If you’re a female athlete like me, you know the drill when it comes to wanting people to take you seriously (For everyone else: people tend to not take us seriously). That’s why, when the U.S. women’s national soccer team won the World Cup this summer, I was over the moon about the amount of… Continue Reading →
Help! My gym is promoting unhealthy body ideals
My gym is doing some renovations. To make sure we’re all aware that the gym will be temporarily under construction, they’ve posted signs throughout the facility that list the planned renovations and depict a smiling woman in a hard hat. They posted one of these signs in the women’s locker room, and on that particular… Continue Reading →
Why the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover brought me to tears
Why did the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover bring me to tears? (Hint: It had nothing to do with wanting to look like the model.) It was because I have no idea how I’m going to explain the image to my two sons (ages six and eight), who love sports and are about to be… Continue Reading →
“Fit is the new thin”: Is Instagram just another channel for eating disorders?
Instagram is one of the most popular forms of social media today, not just because of the awesome pictures, but because of the “community” — it’s sort of like YouTube, except you create your own world online in the form of pictures. Instagram gets a good rep partially because it seems like a great form… Continue Reading →
ESPN The Magazine: Are the women playing or just posing?
A short paragraph about the physiological wonder of the human body opens ESPN The Magazine’s 2013 body issue. In this paragraph, the magazine calls all bodies spectacular specimens, especially the athletic bodies profiled in the following 36 pages. However, the images of male (10 portrayed) and female (11 pictured) athletes tell a different story. Per… Continue Reading →
What we learned from the Olympics’ coverage of female athletes
This year’s Olympics in London provided some notable victories for women. It was the first Olympics where there were female athletes from all participating countries. And as always, the Olympics put strong, capable women in the spotlight. In a media landscape where female celebrities are often reported on for their fashion, hair style, or fluctuating… Continue Reading →
Is it a good idea to insult one of the strongest athletes in the world?
I love the Olympics. I mean, LOVE. Every other year I sit poised eagerly on my couch, ready to watch downhill skiers plunge through the snow, gymnasts vault into the air, and swimmers and skaters speed through the water and across the ice, with such talent and skill that it’s literally an art form. I can… Continue Reading →
Vancouver Whitecaps sexualize soccer with painted nude model
What’s sex got to do with soccer? Even a Vancouverite like me who isn’t into soccer didn’t miss the recent viral advertising campaign publicizing the Vancouver Whitecaps, Canada’s newest Major League Soccer team. It started with a “Find the Billboard” contest, which challenged fans to be the first to Tweet or text the location of… Continue Reading →