BlogHer - Sports & Fitness - Comments

Congratulations!

Scout Finch — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:52:05 -0500

I just stopped in to say hello. Your name came up in this thread:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/14/161640/696/913/514700

And there is a whole lot of dKos love for fabooj. I'll hope you'll consider coming back around.

Good to see you're doing well. Take care,

"Scout Finch" - a/k/a Jen

Julia: Thanks for your

Zandria — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:51:07 -0500

Julia: Thanks for your input. I've heard a lot of great things about New Moon and I think what you and your media company are doing is really fantastic. :)

Personal blog: Keep Up With Me
BlogHer blog: Singles/Fitness

Candelaria: I like the idea

Zandria — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:48:43 -0500

Candelaria: I like the idea of "dumping the experts" when it comes to certain things. You're right -- if a person's self-esteem is strong, they'll be okay. Unfortunately, that's easier said than done for a lot of people!

Personal blog: Keep Up With Me
BlogHer blog: Singles/Fitness

I think they probably make

Trisha — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:35:30 -0500

I think they probably make most people feel worse. I don't read them - and I think it is probably best to avoid them. They are other ways to learn more about staying or getting fit.

Please, please, please I beg of you - stop by and say 'Hello!': Ideas For Women blog

Thanks for getting real!

NewMoonGirlMedia — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:24:43 -0500

Thanks for this great article - and all the great comments, ladies! The line between fitness and obsession with appearance sure is a very blurry one in our culture.

I'm an editor for a girls' empowerment media company, New Moon, and the creator of a body confidence program, In Her Image, and I really value discussions like these as a way to get off of the self-hatred track girls and women are on!

Kudos and keep it comin'!

Julia

Distinguishing between real and fake

Candelaria Silva — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:38:25 -0500

I wrote a blog post called "dump the experts" because I was so tired of the unrelenting messages delivered to women that we are wrong - we look wrong, we weigh too much, etc. That, coupled with the rampant celebrity worshop in this society gets to be much.

If your self-esteem is strong, you can dodge most of the air-brushed, perfection messages you receive. If not, you're in trouble. Even my beloved O magazine which has the most consistently uplifting messages I've found is overly focused on body image, apperance, and fashion.

I find it appalling that so many mags geared to women - even those about home and hearth - are constantly telling us to be different than we are. We are so obsessed in this society with looking good rather than being good.

Even though there are more images of diverse women than ever before in the media, there is still a strong bias for a very particular type of European beauty, one that doesn't represent all white women, either.

I am able to resist these images because I've always spent more time focusing on my mind than my behind: I grew up around some voluptuous women; the men in my community appreciated women with curves (a common saying was that 'nothing but a dog wants a bone'), etc. Younger women, in my experience, have more difficulty accepting themselves and I think the media overwhelmingly screams at them - they are wrong and need improvement.

Thanks for the original article and for all the wonderful comments.

That's true, Vered, there's

Zandria — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:29:19 -0500

That's true, Vered, there's a lot to get annoyed about when it comes to magazines. A commenter on my website mentioned that she gets a magazine geared towards triathletes (she said, "most of the people in them are actual Traithletes who spend their lives working out.").

I thought that was a really good point about the focus of certain magazines. “Fitness” magazines tend to focus on our bodies and how to make them LOOK better, while “sports” magazines (like those geared towards triathletes, bikers, etc.) focus more on the ABILITIES of the people themselves.

Personal blog: Keep Up With Me
BlogHer blog: Singles/Fitness

I stopped reading women's magazines

Vered — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:24:48 -0500

Just like you, I switched from fashion (during my teens - bad, bad choice for a teenager), to fitness (during my twenties), to Real Simple during the past few years - and found myself canceling all of them eventually.

I can't stand the glossy, artificial images. I can't stand the subtly-pressuring messages (Must be skinny! Must be pretty! Must workout and have a perfect body! Must be productive and organized!)

Even with Real Simple, I get annoyed with the Martha-Stewartness of many of their articles.

Vered DeLeeuw
www.momgrind.com

I know what you mean, Kuri.

Zandria — Tue, 13 May 2008 10:08:49 -0500

That's why I like certain fitness magazines better than others. Oxygen, for instance, tends to focus a lot less on hair/makeup tips and such.

Personal blog: Keep Up With Me
BlogHer blog: Singles/Fitness

I'm not a big magazine

Kuri — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:54:56 -0500

I'm not a big magazine reader, but having browsed through a few issues of Women's Health, I don't think that most fitness magazines are really that different from fashion magazines. The proportion of page space devoted to workout fashion, skin care, make-up and other items "not purely health and fitness" was really high!

- Kuri, Thought, Interrupted By Typos http://www.thoughtinterrupted.ca/

Let's pretend indeed

WonderSpot — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:16:46 -0500

My recent favorite has been "let's pretend that by not LOOKING at the bank statement, you're not actually overdrawn."

Well said!

WonderSpot
www.wonderspot.net

Boys Will Be Boys

Sarah — Sat, 10 May 2008 08:35:02 -0500

It seems like another one of those double standards.

Can you imagine what would have happened if it was a women's sports team doing something like this?

BlogHer Contributing Editor, Sports and Fitness
Sarah and the Goon Squad
Draft Day Suit

Thanks

veronicaeye — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:16:35 -0500

Me eloquent? Aw, shucks, thanks!

As a kid, I was a tomboy, I sucked it up a lot, thus I got to see a lot of what boys really do do behind closed doors. It ain't pretty and it's rather sad that they don't grow up. Or don't need to grow up.

Your story

ClizBiz — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:10:53 -0500

No, thank you for writing such a beautiful story in the first place. I love how it put a bigger picture around Belles death. Very poignant.

Heather Clisby

BlogHer Contributing Editor, Photography Proprietor, ClizBiz

Empathy

ClizBiz — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:08:30 -0500

I second that. She really gave it her all. RIP Belles.

Heather

BlogHer Contributing Editor, Photography & Animal Concerns

Proprietor, ClizBiz