In my constant search for feminist and fat-positive (or at least fat-neutral) resources for athletes i've found some good resources. There is a great running store in San Francisco called See Jane Run that is owned by women, and helps women find resources for running and other endurance sports at any size. So far they come the closest to passing the Menville test of anything that I have found. The mentions of weight and weightloss are few and far between, and mostly in a personal context i.e. one woman wanted to gain fitness by losing weight and took up running even though she felt embarrassed to be running as a plus size woman. She worked hard and became fit and is very proud of herself. I'm proud of her too. It can be hard to be a runner when you don't look like what people expect you to look like. I sometimes feel judged on my runs when I notice people looking at me. I get nervous when I end my runs on a busy street because I feel like people assume that I am too tired because of my size and not because I just finished running 3 miles. I'm happy that she has gotten fit, and I am happy that she likes her body now. I am also happy that she was able to train to run in a friendly environment that focused on her activity level more than on her size.
See Jane Run is the best resource I have found so far, and I want to give them a ton of credit for the things that they do well. I get the impression from their site that they don't bring up weightloss as a goal unless you do, and that even then the focus is on activity and heatlh with weightloss as a side effect. That is pretty damned good, and I have to give them love for that even though I wish they were more in your face political about what they do, you can't discount the good that they do on an individual and community basis. How about stocking sports bras all the way through E cups, focusing on performance and ability, and for having an awesome manifesto:
Here's to you.
The broad-shouldered, the knock-kneed, the pigeon-toed, the small-breasted, the wide-hipped, the long-waisted, the short-legged, the stocky, and the skinny. And yes even the perfectly proportioned. May you live long, enjoy dessert, and never stop laughing.
While See Jane Run might not always pass the Menville Test, and they occasionally veer into cliched shopping and chocolate style sisterhood instead of my preferred in your face political activism they will probably listen to you and respect you if you don't want to lose weight. They'll listen to you and respect you if you do want to too. I have to respect that. See Jane Run gets a thumbs up from me.
Any other feminist sports resources out there? Share them if you've got them, we're all in this together.
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
The Menville Test
Last week I had an extremely pleasant conversation with a co-worker about running. When I tell people that I am planning on running the L.A. marathon next year I get two responses:
1) OH GOD THAT WILL BE SO HARD YOU WILL WANT TO DIE
2) You know, running is a GREAT way to LOSE WEIGHT which you obviously want because who doesn't?
3) Oh god, that will be hard, but at least you will lose weight and get in shape!
This is hard for me because I do not want to lose weight. I do want to be active and healthy, and I do want to be a badass who can run 26 miles and change in one day. When I explain this to people I get an enormous amount of what my grandma would have called guff. I've had to argue with people I talk to about whether or not I want to lose weight. Not even whether or not losing weight is a worthy goal, or would make me healthy, or would make me happy, whether or not I, Mary Menville, would like to lose weight. While I feel very strongly that losing weight does not improve cardio-vascular fitness and that men and women of all different sizes are human beings who deserve to be treated well I recognize that there are a number of opinions on these issues. There is however, only one opinion on whether or not I want to lose weight. I do not. The End.
This is what made my conversation with a fellow runner at work so lovely. We talked about the runner's high, the extra time to think, and what music we choose to jam out to. He told me that running a marathon felt amazing, and that while you do sometimes feel like you had been hit by a truck you also feel like a freaking super hero. Not once did my new friend mention how much weight he had lost, or how much weight I could lose, or how many calories you could burn up so that you wouldn't feel wracked with guilt for eating food.
I remember feeling so wonderful after this conversation, and so encouraged and happy. Then I realized that this was the first conversation I had about exercise that did not mention weight loss since I was a child. I'm going to say that one more time, in all caps: THIS WAS THE FIRST NON-WEIGHTLOSS RELATED CONVERSATION ABOUT EXERCISE SINCE I WAS A CHILD. And by child, I mean somewhere between 7 and 9 because lord knows all the girls wanted to lose weight in 5th grade.
I propose a test, similar to the Bechdel Test and because this is my blog, I want to call it the Menville test. To pass the Menville test a person or persons must discuss exercise for at least five minutes or 500 words in print without mentioning weight loss. Bonus points if one or more of the participants in the dialogue are non-male identified.
How many of your exercise conversations pass the Menville test? How many of your health and fitness blogs/magazines/books pass the Menville test? Why is it so hard to find a fitness blog or magazine that doesn't discuss weight loss?
1) OH GOD THAT WILL BE SO HARD YOU WILL WANT TO DIE
2) You know, running is a GREAT way to LOSE WEIGHT which you obviously want because who doesn't?
3) Oh god, that will be hard, but at least you will lose weight and get in shape!
This is hard for me because I do not want to lose weight. I do want to be active and healthy, and I do want to be a badass who can run 26 miles and change in one day. When I explain this to people I get an enormous amount of what my grandma would have called guff. I've had to argue with people I talk to about whether or not I want to lose weight. Not even whether or not losing weight is a worthy goal, or would make me healthy, or would make me happy, whether or not I, Mary Menville, would like to lose weight. While I feel very strongly that losing weight does not improve cardio-vascular fitness and that men and women of all different sizes are human beings who deserve to be treated well I recognize that there are a number of opinions on these issues. There is however, only one opinion on whether or not I want to lose weight. I do not. The End.
This is what made my conversation with a fellow runner at work so lovely. We talked about the runner's high, the extra time to think, and what music we choose to jam out to. He told me that running a marathon felt amazing, and that while you do sometimes feel like you had been hit by a truck you also feel like a freaking super hero. Not once did my new friend mention how much weight he had lost, or how much weight I could lose, or how many calories you could burn up so that you wouldn't feel wracked with guilt for eating food.
I remember feeling so wonderful after this conversation, and so encouraged and happy. Then I realized that this was the first conversation I had about exercise that did not mention weight loss since I was a child. I'm going to say that one more time, in all caps: THIS WAS THE FIRST NON-WEIGHTLOSS RELATED CONVERSATION ABOUT EXERCISE SINCE I WAS A CHILD. And by child, I mean somewhere between 7 and 9 because lord knows all the girls wanted to lose weight in 5th grade.
I propose a test, similar to the Bechdel Test and because this is my blog, I want to call it the Menville test. To pass the Menville test a person or persons must discuss exercise for at least five minutes or 500 words in print without mentioning weight loss. Bonus points if one or more of the participants in the dialogue are non-male identified.
How many of your exercise conversations pass the Menville test? How many of your health and fitness blogs/magazines/books pass the Menville test? Why is it so hard to find a fitness blog or magazine that doesn't discuss weight loss?
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