Women’s Fit Bodies at the Olympics

There is a body positivity movement. Let’s all be inclusive of women’s bodies of every size, shape, color, and age.

The Olympic games include women athletes now, traditionally, the games were for men only. This year an equality milestone for those competing was reached, and many more women were in the race.

The fitness levels seem almost super human. And we admire the athletes for their stunning grace, speed, flexibility, endurance, and talents.

You are not likely to see the Olympic body type in most places you visit. We seldom talk about the zero-fat, all muscle female body type. But, I don’t think it’s because we are so unfamiliar with them, but for other reasons.

It’s because culture is finally going to a place where the hourglass, very curvy “womanly woman” is now just about as rare as the zero-fat, all muscle female. Beauty standards do change, but “boyish” figures seem to have always fallen away in popular culture just as quickly as they arrive. Fat positivity is also something new.

Then there is body shaming. Most of us truly love and admire real people of every body shape and size, but if you think of most female music, superstars, think — Beyonce, Megan the Stallion, or Taylor Swift — much of their appeal is their traditional attractiveness based on entrenched beauty standards and expectation. No doubt at all, there is fantastic talent and athleticism there, but we won’t see Olympic swimmer’s bodies in most music videos.

Gender is insanely important in our bimodal full spectrum culture. People fight about bathroom bills, male athletes passing as fake ladies, hormones being something we need to police, drag queen’s spreading literacy, and sexuality being something everyone has an opinion about. Bias about roles and gender hugely impact our general against fellow human beings.

We’re judgmental to our core.

But seeing the wholehearted acceptance of every type of athletic body in an international venue should give us hope. Seeing more women athletes in every kind of sport worldwide increases representation, and changes societal views and creates new norms. This year, it is likely that Kamala Harris will also change some hearts and minds to accept that women can be tough, strong, competent, talented, and attractive for more than just her appearance.

Although this contest remains more of a marathon than a sprint.

We admire the talent and diversity of gymnasts, swimmers, runners, rowers, and more. Last year we had a diversity of “Barbie” babes. And, even though that was progressive toward acceptance of all types, (even though most of them fit rather traditional, and even outdated, stereotypes of what women should look like). Ken, too, was buff in every personification.

Nevertheless, modern stories, and modern events are running the race toward inclusion, but it’s a long distance race.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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