I was bought Caitlin Moran’s book “How to be a Woman” for
Christmas. It’s not the sort of book I’d usually read, but it was looking
abandoned on the bookshelf, so finally decided to pick it up.
It had a very rare effect on me – it made me angry.
It’s half autobiography, half about Moran’s views on feminism
and its main theme is her opinion that world these days is still a difficult one for women because although we may have the vote and be able to go to work, we’re still all
hard done by and need to wake up and realise how subjugated we all still are. Although
feminist Moran has now broken though, and is living the life we all want to
live, where she is confident, independent, has a partner who shares in her life
rather than controls it, and essentially feels she can behave how she wants, there are lots of other women who can't break through.
She discusses themes of “being a woman” and describes how Western women seem to live double lives - where outwardly they're happy, independent and confident, but actually they exist in some archaic nightmare, spending forever
and a day doing their hair before going to the shops, not stepping out of the house without their make-up done and their fake tan applied, hating wearing heels but
having to, being the downtrodden one in relationships, being criticised by the
masses if they decide not to have children, being considered on the scrap heap once they go through the menopause and generally not achieving anything. There was a quote about women just BEING not
DOING – we exist but don’t actually contribute anything.
What made me angry was the assumption (maybe the reality)
that the majority of women are actually still living like this in the Western
world. It's a totally alien concept to me - that's not the life of anyone I know, but the idea that there are still women and girls out there who can't behave as they want to, even when
they live in countries and under political regimes where they have total legal
equality, is appalling. Whether it's true that life is still like this for lots of women, and that they are still subjugated, to be honest, I don't know.
What I do know, though, is that running marathons, and particularly ultras, has, without a
doubt, changed how I perceive life and how I feel about myself.
 |
Marvellous Mimi Anderson
Holder of numerous world records for ultra running |
It’s opened my eyes to a world where men
and women compete in the same event, and sometimes the women win, but where, in fact, no-one seems to care whether
you’re male or female because actually we’re all just runners; where you can
wear no make-up and be covered in mud and sweat and look the messiest but the best you’ve ever
looked and are considered amazing because of what you’ve just achieved! The
running community has given me incredible male and female role models, from
every age group and background, and has taught me the value of dedication and
hard work, of setting the most ridiculously lofty goals, which everyone around
you actually encourages you to aim for, and then the joy of achieving them after putting
your heart and soul into months of working towards them. It has also make me
realise and truly appreciate just how wonderful other people are - how
supportive, caring and selfless they can be to someone they don’t even know
yet.
No female marathon runner I have ever come across is anything
like the negative descriptions of subjugated women portrayed in Moran’s book.
It deeply saddens me if it's true that girls are growing up thinking they
need to become a WAG or a reality TV personality to be successful, or just to
be considered “normal” they have to subject themselves to wearing heels they don’t like
or plastic surgery they don’t want, and a lifetime of supporting their man
instead of actually achieving their dreams. If they were exposed to the running
culture, surely it would help to counteract the negativity of the celebrity and patriarchal culture that Moran tells me we’re still living in.
This is exactly
why it always pleases me to see children at running events, like the RDs' children who help out at the Challenge Running and Enigma races. Exposing them to our world
must surely inspire them – not necessarily just with the actual running, but with of those
other things that are more important – that age, gender and appearance are irrelevant and it’s all
about working hard, looking after each other, and pursuing your goals.
I’ve decided - running could change the world – we need to get
everyone else to realise it.
There were a lot of people running the Good Friday marathon, or just there by the lake, as it was Kaz Hurrell's 100th marathon and everyone wanted to support her and cheer her on. It made it a brilliant day, and I was able to catch up with lots of running friends, including seeing Liz running with her adorable new husky Lara for the first time! To see the inspirational Kaz finish and be inducted into the 100 Marathon Club was an absolute privilege and I'm so glad I was there.
There were a lot of people running the Good Friday marathon, or just there by the lake, as it was Kaz Hurrell's 100th marathon and everyone wanted to support her and cheer her on. It made it a brilliant day, and I was able to catch up with lots of running friends, including seeing Liz running with her adorable new husky Lara for the first time! To see the inspirational Kaz finish and be inducted into the 100 Marathon Club was an absolute privilege and I'm so glad I was there.
