https://padlet.com/ygctoday/ylqjhhmeglxchayi en-us 2021-09-12 18:18:13 UTC 2025-05-11 14:04:24 UTC hello@padlet.com ygctoday https://padlet.com/ygctoday/ylqjhhmeglxchayi/wish/1734063394 https://youtu.be/Bsfa7s4ktFohttps://youtu.be/Bsfa7s4ktFo
Stacy Burr currently holds the all-time world record in the sport of Powerlifting, across both the men's and women's divisions. As a woman competing in a historically male dominated sport, Burr has not only broken barriers by proving herself to be an elite competitor, but also by standing up against backlash and retaliation directed towards her body and her chosen gender presentation. As you watch this video, what I would like you to do is to quickly write down the first 3-5 things that come to your mind when you look at Stacy’s physical body. These can be single words, emotions, or reactions. What is important is that they are your honest first impressions. Afterwards, take a few minutes to reflect on what you have recorded. Be honest with yourself when considering this question, and keep in mind that there is no right or wrong answer. This exercise is simply intended to get us thinking about the ways in which gender ideologies and stereotypes influence how we perceive a person's body. If, when watching this you found yourself gravitating towards certain feelings or assumptions, ask yourself, why was that? Where do those feelings come from, and what purpose do they serve? To complete this exercise, write a few sentences summarizing what you observed, learned or felt. Engage with your classmates, and have a conversation about the similarities or dissimilarities between your responses. ]]> 2021-09-12 18:40:52 UTC https://padlet.com/ygctoday/ylqjhhmeglxchayi/wish/1734063394 ygctoday https://padlet.com/ygctoday/ylqjhhmeglxchayi/wish/1734090225 This is a photograph taken of me this last February, doing one of the things that I love the most in this world: powerlifting. Powerlifting is a pure-strength sport in which the goal is to move the most amount of weight possible in the deadlift, the back squat and the bench press. I am sharing this image with you because competing in powerlifting is deeply personal to me in ways that extend beyond just my passion for the sport. Not only is competitive powerlifting still largely male-dominated, but what is required of my body in terms of its size, shape and musculature in order for me to perform at the highest level is directly noncompliant with feminine gender norms. My body takes up more space, it carries more body fat, and I have developed prominent muscles in places typically considered masculine, such as my shoulders and arms. In many cases I have found that this makes people uncomfortable, and that as a result they feel compelled to comment on my appearance and interrogate my femininity. I bring this up because I feel that it raises some important questions about gender norms and the ways in which we gender bodies. Why do we associate defined, big muscles with masculinity? Why is it generally considered more socially acceptable for a woman to squat than it is for her to bench press? Who benefits from these norms and who is harmed by them? ]]> 2021-09-12 19:09:29 UTC https://padlet.com/ygctoday/ylqjhhmeglxchayi/wish/1734090225 ygctoday https://padlet.com/ygctoday/ylqjhhmeglxchayi/wish/1737326538 https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/climbing/sasha-digiulian-female-athlete-body-image/
Sasha DiGiulian is a world-class professional rock climber who has been climbing since she was six years old. In this article Sasha discusses her personal experiences grappling with the complex intersections between being an elite-level athlete and expressing her femininity. DiGiulian's story does a beautiful job of highlighting the complicated and contradictory messages received by women in sports in regard to their musculature and bodies. Rock climbers across both sexes, male and female, naturally develop large shoulders, arms and lats which are necessary tools of the sport. Their hands become rough and callused, and their fingers tear and bleed. However, all of these characteristics are in opposition to feminine gender norms, which then leads to the creation of an environment in which women find themselves locked in a battle between training and building their bodies for performance, and the pressure to conform to female gender ideals. Here, Sasha explores her own experiences with confronting this dichotomy. 

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