Tag Archives: power

Women (truly) Kicking Butt and Taking Names in Male-Dominated Sports

Samantha Swords
Over the past few days, I have run into stories of some absolutely fabulous women kicking butt in sports traditionally populated only by men. And when I say traditionally, I mean like long centuries of deep, masculine culture and history of manstuff. It’s so cool!

One exciting example is Samantha E. Cato-Mott (AKA Samantha Swords). She is a trained “European Martial Arts” expert and all-around ridiculously cool Renaissance Woman. She works as a film props/armor creator, stunt fighter, actress and champion sword fighter. Last year she not only competed against men in the Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament, but also won the Longsword Competition.

You can see and hear an interview with her here:

Also this week, I ran into this piece from the New York Times about women who are competing in the male-dominated world of sumo wrestling. These women are flexing their muscles and presenting their power in a sport with traditions that span back centuries.

One woman in the interview states:

“It’s one of the few sports where as a big girl, you can actually have physical contact and not have to hold back, and not have to [worry]–Ooo am I gonna hurt him?”

One of the cool things about these women is that they are fighting full out and for real. They are not hypersexual parodies of fighters, they are warriors pure and simple. (Although I recommend against spending too much time in the comments section of any of the articles about them if you’d like to keep your sanity points intact.)

I think this is so important for young girls and young women to see. These women are stepping across traditional gender lines, fighting for the pure joy of athleticism, and kicking butt and taking names. They are demonstrating that there is room for all of us under the athletics tent. Whether male or female, thin or fit fatty, there is some wonderful way out there to get your sport on!

Love, Jeanette DePatie (AKA The Fat Chick)

P.S. Learn more about making the world safe for folks of all shapes and sizes at the upcoming Fat Activism Conference here.

P.P.S. And don’t forget to join my mailing list and get free stuff!

The unparalelled power of owning your beauty

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Today I was privileged to read this powerful post from a woman speaking about how she chose to call herself beautiful in front of her daughters. She understands the power of claiming, unconditionally, that she is beautiful in front of her kids. She spoke of how it must have seemed confusing for her young offspring in the past, when they thought her beautiful, but she negated that reality.

She says:

How confusing it must have been to have me say to them, “You think I am beautiful, but you are wrong. You are small and you love me, so you’re not smart enough to know how unattractive I am. I know I am ugly because I see myself with mean eyes. You are my child and I love you, but I will not allow myself to be pretty, for you.

What a profound thing this is.–to understand the power we gain not only for ourselves, but also for all who love us, when we claim our power to be beautiful. When we cast false modesty aside and inhabit our glorious, gorgeous selves we do more than make ourselves feel better. We also create space for others to feel beautiful. We wrest control from media outlets and glossy glamour magazines, over the definition of fabulous. We teach our children that beauty comes in an unending variety of sizes, shapes, colors and types. We cast aside the fear that we will never again be worthy of adoration–that we will never again be enough to make someone gasp at our audacity and amazing selves. And we prevent that fear from tainting the lives of our children. We own the definition of ravishing and rapturous and we choose to apply it to ourselves. And once we’ve applied those labels to ourselves, who would dare, WHO WOULD DARE take it from us?

I find this concept endlessly exciting. The notion that claiming our power encourages other women to do the same. And that making acceptance of ourselves unconditional before our children, we teach them to love themselves forever, rather than for the short time they are young, thin, unblemished, untarnished and inexperienced. What a spectacular and lasting legacy!

So my dear friends. What would happen for you if you cast off the need to be modest and demure? How profound is the impact of accepting yourself unconditionally and forever, just as you are? And just how large is the gift to those who come behind, when you model this calm, confident and peaceful contentment on a day to day basis?

Love thyself, and change the world!

Love,

The Fat Chick

Thursday Theater: Joy in the Dance with Helen Keller

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For this Thursday Theater, I wanted to share this amazing video featuring Helen Keller and Martha Graham. Apparently when these two women met, they recognized that they were kindred spirits. Martha Graham was immediately taken by Helen’s ‘gracious embrace of life’. And indeed, Helen’s joy at experiencing the dance in her own unique way is palpable.

You can read a lot more about the meeting here, including a very wonderful story about Helen learning the meaning of the word “jump”. Apparently while experiencing the dance, Helen asked what the word “jump” meant. Martha Graham called one of the dancers over and placed Helen’s hands gently on his waist. He then jumped in the air several times. Helen was so excited as she now understood the full meaning of this word. She experienced the freedom that comes when a body leaves the earth. “How like thought, how like the mind it is!” she exclaimed.

I played Helen Keller in a theatrical version of The Miracle Worker when I was in high school. Ever since then, she has been an important influence in my life. I find this video especially moving for two reasons. First, I think it shows that dance is a very powerful form of communication that breaks through many barriers. And second, I think it shows how wonderful it is that each of us can experience joy in a way that is personal and unique. I love watching Helen’s face in the video and watching the abandon with which she experiences life. It’s something that I would like to aspire to one day. I find it deeply inspiring and hope you do too.

Love,

The Fat Chick