Viva la Revolucion!!

That's right, bitches. Two posts in two days.

Today's post isn't a training log. Today is a day off. Its more of a rant than anything, because- I don't like stereotypes. There are some amazing people out there, doing amazing things, and absolutely none of them deserves to be put down or to have their sport degraded because of the way society feels.

Of course, I'm talking about weightlifting, but at one time the same applied to any sport, including running, which is now the most wonderfully accepted and embraced sport in the world thanks to its poetic proponents everywhere. I mean, the sport just lends itself to poetry and introspection, since you're left alone with your thoughts for several hours a week to consider the human condition and/or the condition of your knees/feet. For so many reasons, it's now a mainstream sport, and will always have a special place in my heart and the heart of anyone who has tried it and loved it. Running has, unlike some sports, Made It.

So mostly, I'm talking about weightlifting.

There was a time when women were told that they couldn't run because it would be bad for their health and their reproductive systems. After that was thoroughly and rightly debunked by people who didn't suck and continued to not suck, women went on to do all sorts of other fantastic awesome things because- well, we kind of rock. Eventually it came to weightlifting, with the same situation. There is still a very large portion of the population that believes that weightlifting is bad for women, or that it is unfeminine, or that it will actually cause physical harm to them. The same myths that applied to the first female marathoners now apply to young female bodybuilders.
I was actually told not to lift weights because my uterus would fall out. Seriously. It's a belief people still have.

This is what happens when you do too many sit ups.

Several years later, we come to the current day, where most people don't think that my uterus is going to explode out of my stomach and attack nearby gym-goers if I start to break a sweat.


But just because it's accepted as something that is okay to do, doesn't mean that people who are actually good at it will be appreciated for their abilities. Yeah, in the strength world they're pretty accepted. (thank god, because if a 300lb man doesn't want you to be in his gym, then there is no way in hell you're getting in), but outside? No.

If I were to go out and run a marathon right now (first off, it would be a sad sad sad sad time with lots of wheezing and probably crying), I would have the support of friends and family, and I could go out to parties and say, 'I ran a marathon today!' and have people congratulate me and I could probably even compare running times with a few people, schedule running dates, etc.

And it's not just running that's a socially supported individual sport for women. (Say that ten times fast). If I were to start attending spin classes and pilates classes and yoga classes three times a week, I could go out into the world and talk to people about my hobbies for hours. We could talk about poses that were hard, teachers that were good, share experiences, tips, and all-organic-fair-trade-vegan-dessert-recipes.

And if I were to say, go and bench press 200 pounds?
Not so much.
I've told a few people about this video of a woman bench pressing 305 pounds while weighing only 135- that's about the average weight of your standard woman, so this gal is well within the set standards of beauty set by the general public, and doing something amazing:

And what is the general response that I've gotten to that? Usually, someone scrunches up their face and says, "Ew." or "I can't imagine why you would want to do that."
You know what? That woman is fantastic. She's accomplishing something that few human beings can accomplish, and I think that's amazing.
Here's another video of a light-weight individual doing something cool:

And I'm picking these because they're girls who are well within the boundaries of the aesthetics that society generally likes, (I'm not even going to start on that giant sack of modern-society-aesthetics-are-dumb-potatoes), but they're performing above and beyond the abilities of most people. And when they go out after accomplishing something new and great? When they complete their weight-lifting equivalent of a marathon/100 pilates classes/finally sticking a difficult yoga pose? Do they get the same rewards from their social group for meeting goals?
To quote Shane-the-Scottsman, 'No. I don't think so.'


The internet is a good place to find examples of women performing fantastic feats of lifting, as is exemplified by these videos, but when you log off and go into your neighborhood or workplace, you're not going to get the same feedback as a cardio junkie. Someone who even attempts a 5k or goes to a fitness class will be met with congratulations, advice and encouragement. But someone who is trying to lift more than they have before will be met with, 'I just don't see why you would want to get bulky,' or some such nonsense.


Female marathoners are just about as awesome as anything ever. And you know what? So are female soccer players and baseball players and swimmers and sprinters and yoga practitioners and cyclists and silk dancers! Women who are good at things should always be celebrated, always be rewarded by their social groups, and always be supported. For that matter, people, regardless of gender, should be supported. Because they've worked hard to arrive at their goals, and somewhere along the road someone probably told them that if they worked that hard, their uterus would fall out, but they kept on trying anyways.