sports

So the latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue just hit my mailbox today. And as usual, I'm not really sure what I think about it.

I am not a biker by any stretch of the imagination, but I love biking anyway. You can find me and my family firmly in front of the television watching The Tour de France every July, and one of my big dreams to be able to someday follow the Tour in person.

But because biking is not a mainstream sport, whenever it is shown on television or broadcast anywhere, it's usually the men that are highlighted. Why further marginalize a sport by highlighting (gasp!) women?

This Friday, in an effort to promote thought about how to support women and movement (and/or sports/exercise) in a meaningful, fully inclusive, liberatory manner, I want to point to Maria Tallchief.

Tallchief is the first Native American woman who 'made it' as an internationally recognized ballerina. This clip gives a short background:

Because it's Friday and I'm so sure none of us want to get all deep and "think-y" on a Friday--I'm gonna declare today "Support Movement Friday," which basically boils down to, I'm going to scour the internets for the coolest video/pics of women 'doing movement' and post it here. You are then going to ooh and ahh over the amazing fantastic beauty that is women moving--and then we will talk together to find ways to support ALL women in "movement."

One of the biggest issues for women athletes these days is the extreme hyper-sexualization many sports require women to participate in while competing at a highly advanced level. For example, car racer Danica Patrick has been very straightforward (and quite successful) about embracing her more 'feminine' side while letting her racing skills speak for themselves.

One of the big reasons so many women make the choice to not participate in sports is because "sports" is defined as a thing that very specifically and consciously denies women a place in. For example, I was discussing Sean Avery with my partner earlier in the week and he expressed the belief that on the whole, hockey is one of the least sexist sports out there.

 NHL player Sean Avery was recently suspended for six games for making disrespectful comments about his former girlfriends while Jon Favreau, the chief speechwriter for the President-elect, goes unscathed after he gropes the breast of a cutout of Hillary Rodham Clinton.  What's the best response to public figures making controversial comments and embarrassing poses?

Hello! My name is La Macha, and I'll be guest blogging at Bitch for the next bit! Usually I post at Vivir Latino with the unrivaled mami blogger; Maegan "la Mamita Mala" Ortiz. I thank the amazing Debbie for allowing me this opportunity to post here!

While I'm at Bitch, I'll be blogging about sports related 'stuff.' Now, before you roll your eyes and skip over my posts, let me just say--there's a reason that my 'column' will be posted under Team Queer: Movement and Sports Through A Bent Lens. I know that there's a reason so many women don't like sports because on many levels, I am those women myself. So I will be spending a lot of time uncovering (and encouraging YOU to uncover for yourself) reasons that 'sports' in general are a major turn off to women.