Men Vs. Women: We May Have Been Born With Less Muscle, But..
Taken from here.
By now we all know that women have less muscle mass than men. But did you know that difference equates to roughly 40 to 50% less strength on our upper bodies and 30% less on our lower bodies? Did you also know that a typical untrained woman has 25% body fat, while a guy only has 15%? And men have a 43% greater lung capacity than women? As unfair as it may be (and it is, dammit!), there is a rather large physiological difference between our bodies and men’s. They are just born stronger and faster by nature. That doesn’t mean we can’t surpass them, of course, but it does beg the question about why men continue to feel like they have to compete against us. And why they have such a hard time when we beat them.
Case in point: At a recent race, I overhead a male friend yell to my husband that he was getting “chicked” meaning, beaten by a girl. Good for her, I thought, as I ran along behind him. Then, admittedly, the more I thought about this remark, the madder I got (which could have been a good thing because that made me run faster).
First of all, nobody heard this guy yell, “Hey you’re getting duded” (or whatever the appropriate male version of chicked is), even though there were a handful of guys ahead of my husband. It was just a big deal to this person that a woman was actually running faster than a guy. Imagine that. Those types of obnoxious guys are the bane of our existence during a race. Somebody please tell them that they are giving the entire male species a bad name.
If I ever see this guy again, here’s what I’d want to say: Dear male chauvinist runner, I am sorry that you were somehow fed the lie that while men are born with more muscle, it’s not possible for women to become just as strong and powerful (with big muscles to boot). I’m sorry that your mother didn’t teach you better (and your wife or girlfriend puts up with you). I’m also sorry that I have to dislike you because you fail to recognize that the female race can, and does, beat the male race on many occasions. Has nobody told you that we are not in middle school anymore and “girls rule and boys drool” was just a stupid childish saying that you need to get over?
Why do guys have such a hard time admitting that they are not always superior? Are their egos really that big? Or are we still viewed as demure, fragile, inferior beings? If it’s due to their macho egos, we can probably handle that because we all know they like to think they are our big, strong protectors, and we can’t possibly do anything without their help. But if it’s because they view us as lesser-than, our society has bigger issues than whether or not Kim Kardashian is going to stay married to Kris Humpries for more than a few “candid” photo ops.
I guess this is why the whole “girl power” campaign irks me. I’m all for equal rights of course (and I still want to know why the New York Times refuses to share equal space in its sports section with women), but when we have to walk around spouting out how powerful we are and flexing our girl muscles, it’s kind of demeaning. Why not just go out there and show everyone what we’re made of instead of yakking about it all the time? Sweat talks.
And while I’m on that subject, things like all-female races and pink running skirts and women showing up to the gym or the start line with a full face of makeup only further divide us from the guys. I doubt any male-only race would ever fly since Katherine Switzer made it clear in 1967 at the Boston Marathon that that was no longer cool. And I really doubt any guy debates over his running outfit or what his hair looks like on the morning of a race. And yet, some women continue to do so which only further stereotypes us as a bunch of vain females who care more about how we look than how we perform.
Now, of course, I know damn well that not all females are like this, so don’t think I’m judging or mocking our entire gender. I just think that in order for men to get over the fact that we can indeed be as good–or better–than them, we have to quit differentiating ourselves so much. An athlete is an athlete, so that means woman should not constantly put ourselves in the “girl box” and men shouldn’t constantly see us there. Then maybe, just maybe, guys will view us a competitor instead of as a girl. And, who knows, maybe it won’t be such a big deal the next time they get chicked.
I will leave you with one of my favorite videos on the subject:
Photo: Nike
Related posts:
Post from: Blisstree
By now we all know that women have less muscle mass than men. But did you know that difference equates to roughly 40 to 50% less strength on our upper bodies and 30% less on our lower bodies? Did you also know that a typical untrained woman has 25% body fat, while a guy only has 15%? And men have a 43% greater lung capacity than women? As unfair as it may be (and it is, dammit!), there is a rather large physiological difference between our bodies and men’s. They are just born stronger and faster by nature. That doesn’t mean we can’t surpass them, of course, but it does beg the question about why men continue to feel like they have to compete against us. And why they have such a hard time when we beat them.
Case in point: At a recent race, I overhead a male friend yell to my husband that he was getting “chicked” meaning, beaten by a girl. Good for her, I thought, as I ran along behind him. Then, admittedly, the more I thought about this remark, the madder I got (which could have been a good thing because that made me run faster).
First of all, nobody heard this guy yell, “Hey you’re getting duded” (or whatever the appropriate male version of chicked is), even though there were a handful of guys ahead of my husband. It was just a big deal to this person that a woman was actually running faster than a guy. Imagine that. Those types of obnoxious guys are the bane of our existence during a race. Somebody please tell them that they are giving the entire male species a bad name.
If I ever see this guy again, here’s what I’d want to say: Dear male chauvinist runner, I am sorry that you were somehow fed the lie that while men are born with more muscle, it’s not possible for women to become just as strong and powerful (with big muscles to boot). I’m sorry that your mother didn’t teach you better (and your wife or girlfriend puts up with you). I’m also sorry that I have to dislike you because you fail to recognize that the female race can, and does, beat the male race on many occasions. Has nobody told you that we are not in middle school anymore and “girls rule and boys drool” was just a stupid childish saying that you need to get over?
Why do guys have such a hard time admitting that they are not always superior? Are their egos really that big? Or are we still viewed as demure, fragile, inferior beings? If it’s due to their macho egos, we can probably handle that because we all know they like to think they are our big, strong protectors, and we can’t possibly do anything without their help. But if it’s because they view us as lesser-than, our society has bigger issues than whether or not Kim Kardashian is going to stay married to Kris Humpries for more than a few “candid” photo ops.
I guess this is why the whole “girl power” campaign irks me. I’m all for equal rights of course (and I still want to know why the New York Times refuses to share equal space in its sports section with women), but when we have to walk around spouting out how powerful we are and flexing our girl muscles, it’s kind of demeaning. Why not just go out there and show everyone what we’re made of instead of yakking about it all the time? Sweat talks.
And while I’m on that subject, things like all-female races and pink running skirts and women showing up to the gym or the start line with a full face of makeup only further divide us from the guys. I doubt any male-only race would ever fly since Katherine Switzer made it clear in 1967 at the Boston Marathon that that was no longer cool. And I really doubt any guy debates over his running outfit or what his hair looks like on the morning of a race. And yet, some women continue to do so which only further stereotypes us as a bunch of vain females who care more about how we look than how we perform.
Now, of course, I know damn well that not all females are like this, so don’t think I’m judging or mocking our entire gender. I just think that in order for men to get over the fact that we can indeed be as good–or better–than them, we have to quit differentiating ourselves so much. An athlete is an athlete, so that means woman should not constantly put ourselves in the “girl box” and men shouldn’t constantly see us there. Then maybe, just maybe, guys will view us a competitor instead of as a girl. And, who knows, maybe it won’t be such a big deal the next time they get chicked.
I will leave you with one of my favorite videos on the subject:
Photo: Nike
Related posts:
- Hey New York Times, Where Are All The Women In Your Sports Section?
- Female Athletes Prove Older Can Equal Better
- Bryant Gumbel Says Stop Coddling Female Athletes. Right Or Wrong?
- The Social Animal: Male Athletes Fake Injury More And Women Really Are Bad Drivers
- The Social Animal: Why You Don’t Want To Marry An Alpha Male
Post from: Blisstree
0 comments: