-win.
I’m not sure I need a tank top or t-shirt for any message.
Isn’t it enough I’m cycling as part of my lifestyle, doing errands and that I don’t care about helmet hair @61 yrs.? An Asian face woman in a medium sized North American city as a cycling commuter is still noticeable..especially if she’s off bike in a store…people have time to notice you. Isn’t that enough to smash stereotyping?
Of course it’s enough! Whatever you feel like doing is enough. I love your “helmet hair, don’t care” approach. <3