So what do we think about this whole Serena Williams thing? Was she justified to be upset or was she being a sore loser? First, she wore a special “catsuit” created to prevent blood clots (which had almost killed her) in the French Open. This was rejected by French Open officials, who started “One must… Continue Reading →
Why women athletes deserve your support
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 →
Is exercise even good for you anymore?
“Sweat is fat crying,” said the back of the gym shirt of the man in front of me at the grocery store, who was red-faced and drenched in perspiration. He had succeeded, apparently, in reducing his fat to tears, during his recent workout. I admittedly, at first, found his “motivational” shirt funny. I quickly realized,… 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 →
Cause for celebration? Sports Illustrated discovers plus-size women
Yesterday, About-Face’s executive director, Jennifer Berger, was published in the San Francisco Chronicle with an op-ed (that is, “opinion editorial”) about the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. In it, Jennifer praises Sports Illustrated for running the images of the larger models, but also states: On the other hand, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue is really just… 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 →
Great Super Bowl for women and girls, right? Wrong.
After so many years of incredibly degrading, sexist, and sexualized ads, the ways women were represented in this year’s Super Bowl commercials, overall, were much less problematic and insulting. It sure seems like advertisers have been listening to what gender equity activists have been saying for many years. So this is great. Sexism in the Super… Continue Reading →
New documentary profiles the first female surfer in Bangladesh
Recently, I saw a work-in-progress trailer for the new documentary film, The Most Fearless. This extraordinary film tells the true story of Nasima, a sixteen-year-old Bangladeshi girl who dreams of becoming a pro surfer. Nasima has fought against all odds, including being called a “whore” by Bangladeshi men for going in the water, to pursue… Continue Reading →