I feel like my commentary below has a very pugnacious Bill O'Reilly-esque tone, which makes me feel really uneasy, given that Bill O'Reilly is a mouthpiece for some of the most detestable people on the planet, and is a d-bag of global proportion.
Recently, I saw that there is a new local women's(only) triathlon put on by the YWCA. This is in addition to the Irongirl races, a nationwide set of women only runs, duathlons, and tris. (IronGirl specifically supports the Ullman Cancer Fund for Young Adults.) As far as I can tell, there is no charitable pursuit for the YWCA race other than the fact it will probably profit the YWCA and it's race directors.
Let me set things straight right away. I am wholly in support of gender equality. I am in full support of breast cancer research & research for other forms of female gender specific diseases that these races benefit. You will meet few men who defend reproductive rights more fiercely.
Believe me, as hormone-saturated 20-something male, I have a vested interest to save the tata's.
On to the commentary......
The YWCA's mantra is "Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women." Huh. Interesting. You're going to do that by widening the gender gap??
I understand that women feel the need for celebration of your womanhood, but please....do that with your ya-ya sisterhood-type peer group. Having a womens-only race gives makes me feel like this is Augusta National Golf course on the opposite side of the scale. I don't support such Men's only clubs, and I should expect some serious outrage if I organized a men's only triathlon.
Along a similar line, I understand the Curves for Women model, that some women feel intimidated being around other fit people or even sketchy Bill O'Reilly types at the gym. But this case is different--in order to compete in your ~2.5 hour triathlon, you're going to need to spend at least 20 times that training.....at the beach, the pool, on the road/bikepath/spin class, and the running trail/public sidewalks/gym treadmill, etc. To be succinct--you're going to have to try damn hard in order to pull all of that off in a man-free environment.
You're going to empower women by placing them in a women only environment? I simply fail to see the logic. So much for the empowerment. Who's going to witness all this power? If a tree falls in the woods but nobody is around to hear, does it make a sound? Get my drift? This all sounds to me like preaching to the choir, beating a dead horse, spinning tires, and (tee hee)running in circles.
By all means, HAVE a race to support YWCA's causes. I don't care if you make every man & woman wear pink spandex....as long as EVERYONE is allowed to participate.
In all honesty, I personally wouldn't give a shit if there was one unisex bathroom in all public places. Although I do appreciate the short lines, I would see this as a step towards gender equality. All women reading this are saying, "Uh, YUCK!" in utter revulsion----to which I reply, "DOUBLE STANDARD!" You want equality but still insist on playing the "separate but equal" game. The courts ruled that separation does not equal equality among races, and I believe the same holds true for gender. Until then, I'll appreciate the extra 15% pay.
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2 comments:
I see where you're coming from, but I think the idea is that for a lot of women, sports has always been an intimidating arena. I know it was for me. Keep in mind that most girls go through puberty early than most boys. It is hard not to feel self conscious in gym class when suddenly you have boobs bouncing around. Something also happens to your coordination and balance at this time. Not to mention gaining about 20 lbs seemingly overnight. When this happened to me (a good year before even the other girls), I became a huge, self-conscious klutz. I know that not all guys remain free from self-esteem problems, but I don't think these body issues hit quite as hard. (Correct me if I"m wrong.)
I've gotten over a lot of this. I'm not intimidated by the guys using the free weights. I'll bust on in and grab the weights I need and not blink an eye. But I think that for a lot of women, these early athletic experience stick with them and prevent them from sticking their neck out there and doing a race. I think the women-only type events are meant to be a jumping off point. A place where women can realize that they might not be the huge, klutzy beasts that they felt like in sixth grade. Then they might have the courage to do the same thing in other races.
Sorry for the diatribe.
Okay, so I missed your bit about the Curves-environment and not being able to train in a women only environment, and you are totally right. However, I think it is the idea of the women-only race environment (which are extremely friendly to first-time racers). Whether the logistics play out in terms of training is another story.
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