" You Don't Look Like You Can Run A Marathon!" : Fat Girl Running

It doesn't take a diversity consultant to recognize that we are a country that is obsessed with body image. Irrespective of where you fall on the gender spectrum, each day we are all inundated with increasingly narrow notions of ideal beauty. The vast majority of these images, ironically, are digitally enhanced and simply unattainable- at least without the help of a doctor. Perhaps Cindy Crawford summed it up best when she noted, in reference to her own media images, " I wish I looked like Cindy Crawford." In other words, even super models envy the perfection of the computer-generated and digitally-enhanced images of themselves!

This can certainly seem overwhelming, both for young people as they construct ideas about their identity and beauty as well as for adults as we strive to maintain our individuality against the ubiquitous forces that conspire to define a single image of beauty. And  all within a consumerist framework!  Lest we forget, being beautiful usually requires buying a product or service. If anything, today's notion of beauty has little to do with "natural." Notwithstanding, there are increasing counternarratives that challenge this single story of beauty.

One such striking counternarrative is that of one of my dear friends from Oberlin Conservatory, Mirna Valerio, another fellow linguist, educator and musician. Mirna is also incredibly athletic, having always participated in some sport since middle school. Moreover, Mirna is unashamedly " not a little girl" and  can literally run circles around the best of us. When she isn't conducting her student choir at Rabun-Gap, traveling to Italy to perfect her already-fluent Italian, attending AP Spanish conferences or training for marathons in the woods, she chronicles her experience as a " Fat Girl Running". Take a look here:

Mirna Valerio's Blog

The title of my current blog entry is inspired by an anecdote that Mirna shares regarding the repeated surprise that she encounters of those who make assumptions about her athleticism based on THEIR perception of her body size. This "surprise" manifests in a perhaps well-intentioned but equally ill-placed, "You don't look like you can run a marathon!"  Wow, deconstruction of this comment merits an entire post until itself.

As it turns out, however, I'm not the only member of the Mirna Valerio Fan Club, as she was recently featured in a Wall Street Journal article that examines the benefits of exercise beyond weightloss.You can read the article here:

Weight Loss or Not, Exercise Yields Benefits- WSJ

So, if there are two insights that I hope we can all gain from this post it's that :

 a) Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Moreover, notions of beauty are a function of time and society. (Think about how Marilyn might be judged by contemporary standards. Ouch!) So find the inner-beauty AND outer-beauty that makes YOU happy.

b) Be mindful the next time you catch yourself about to make a correlation about someone's body size and your understanding about their lifestyle and/or athletic abilities. That "fat guy" or "fat girl" may just out run, outbike and outswim you in the next triathlon.

Diversity Day at The Archer School

Im thrilled to share a recent article that was published highlighting my involvement in framing "Diversity Day " at The Archer School For Girls, in Los Angeles, California:

http://oracle.archeronline.org/archer-community-celebrates-annual-diversity-day-conference/

While I must concede that I have mixed feelings regarding the nomenclature around "Diversity Day," as this framing has historically encouraged a one-off celebration that institutions then check off their To-Do lists, I nonetheless leverage these opportunities to engage in critical inclusivity frameworks of identity, conceptual frameworks, language, power, privilege, positionality and exploring ways in which social identity is stratified in our society.

Ultimately,  irrespective of the ways in which institutions ultimately decide to frame the conversation, I always aim to embed each individual's identity into our understanding of "diversity" with the aim of empowering everyone to become a change agent for truly fostering an equitable society where all are able to flourish.

With specific regard to The Archer School, based on the robust engagement with students and thoughtful conversations with faculty, administrators and parents that I've experienced during my two visits, I have every confidence that they will continue to engage in this critical discourse and integrate ongoing insights into Archer programs, policies, practices and interpersonal behavior. 

The Catcalling Video: The Big Elephant that the Producers Didn't See!

A few days ago Slate posted a video of a young woman who chronicled the challenges that many women in Manhattan face , and presumably many other places,  of negotiating catcalling, unwanted attention from men. My understanding is that the purpose of the video was to raise awareness around this issue with the goal of educating men to make better decisions and foster a more inclusive environment for women. So far, I'm onboard.

Before you continue reading, you should watch the video:



Upon clicking the video, however, I was APPALLED. Mind you, I am a feminist and have dedicated my career to fostering a more inclusive environment for all people. I am ally. I opened the video with the hopes of deepening my understanding in the ways that this dynamic manifests. Best of all cases, I could even incorporate the video into my practice and workshops around gender equality. 

Unfortunately, the video drowns in clear positionality bias. The original article suggests that from amongst at least 600 minutes of footage and potentially thousands of interactions between and among this young lady and catcallers, the producers of the video selected 3 minutes that are meant to capture her Manhattan experience( looks like Soho, Harlem, Times Square and). This footage evidences overwhelming representation of black and Latino men. 

Tag: implicit bias, danger of single story, pathologization of black and Latino men. 

And because as a society we are largely composed of uncritical consumers of internet "journalism" and mainstream "research" (yet often espousing largely uninformed opinions) the link has gone viral. And so has the visual blueprint and priming of the nature of catcalling-- how it manifests, what it looks like, WHO initiates and who is the victim. Above and beyond the lack of this critical cultural piece is the unfortunate residual outcome of this video, which parenthetically occurs far too often in these situations: a deflection from the intended issue. To be sure, catcalling and unwanted advances from men warrants increased awareness and corresponding actions.It's unfortunate, however, that this video misses the mark in some fairly significant ways.

For another analysis, you might enjoy these articles:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/10/29/catcalling_video_hollaback_s_look_at_street_harassment_in_nyc_edited_out.html?wpsrc=sh_all_dt_tw_top

http://www.bkmag.com/2014/10/29/hey-beautiful-on-the-racist-and-classist-implications-of-the-catcalling-video/