recommended reading

[seventhe]

Female Olympians fight back against shamers and haters

The Olympics may have provided us with a global exhibition of some seriously retrograde ideas about athletes and femininity, but they have also provided us with something even more important, and that’s the sight of female athletes fighting back.

This entire article and all of its accompanying links makes me want to cheer and weep at the same time.

Comments

[temples]

All I could think when reading this: A man competing in the Olympics would never have to deal with this.

(I don't actually know if that's true? I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to topical media and haven't actually watched the Olympics at all, so it could be a judgment claim I'm pulling out of my ass. I just can't personally imagine a situation where a man would be personally scrutinised for how much he fit some unnecessary, impossible-to-reach standard of attractiveness when he's winning gold/silver/pewter medals for his country. /disclaimer.)

[temples]

Zoe Smith's blog had this comment that made me sigh:

I confronted one guy that said “we’re probably all lesbians and look like blokes”, purely to explain the fact that his opinion is invalid cause he’s a moron. And wrong. He came up with the original comeback that I should get back in the kitchen. I laughed.

Really, humankind? Really? I mean, good for her for not giving some asshole's comments any weight, but the fact that this mindset is still prevalent in this day and age kind of makes my skin crawl.

I'm done now. Really.

Thanks for sharing this! It was a really interesting read.

[seventhe]

I know, right??? Every time I start to think we've made progress, something like this comes up and makes me want to weep for humanity.

[temples]

I also contest the whole "get back in the kitchen" thing for a completely different reason: as someone who watches more Food Network than is probably healthy, I think cooking is fucking badass. And you can't convince me otherwise.

[seventhe]

Uhhhhh, in total agreement here. I absolutely LOVE cooking for other people. And it's not just because I'm a ladytype. It's like that line from Sunshine where she talks about the feeding-people gene.

[temples]

I need to re-read Sunshine, clearly.

I can barely make grilled cheese sandwiches for myself so people who can cook get so much respect from me!

[seventhe]

I wouldn't say I'm an amazing cook, but I'm pretty good at it, and I love cooking stuff for other people. Which is why Becky is a great roomie; she'll eat almost anything I throw at her.

[temples]

I have fond memories of the cupcakes you made for the one superbowl party I went to! I think I ate like. Nine.

[seventhe]

CUPCAKES ARE THE BOMB. SIMPLE TRUTH.