My apologies dear readers for not posting in a few days. Miss Amanda had to prepare for an interview an interview tomorrow at Principal Pictures in Plymouth, MA.
I am going to share a note I received from my friend, Erin Judge. I first met Erin several years ago at the Comedy Studio in Harvard Square. I was literally doing my first set in a real club. Erin hosted the show that particular evening.
Before the show, Erin took me aside told me not to be nervous and asked me for a quick bio so she could introduce me. Well, I did my set and it wasn’t great. I was pretentious and relied heavily on jokes about going to Wellesley College (yep, that uncomfortable) and Harvard. How fucking clever and witty I was…
Erin returns to stage. She states , “Amanda, doesn’t know this but we are sisters. I too went to Wellesley.” She then made a joke about how Wellesley women love to pillow-fight and arouse MIT men by seductively enumerating Pi to fifteen numbers past the decimal point.
During the years, Erin and I performed a lot together. She gave me feedback, I her. She has seen me through break ups and I have routed for her successes, most recently, being selected and filming Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham and her sleeper off-Broadway hit, “The Meaning of Wife.”
| Live at Gotham | ||||
| Erin Judge – Dumb and Crazy | ||||
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Erin is someone I grew to respect for her artistic integrity, her intelligence and despite a strong aura, an immensely warm heart.
So, I wasn’t especially surprised to hear from her about my blog.
I found her message worth addressing. Here, with Erin’s permission, is her note:
Hey Amanda,
Erin and I emailed back and forth. She was concerned that CrossFit and its unqiue culture and/or “the esprit de coer” may not ultimately very helpful.
I could absolutely see Erin’s point of view. From the outside looking in, CrossFit can appear unforgiving and impossible. The drills are harder than anything I have ever done in my life. As regards the eating Paleo, that too, is held almost as a sacred experience. If you stray from Paleo eating, expect the skies to rain frogs.
And, CrossFitters are brutally intense. They want to be stronger than humanly possible.
However, what may not be readily obvious is the sense of community and unconditional support CrossFit proffers.
Is CrossFit for everyone? Probably not everyone.
Underneath the CF counter culture, “do it till you puke” mantra, is a COMMUNITY. A community where I have become friends with an Army sergeant. A community where when I hurt my back I had over 20 people offer to come by, bring food and thoughtfully recommend doctors who may offer me a speedy and healthy recuperation.
Also, in this short time, I have made friends with people around the world who also are drawn to CrossFit. For example, Michael from One Arm Strength, Marcus from Life As Rx and so many more.
Erin raised big question. Is CrossFit anti-feminist? (Erin didnt say anti-feminist, I did) And, by anti-feminist, I mean does CF encourage ridiculous attention to your body that is detrimental to a women’s psyche and causes her to buy into the myth of that without corpeal perfection, a woman will not make it far in this world.
My answer is a resounding NO. CrossFit is a philosophy, independent of gender, that demands that a person achieve the personal excellence in mind, body and spirit one endemically has in their core being.
You know what? I can’t write more. This is a big topic. I want to do some more thinking about this CrossFit and Women issue.
Thoughts so far? Please leave copious comments.
ALSO HUGE THANKS TO my lovebug friend Steph at CyberHag Productions for her kickass blog design. I don’t know how she took my desire for UFOs and translated it my own personal vista.
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September 28th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Oh damn being at work since I have tons to say on this, having thought about it myself. (And, you know, working at Wellesley and being a feminist and all that stuff…)
But it will have to wait till later – likely tomorrow. Alas!
[Reply]
americapeals Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 11:33 am
I know Meghan! I have been laboring over this. And, there is sooo much to say. So, I just decided to put the question out there in story form and return to it later. In fact, if you would like to have a guest post or be featured, write me and maybe we could co-write this together. My feeling is that CrossFit is wildy empowering. However, unless you are part of it, you may view CF as a cult and perpetuating stereotypes that aren’t helpful for women.
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September 28th, 2009 at 11:42 am
I definitely need to chime in on this. I think CF outwardly LOOKS anti-feminist to the uninformed (or perhaps un-indoctrinated?) Why? CF inherently pushes people (not just women) to levels of self confidence and calm self assuredness that those who’ve never been competitive athletes can’t understand it. In fact many would even see it as a threat. I think women (not just in CF but athletes in general) have always known that confidence so it comes naturally for them. All the foul-mouthed, screaming, yelling, sweating, puking, bleeding etc (and the encouragement of these things) is NOT masculine…..it’s HUMAN. We’re at our best when driven to do these things. Also, CF is not image obsessed the way more fitness cultures are…but this is also not obvious to the uninformed. Form follows function, and one of the CF greats once said to only chase performance and the aesthetic stuff will take care of itself. I believe the quote was “do Fran in 4 minutes, then look in the mirror. That’s what you’re supposed to look like.” I take that as having 2 different meanings, and both are valid. Either when you get to that level of fitness, you will have already achieved the look you desire. Second, if you can do Fran in 3 minutes….who gives a s***…..whatever you look like that point is obviously healthy.
[Reply]
americapeals Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 11:49 am
(Readers, just so you know, Daigle, is also one of the young men at CrossFit that is considered a Big Dawg. He is ripped and way intense. Yet, he has been a staunch supporter of me and makes me feel very comfortable.)
[Reply]
September 28th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Beals, PS
check out Melissa Urban’s Blog. I don’t know if you’ve found her yet but a wealth of super-empowered chick blogging over there. She’s a great friend an affiliate and WELL versed with diet and diet problems. Search for her posts about “Zone gone bad” about how the Zone diet can morph into its own eating disorder for those who are predisposed. She writes a great blog, I think you’ll enjoy it.
http://www.byersgetsdiesel.com/search?q=zone+gone+bad
[Reply]
September 28th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
I can also see your friend Erin’s point…However, CF (disclaimer:my only education of CF is through your posts, Amanda) seems to be a place where people come to better themselves. Be it in mind, body or soul. And of course the three are so connected that if you are striving for improvement in one area it’s almost a given that the other two are gonna come along for the ride.
As far as the question of this type of program being anti-feminist…I think it’s anti-feminist to think that it could be exclusively harmful to women and not men. Why can’t women do and put themselves through the same grueling fitness regimine as men? Set their bar at the same height as men to maintain a dietary plan (this Paleo thing is intriguing to say the least).
As someone who benefitted from Title IX, and was able to play a sport at the Division 1 level in college, I can only come to the defense of the argument that CF is not anti-feminist. If one chooses to see a program that promotes physical perfection as detrimental, then it should be considered as such for both men and women. Not just women.
Plink. Plink. You have my two cents.
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September 28th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
OK, I guess I can see the point about the obsession with fitness and “looks” (dare I venture into the issue of “objectification” of women? A touchy subject for me, the father of a 20-year old daughter in the 21st century). However, I don’t understand the connection being made between CF and anti-feminism. It is not about “looks” or solely about “fitness” – there is so much more to it than that. What is “feminism”? Here is a definition I found – the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men. Are you kidding? There are women at CFNE who can kick my ass!! CF is also about confidence, energy, community, and a host of other positive additions to your life. It’s empowering – how much more feminism do you want?
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September 29th, 2009 at 5:37 am
Hi everyone!
For the record, I definitely think CrossFit seems like a very positive thing for most people, men and women alike. My husband actually reads a bunch of the blogs and does many of the CF workouts on his own. He showed me this video of 2 women doing an intense lifting workout at the men’s recommended weight a few months ago, and it was unbelievable!
My concern was definitely more about eating and food restriction stuff, which, as I understand it, sometimes goes along with CF but is not strictly a part of the program. The McDonald’s story on Amanda’s blog got me concerned, and I am especially wary of the “internal war” metaphor when it comes to food and eating.
I think as Americans we’re extremely attracted to fast, high-intensity change. Be hardcore! Quit whining! No excuses! Etc. Sometimes that can serve to stoke the flames of the all-or-nothing thinking so prevalent in our culture. For some people – in fact, for most Americans – a 30-minute walk a day would be a fantastic step in the right direction for their physical fitness. And for some people (myself included), very strict rules about eating can activate disordered eating and food-obsession.
As for the gender issue: I have known a lot of high-achieving women in my life, and I see many of them trapped in a cycle of intense dieting and intense comfort eating. I know this applies to lots of men too, but I’ve personally seen it more in women. I remember growing up with this idea that some day I would go on an incredibly strict diet and stay on it for the rest of my life. That doomed every diet to failure AND drove me to eat junk food like every day would be my last chance to do so. It wasn’t a very balanced or realistic ideal, and a LOT of women were raised on it. It can be a difficult cycle to break.
Just my thoughts.
~Erin
[Reply]
September 29th, 2009 at 5:37 am
Hi everyone!
For the record, I definitely think CrossFit seems like a very positive thing for most people, men and women alike. My husband actually reads a bunch of the blogs and does many of the CF workouts on his own. He showed me this video of 2 women doing an intense lifting workout at the men’s recommended weight a few months ago, and it was unbelievable!
My concern was definitely more about eating and food restriction stuff, which, as I understand it, sometimes goes along with CF but is not strictly a part of the program. The McDonald’s story on Amanda’s blog got me concerned, and I am especially wary of the “internal war” metaphor when it comes to food and eating.
I think as Americans we’re extremely attracted to fast, high-intensity change. Be hardcore! Quit whining! No excuses! Etc. Sometimes that can serve to stoke the flames of the all-or-nothing thinking so prevalent in our culture. For some people – in fact, for most Americans – a 30-minute walk a day would be a fantastic step in the right direction for their physical fitness. And for some people (myself included), very strict rules about eating can activate disordered eating and food-obsession.
As for the gender issue: I have known a lot of high-achieving women in my life, and I see many of them trapped in a cycle of intense dieting and intense comfort eating. I know this applies to lots of men too, but I’ve personally seen it more in women. I remember growing up with this idea that some day I would go on an incredibly strict diet and stay on it for the rest of my life. That doomed every diet to failure AND drove me to eat junk food like every day would be my last chance to do so. It wasn’t a very balanced or realistic ideal, and a LOT of women were raised on it. It can be a difficult cycle to break.
Just my thoughts.
~Erin
[Reply]
September 29th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I didn’t have time to read the whole post – but I have a thought on this – I think the case that fitness is anti-feminist seems rather easy to make – socially constructed bodies, etc.
But just to offer a counter-point: the body is one of the most powerful symbols and sites of human/feminist agency and expression…in that sense, a healthy body gives us greater resources to live as full agents. The question quickly becomes one of the good and the beautiful as well as the good life as opposed to just one of social empowerment and liberation. (ie…one can live as a full agent in all kind of bodies…are strength and energy really the goal?)
Please do share what you end up writing – I’m very interested!
[Reply]
September 29th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
The video Erin’s referring to in her comment is “Man Grace”, with the astonishing E.C. Synkowski, a personal hero of mine:
http://www.crossfit.com/mt-archive2/004161.html
Everyone should watch this video and then go to try to lift heavy things.
As a fake crossfitter who has never been to a crossfit gym, but has obsessively watched the videos and trained to be able to do WODs from the website at my school gym (subbing DB swings for KB swings, annoyedly waiting for the single pullup bar, etc.) I can say that it has brought me to a level of fitness that I haven’t had since my teenage years. And that’s just in terms of endurance and power – my pure strength at deadlifts, squats and such has gotten well beyond what I ever dreamed it would.
It’s an awesome methodology. It works.
But it can have a bit of a dark side, which is perfectionism. Some people seem to think that if you’re not doing four WODs a week, and maintaining some sort of perfect diet, whether it be Zone, paleo, or whatever, you’re not doing it right. This may be true for anybody trying to get so elite as to compete in the crossfit games or whatever, but for the average person who is just trying to achieve amazing fitness and enjoy their body, not so much. I take great pleasure in drinking my wine just about every night, and in the occasional candy binge when I get baked. Clamping down aggressively on that sort of thing is not how I want to try to control my life – it is a negative. I have found that I get great results by focusing on the positive changes I can make – viz. doing WODs when I can, going at them hard as hell, and enjoying the hell out of the improvement in my fitness that comes so amazingly quickly from them. Although my diet has improved to include more fiber and vegetables during the time I’ve been crossfitting, this hasn’t been the main thing at all – the main thing is always the workout.
As to the relationship between crossfit and feminism, I point the reader again to the Man Grace video. Strong women rule. Yes we can!
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October 21st, 2009 at 2:04 pm
To Erin’s Husband re: Man Grace — we had the absolute pleasure of having EC work out at Crossfit Flathead (in Montana) for the summer. It was incredible to watch her and learn from her. She is a STRONG woman, and I want to be her when I grow up (even though I am probably 15 years older than she is). I also met Sam – the other woman in the Man Grace video – at a rowing cert this summer, and she totally kicks ass in that video!
Second point – don’t you DARE call yourself a “fake” crossfitter! If you do the WODs, whether rx’d or not, and you see gains in your strength and conditioning, you are the real deal in my book. 3-2-1-go!
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January 3rd, 2010 at 12:08 am
I had to leave a comment, even though i know i’m so late (just found your blog! fun stuff!)
i think the comment from your husband is telling – i have a husband who played football in university and has always been the biggest, strongest athlete with the best attitude and the most endurance.
I, on the other hand, was not! LOL!
but after my sixth baby was born, i asked him to help me get into shape, and he just started including me in his runs and crossfit workouts, and feeding me zone…
Do i do the hardcore WOD? No, especially at the beginning – he scaled it back (WAY back) so i could work out with him at my own level.
But i think having a coach who is also my best friend and who loves me, and who makes Friday date night at the Marble Slab Creamery
… helps immensely.
If i were a single woman looking at the CF website, i know for sure a/ it would not interest me and b/it would seem hostile to me, in my 5′2 girliness…
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March 14th, 2010 at 2:03 am
Well, I don’t know if that’s going to work for me, but definitely worked for you!
Excellent post!
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April 12th, 2010 at 11:47 am
I am a huge fan of your website and I read it regularly. Keep up the great work!
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July 6th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
OMG my baby turned out soo ugly using this baby face generator http://bit.ly/9C5rgd
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