At war with my body :: Essays Papers

At war with my remainsThe mind of a woman athlete is constantly fluttering with thoughts close to what it is to be a woman athlete, how a women athlete should act, what she should wear and how she should look. perchance not everyones mind is consumed by these thoughts, but at ab bug out point every woman struggles with the negative stereotypes about women. There I was againout on the track, softball field, basketball court, ski hill, volleyball game court demonstrateing to prove myself. Prove that I was not barely another little girl who played sports. I was good, strong, uniquea graceful blonde girl who didnt throw worry a girl or ski analogous a pussy. I transgressed gender stereotypes, rejecting girls who mate into those negative stereotypes. Dont ask me what I am eating again, should I eat now, does my butt look likewise bigthighs too beefyhow can I be a ski racing car and maintain my smaller frame? No time to lend out during ski season, am I getting fat? Ma ybe I shouldnt eat as much. I need to go work out, let off some steamget stronger, faster, harder, and more agile. I can lose 20 lbs. I will still be healthy, expert? But I dont want to be too skinny, because if youre too skinny, guys wont like you, right? Do my legs look too big in my G.S. suit? In the weight roomI am the only girl (as she is)I like being one of the guys, but struggle when they talk to me like I am a guy. While benching 300 lbs, I consider them gruntveins popping, sweat dripping, muscles ripped, listening to ACDC. I am running. Keep expirationtheyre watching. I go faster, harder. I run for 1 min to prove myself. I max out on 210 lbs., squattingI am strong. I want to impress them. For years and years, I try my hardest to throw like a man, run like a man, ski like a man, hit like a man, lift like a man. But, I am not a man. Leslie Heywoods jolly Good for a Girl highlights the war we, as women athletes, have with our avouch bodies. It stresses the fact that, While the superstructure of womens sports has improved in countless slipwaybetter media coverage, more corporate endorsement of top athletes, and the breakdown of doddering stereotypesthe infrastructure of womens sports remains precarious (Heywood, xviii).