Where I point out sexist and racist policies of sports that are excluding women—intentionally or not— outside of mainstream Western culture.. but they are slowly changing.
Sexism likes to follow us everywhere, even and especially into the realm of sports— and even what we wear while we play sports… The Olympics have begun!
Some quick highlights of the inspiring female athletes:
Where I ponder life lessons gleaned from my stand-up paddling race today..
How a stand-up paddling race is like real life:
You can’t let the beginning moment affect everything else.
Sometimes you fall off your board right at the very start. You curse yourself, but all you can do is just get back on and start paddling— nerves and all.
Sometimes you need to ‘give in’ in spite of your pride.
One woman passed me sitting on her board. Usually I’m very stubborn and will want to keep paddling standing, even with a very strong headwind. But then I thought what my coach would say and thought he would tell me to go on my knees if I needed to. So I gave in. That was the right call, especially given the board I was on.
My cheerleader letter to self for this morning’s race:
Dear self,
This morning you will be embracing a new, terrifying challenge that you’ve never tried before. A 7-miler stand-up paddling race. Considering you have just started stand-up paddling really this spring (and only a couple of times before that) and have noticed significant improvement in paddling and in your strength recently, this is a huge accomplishment! No matter your jitters, your fears, your fear of failing, of disappointing your coach, disappointing yourself — you get to be so, so proud no matter what. Even as Larry said, you can just go ashore if you’re too pooped to finish. I know you would never do such a thing. But you could. And you could still be so proud of yourself.
Women have to work twice as hard to get half the recognition. Again.
So I was so stoked to check out the WPA National NYNJPaddle.com Long Beach 10 Miler race yesterday for stand-up paddling. I went to support a friend racing and also to finally get a taste of what SUP races were like so that when I race I know what to expect and be prepared for. It turned out to be an awesomely inspiring experience. We also had the legendary, Jamie Mitchell, 10 time winner of the SUP paddle from Moloka`i to Oahu (a simple 32 miles!) grace us with his presence from Australia.
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Where I ponder the rationality of my fears and decide, well fuck it, I can take the time to vent them out, but at some point I have to just do it.
So I got a lot of blog hits the last two days. I’d like to think it’s because people really value my opinion and my thoughts and really appreciate what I have to say. And not just because sex sells. Or blow jobs, specifically. Sometimes I almost feel like I’m selling out. Or selling my soul if I’m only writing about ‘juicy’ stuff and people read it more for voyeurism sake and not to really learn anything meaningful. Or maybe both can happen simultaneously. It’s hard. As an artist your job is just to create. Put your shit out there. You don’t know who’s going to find it and read it or what they’re going to do with it or how they’ll interpret it. You just do what you can and let the bottle go in the sea.
The last time I got beat up in the head was when I got mugged and attacked 3 years ago. It took me a while to get over the fear of going out after dark and I would jump at running footsteps behind me. I always needed the safety of a wall behind me when I did go out and I was obsessively, exhaustedly aware of my surroundings. Not to mention my poor pummeled head that was sensitive for weeks and experienced memory issues as well.
This time was a bit more benign, consisting of waves, a board, and a fin, and wind that left me with this scar on my forehead. My friend mentioned surfing again yesterday to me and I was petrified at the thought. I know it’s so unlikely a big injury would happen again but I can’t help being scared. And what if I can’t jump off the ‘correct’ side of the board as I’m riding the wave? I mean, like seriously? There’s a gazillion things to keep in mind while you’re racing along the water including what not to do so as not to get your head banged up. I thought about either doing a counseling session with my paddling buddy or with my counselors. It’s just nice to talk to someone who understands what the hell I’m talking about and my fears etc. I guess there is more to discharge/vent about that day and my fears that have developed since.
I guess my worst fear is another accident will happen. Break something else. But still that’s not the end of the world. Look how famous Bethany Hamilton got though she was pro already I guess. And it’s true I won’t stop surfing just because I’m scared. And I guess that’s part of the whole thing with surfing for me. It’s not easy. It’s not the kind of thing I typically do. I stopped climbing trees a long time ago because at a certain age I suddenly got scared. As women we often limit ourselves a lot, especially physically. And by surfing I am trying to go against that.
No limits for women!
No limits for Shiuan!