I'm in love.

This blog post (which you need to go read...right now...) is reason 1,236,943 I love Crossfit. And as I was thinking about some women I know struggling with body image right now, I thought about my own issues with my body and how I view it completely differently now, because of Crossfit.

I love crossfit because when the weather turned warm and long pants turned to shorts, one of my male friends at my crossfit box said, "Your legs are looking really muscular," and it made my day (and it wasn't nearly as weird as I make it sound in writing). Okay, my week.

Crossfit gyms don't have mirrors on the wall - it's not about what you look like. At all. It's about the progress you make from wherever it was that you started. It's about building a supportive community where everyone is challenged and supported. When I stared crossfit I couldn't jump up onto a 45 lb plate ten times (that about 3 inches...). Now I use 20" boxes in my WODs and have successfully jumped a few times on a 24" (which is often the men's height for the WODs). And even though I can now do so many things that I couldn't do a year and a half ago, there are so many more things that I'm still working on (and some that I'm not even able to work on right now, they're that far of a reach for me). What crossfit did is retaught me (because, deep down, I  knew it was true) that the scale doesn't matter. Looks aren't important.

Being bad-ass is.

We need feminism.

This was not the topic I planned on writing about today, but something about this website, Everyday Sexism, has really struck a cord. I came across a video of Laura Bates discussing the website and her project today while looking for something else. (Isn't that always the way it goes?) She started the website after walking on the platform waiting for the tube (subway in London) when a man came up to her and grabbed her crotch. She didn't know what to do, where to turn, and was too embarrassed and so she said nothing. But after she spent some time thinking about what happened, she realized that this type of sexual harassment must happen to other women, too, and that women aren't talking about it. So she started Everyday Sexism so the women who faced these situations could have a place to tell their stories and be heard.

Laura was expecting maybe ten or twenty women to find their way to the site and post on the live feed. But 250,000 stories later, she's convinced it's a much bigger problem than she had realized. And while the project's mission states that it's a site for women in the UK, there are postings from women all around the world detailing everyday sexism that we face.

Now you can visit the site to read stories from other women or to post your own.

Finding sites like this is such a double-edged sword. Friggin' fantastic that we have women out there creating these spaces for other women, I want to scream because we have to. It reminded me of another site that I really like, Who Needs Feminism? This is a social media project - you can submit a picture of yourself holding a sign what reads, "I need feminism because..." with your completed statement. Solidarity around strength is always powerful to see - and this site is definitely one that you need to see (and you need to participate! My women's studies course will be doing this next semester!).

My expertise.

I consider myself incredibly lucky. Lucky that I work at a high school that, when I was hired 11 years ago, said "Yes!" when I asked if I could start a women's studies class (which is called Women in Society, WIS).  I was not a women's studies major in college (my degree is in Secondary English Education), but I am an expert.

Because I'm a woman.

I designed my class and never looked back. Eleven years ago, one of the issues that was most prevalent for young women was the visibility of eating disorders. My theory is that the internet played a huge part in this, for good and for bad. For good, sufferers and their families suddenly had educational materials at their disposal; eating disorder organizations were formed, publicized, and joined all online; sufferers and families could form communities that spanned the globe and support each other. For bad, pro-anorexia websites; and, oddly enough, what I consider so great (fast access to information), I also think has been negative: fat-shaming sites; thinspiration sites; sites where sufferers are able to form communities and discuss eating disorder tips (trust me, that absolutely happens).

Also because of the internet, we suddenly had access to other countries. We could open the door and peek into their cultures. We could ask questions and search them out. Our curiosity was sparked: What do women all around the world have in common? How are we different? And our minds were blown.

Because our world has changed so much in the past eleven years, my curriculum has changed. It's never exactly the same class from year to year (except for the fact that I always show Thelma and Louise...). With the access to information that we have now, I could run my nine week class for a whole year and still never tackle all the issues that are happening for, against, and about women. It's amazing and sobering at the same time. The fact that I can come across so many issues to discuss and debate is sometimes hard to sit with. We've come far, but we have so much further to go. And that's just the United States. What's happening globally is beyond shocking (more on that in my next post's documentary review). This past year, my nine-week class hit the following topics: advertising's effects on women; ad manipulation; sexual assault; teen pregnancy; how female politicians are portrayed in the media; our society's focus on appearance; and women's changing gender roles through history. Not to mention the fact that they each brought in a current event from a feminist blog of their choosing every week to share and discuss (15 topics x 9 weeks = 135 other topics). We scratched the surface. Just barely.

That's why there's a women's studies class.

And yes, every.single.year a few teachers (always male, sorry, guys), who think they're being funny, stop me in the hall and say, "Why isn't there a men in society class?" And I always say, "Because I'm an expert on being a woman, but you could teach that."

So far, nobody has taken me up on that...





(And, yes, I do get the occasional male student in the class. All of them have said to me (except one, who told me that he was only taking this class "because his girlfriend made him"), "Yeah, I'm taking this class to defend men." They're normally a bit disappointed to hear my reply, "Oh, goodness. Well, there's so much to talk about when it comes to women that we don't ever have time to talk about men..." And the girls always treat them just like they're "one of the girls." It's always been a positive experience for all!)

No wonder...

Warning: racy images*

It's no wonder that girls and women don't generally bat an eyelash at all the sexualization and objectification we face in the media.

It's because it's everywhere.

I mean, we're faced with this from Peta. Really, Peta?

And this little beauty from Belevedere Vodka:

Last one:

I'm talking everywhere. Even fast food joints use sex to sell.

No thank you, Burger King:

Or Carl's Jr.:

Or Carl's Jr., again:

Okay, mostly Burger King and Carl's Jr.

Faced with these images of how to treat a woman, how we're allowing others to treat us, and how to be the perfect woman, it's not at all surprising that women "hate" their bodies. This survey, in Glamour Magazine found that 97% of 300 women had at least one negative thought about their body each day. And not just a little, "Ugh, my hair's a bit nuts today" thought. Nope, an "I hate my body" thought. That's strong.

That's awful. 

We're taught that it's normal to hate our bodies. We're taught that seeing women in violent scenes is normal. We're taught that we must be constantly sexy (you know, like eating a salad in bed).

And it's not normal.

It's time to talk back to the advertisers. Write letters. Write emails. Start petitions on Change.org. Make phone calls. But you've got to do something. Even just one thing. There will be no changes until we demand them, so it's time to start demanding.

What company or corporation will you write to?

*The irony of posting a warning regarding the racy images at the top of this post did not escape me.

Powerful women and a five year old...

You need to see and be inspired by these spectacular photographs done by Jaime Moore. She decided to photograph her five year old daughter as powerful women from our history. The results are stunning and can serve to remind us of all the good that women do for our world.

What powerful women would you like to see included?

Ladies, wrap yourselves in newspapers before you leave your houses!

Women in Beijing are being told to avoid wearing short skirts and short shorts on public transportation if they want to avoid sexual harassment, you know, because it's their fault they're being sexually harassed. And if they choose to sit on the upper level of the bus, then they should "shelter their bodies with bags, magazines, and newspapers" to avoid someone taking inappropriate photos of them.

I guess we're really back to blaming the victim. And it's not like the Chinese officials aren't trying to stop sexual harassment of women. I mean, they would train public transportation workers how to stop the harassment, but it is "difficult to train public transportation workers to assist women in harassment prevention and response." Yeah, it's too hard...

Victim blaming is not isolated to China, of course. In fact, victim blaming is so bad in Scotland that there are PSAs to educate men. 

I'm hopeful because Scotland is taking the issue on, but frustrated because I can't believe that we have not figured this out yet.

Last month I had a speaker from Downeast HealthServices speak to my women's studies students regarding sexual assault in Maine. Her information was fascinating, shocking, scary, and enlightening. At the end she asked us, "So, what can you do to avoid rape?" and we said, "Carry a whistle, walk with friends if you're out after dark..." you know, all those things that victims should to to make ourselves safer. But then she shared this list with us - and a light came on for all of us:

If you have been a victim of sexual assault, there are organizations to help you. Click here for more information.

Oops, they did it again...

Maintaining positive body image is tough enough, considering the amount of ads we endure every day (that'd be 5,000/day if you live in a city). But now, Disney's messing with our princesses.

Princesses before their updated makeover:

Princesses after makeover:

I don't think I have to point out their new features, but I will. Their come hither looks are more pronounced - more makeup, bigger "doe eyes," sexier poses. I hate to be one of those people, you know, the one who can find something wrong with anything, but I'm going to be that person today. 

Disney - stop sexualizing our children's heros. Just stop it.

The most egregious makeover, however, is the makeover given to Merida. Merida's whole deal was that she was totally kick ass - she bucked the system (in this case, her parents and their outdated views of marriage) and didn't give two shakes about her appearance, focusing on more important issues - like archery. Merida is wild, carefree, and knows what she wants. But this "new, improved" Merida misses all of that.

Now she's horribly bedazzled, given heavy makeup, pouty lips, and giant eyes (they're seriously gigantic). And her hair! Ugh. It's all coiffed and puffed. 

And where is her bow? Where are her arrows?

Fortunately, the whole Internet is paying attention. Petitions, like this one, were started to get Merida back to normal. And guess what? This time, it worked! Disney pulled this image of Merida and gave us some lame excuse about commemorating her with this updated look. 

Merida would hate this update - have the people at Disney even seen Brave? Merida would want a new bow...maybe a rockin' cross-bow and some more arrows. She'd want some treats for her beloved horse, and maybe a massage after a long day of activity. But a sparkly dress and too much make up? I'm not buying it...

I'm going to try to keep my head from exploding...but it's going to take a lot...

Last week, Erick Erickson shared his "research-based," "scientific" findings that revealed that women who are the primary breadwinners in their families are ruining society. He states that women who are not staying home and playing "complimentary roles" to their "dominant" husbands (he assigned these roles based on "scientific" biological evidence...ahem...) are the reason that "society [is dissolving] around us." Oh boy. Hold on, let me try to keep my head from exploding...

Here's this gem of a video where Erickson espouses his views:

Are you still with me? Take a deep breath, because Megyn Kelly is about to take him on: 

Are we seriously having this discussion?