BlogHer - BlogHer Podcast: Courtney Macavinta Spoke with Dominique Dawes about Body Image - Comments

Good To Know...

VeRonda — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 22:12:53 -0500

Great job on getting this interview! It's so important to be the healthy you. I'm not a fan of diet commercials, but one thing that I am enjoying are the commercials where you are encouraged to find the healthy you and get to your desired healthy weight... It's a good break from the feeling of having to be cookie cutter.

Visions of Gold

Denise — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:40:26 -0500

I think that was my favorite part. That straight from the hip don't be thinking Olympics when the kid is six years old. It's unrealistic and not helpful.

I wish more parents listened to good advice like that. It's great to have big dreams for your kids but be realistic and follow the child's lead. Please.

It was a great interview.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

Thanks Community!

Courtney Macavinta - Respect RX — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:37:52 -0500

Hey Lisa--Thanks!

And I just wanted to thank everyone for your fabulous, thoughtful questions. Dominique chose which questions she wanted to cover in the interview and she had some juicy ones to pick from. I thought her advice for parents around getting your daughter into gymnastics was helpful--not to sign them up only with dreams of gold. I would have liked to get more into the culture of gymnastics as far as what are the downsides for girls' self-esteem--from eating disorders to burn out. I think parents always want more help/insight to navigate these tough issues. And I was surprised that she said she personally needed to be pushed by her coaches in her career--she was real about the fact that many athletes need that to be their best including her.

She talked about learning to love her body for all it enables her to do--as a gymnast and today--and I love that take-away message from someone who means it. I also love that she is bringing that perspective to the work she is doing on behalf of girls. I think Dominique is a great role model--she is someone who's had many dreams for herself and continues to create a vision for her life where she is inspired and inspires others.

Thanks for the fun Blogher!
Court

Great job Courtney!

Lisa Stone — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:16:16 -0500

Were you surprised by any of Dominique's responses?

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

BlogHer Podcast: Courtney Macavinta Spoke with Dominique Dawes about Body Image

Denise — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 05:38:01 -0500

Courtney Macavinta of Respect RX spoke with Dominique Dawes about gymnastics, body image and self esteem.

Dominique, 31, was the first African-American woman to win an individual medal in gymnastics, having won bronze in the floor exercise at the ’96 Games, the second of her third Olympics. She was recently named – along with her teammates on the “Magnificent Seven” from 1996 – to the United States Olympic Committee’s Hall of Fame and will be inducted in June.

Listen to the podcast with this player or download it by right clicking this link and selecting "save as": Courtney Macavinta Spoke with Dominique Dawes about Body Image.