Athletic Women Blog

This clip is from an exhibition match between two experienced wrestlers: Lauren, aka roguexkitty6, then 18 years old and 115 lb, and a 140 lb 28-year-old male. It lasts about four minutes:



You'll notice that Lauren used not only skill to defeat her opponent, she outmuscled him as well. She was the better, stronger athlete that day. This is not something we're used to seeing. Of course, competition between male and female athletes is still rare, too rare according to Playing With the Boys: Why Separate is Not Equal in Sports.

Intra-gender athletic competition and strength training are making a huge difference: female athletes are getting bigger, faster, stronger by the day. Moreover, I see no reason right now to think there is an identifiable limit to what women can achieve relative to men. Eventually, though, inter-gender athletic competition will become necessary. Competition is a potent mechanism for development, one that can't be ignored.

More so now than at any other time in history, women are able to explore their physical potential unfettered by simplistic notions about gender roles. Thus, it's perfectly reasonable to expect that we'll soon be seeing even more instances of women competing successfully against men on the wrestling mat.

According to Megan Gale, that is. (The rumor, by the way, has been around for a while. I reported on it last month.)

I'm a bit underwhelmed by the choice. But it is good that Megan has "stepped up her fitness regimen" and will "learn how to fight and wield deadly weapons" (whatever that means), because merely being a Lynda Carter lookalike isn't enough.

This, of course, is contingent on the JLA movie ever getting made. Considering WB's track record, that's not a given either.

Well, Playboy has posted their response to the brouhaha over their February cover. Since much of the criticism was misguided to begin with, their riposte is, for the most part, immaterial. So make of it what you will.

I did, however, run across one snippet, something Playboy got essentially correct, that is worth repeating here:

Is Wonder Woman a feminist icon? If you say so. Is she a sex symbol? Without a doubt. Are the two mutually exclusive? Creator William Moulton Marston would have found the question laughable. The false dichotomy that separates female sex appeal from female intellect and strength of character hobbles feminism, and that’s been Playboy’s view for over 50 years.

Indeed, feminism's worst enemy may well be the sexual puritans who masquerade as feminists.

I should say something about the February 2008 Playboy cover, which features a nude Tiffany Fallon recast as Wonder Woman with the help of some body paint (NSFW link). Much has been said about it already, but the view presented here is often missed, and thus merits repeating.

There is, namely, nothing wrong with seeing Wonder Woman as a sex symbol—so long as her role as a symbol of strength isn't forgotten in the process. She can happily be both. The two things, in fact, are inextricably joined together.

So the question becomes, What qualifies Ms. Fallon to be Wonder Woman? Put another way, Where are the muscles? the athletic accomplishments? the fighting skills? Alas, they are not to be found; Tiffany Fallon is no Amazon: beautiful yes, perhaps a good person too, but not a symbol of strength, not by any stretch of the imagination.

That's where Playboy got it wrong, and where the outrage, if any, should lie.

First, I'd like to call your attention to this review of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles posted over at Heroine Content. Grace seems to share the same generally favorable impression that I have after watching the first two episodes, along with my reservation about Lena Headey's Sarah not being physical enough (though she blames it on writing, not casting).

Now on to technical matters. You'll notice that the list of links on the left has changed a little. Women's Sports Today hasn't been updated in a while, so that link has been removed and replaced with a link to Women's Tennis Blog, which is a great place to keep up with athletes and tournament results if you like women's tennis.

Please contact me if you know of another blog covering women's sports that we should add to the list.

The women continue to impress on American Gladiators. Last night, Monica Carlson finished the Eliminator with the fastest time so far this season, two minutes flat, besting all other contenders, male and female alike. Interesting that given the exact same test of quickness, upper-body strength, and muscular endurance, a woman comes out on top. I see in this more evidence of the emerging superiority of female muscle.

After getting off to a good start on Sunday night, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was even better last night. Lena Headey lacks the physicality that Linda Hamilton brought to the role—thus her Sarah Connor will never be as impressive as Linda's—but she does manage a fierce, resolute, street-smart Sarah, albeit a somewhat scrawny one. Summer Glau, on the other hand, has been interesting to watch as a Terminator. I like her take on the cyborg thing. And so far at least, surprisingly, her comparatively small size hasn't been much of a drawback, though her fight scenes with other Terminators (usually portrayed by substantial, menacing-looking male actors) do look a bit awkward at times.

American Gladiators continues to make for fun viewing, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has lived up to some of its hype. I'll be looking forward to Monday nights for the next several weeks.

The two-night series premiere of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles that begins this Sunday night is obviously a big deal for fans of female action. I'm looking forward to it, and the possibility of having a successful, fun-to-watch female action series on television again. (O how I miss Alias and Jennifer Garner!)

But there are reasons to be skeptical, too. For starters, Lena Headey has some big shoes to fill: Linda Hamilton set a high bar for anyone ever hoping to take over the Sarah Connor role; indeed, she is permanently in the pantheon of female action stars because of her performance in T2. Then, dainty Summer Glau is playing a Terminator, something I find hard to picture. (True, Summer is very athletic, thanks to years of ballet training, but her small size and slight frame do not conjure up the notion of a formidable juggernaut.) Finally, it's possible that the Terminator franchise is simply worn out.

The folks at Fox, though, seem convinced that The Sarah Connor Chronicles will make a big splash—they are promoting it like crazy. We'll just have to tune in and see if it lives up the hype. I, for one, hope it does.

Watching Laila Ali tell one of the male contenders not to get her wet, warning him that he probably didn't want to tangle with her, was one of the more memorable moments of the two-hour premiere last night of American Gladiators. (Laila was just being honest, too; she could have dispatched him, or any of the other male contenders, without much difficulty.)

Overall, the new show is pretty good. The new events are fun. I also like the changes they've made to the old events. The Eliminator is spectacular now (though I'm sure brutal for the contenders), and adding water to many of the events was a great idea.

Of course, the new female Gladiators are awesome. And judging by last night's show, we'll be seeing extremely athletic contenders as well; the Gladiator women are going to have some competition.

Be sure to watch American Gladiators again tonight when it airs in what will be its regular time slot.

The new incarnation of American Gladiators debuts tonight—just a reminder, in case you've been living in a cave or something. This marks the return of physically powerful women to network television, a medium that typically shuns strong, athletic women and tries to pretend they don't exist. Whatever else you may think about it, American Gladiators is worthwhile for no other reason than it brings these magnificent women to light and breaks down useless stereotypes in the process.

Watch this for Karen Cliche, a young actress with a knack for action roles. Her talent is put to good use here—Karen's character, Baylin, is the show's muscle. An added bonus: Flash Gordon is replete with interesting female characters (three of the main characters are women). New episodes return starting tonight on Sci Fi.