Coed Sports

First things first, I have to say a few words about my poor husband. Poor Jeff has been sick and suffering for the last two weeks. He's been coughing, wheezing, and in pain. What started as a cold has been getting worse and worse. This morning we finally decided that he should go to the doctor's office. And not surprisingly he came home with a diagnosis of bronchitis. I've had bronchitis enough times in my life to know exactly how miserable it is. The constant coughing, the chest pain, the shortness of breath. So I have to say, considering all of this, he's been a real trooper. Hopefully the meds he got will help. Until then at least they will help him breathe.

Because of his illness, we decided to take last night easy and stay home. I caught up on some writing, helped him with a paper, did my exercises, and watched the women's basketball final. For those of you who missed it, UConn won, not surprisingly. Although early in the game that was a bit in doubt. Halfway through the game Jeff said something that got me thinking. He wondered how UConn (the women's winning team) would do against Duke's men's team. How would the best women's team in the country do against the best men's team? It's a game I would happily watch for no other reason than to see what happens. I know that men and women tend to play different styles of basketball but I would be interested what would happen. How would the scoring go? I would bet that many others in the country would be willing to watch a game like that as well (Hint, hint NCAA!!).

That question got me thinking about a conversation that Jeff and I have occasionally: Why are some sports or activities still sex segregated? Particularly sports where strength doesn't matter. Like bowling. Or darts. Or archery. I know that physiologically there is a strength difference between men and women. But I think that many women have become just as strong if not stronger than some men. A Sport Science episode compared the hit rating for a male and female boxer. The punches were identical in terms of force. But even for sports where strength isn't involved as much, there is little competition between the sexes. We are finally starting to see a more coed approach to racing (auto racing that is) but even that is unusual. I would love to see how some of the women golfers would do against the men golfers. So I'm asking, is it just that it would be hard for a man to be beaten by a woman? Is it still the old mistaken stereotype that women can't compete with men? What do you think?

Poetry Monday

Yesterday was International Women's Day. I'm not sure where I missed the memo for this but I did. I learned this yesterday morning from the comics. Not the most typical place to learn about new holidays. And I wonder why it was never mentioned. And for some reason that got me thinking about all the great feminist classes I took in college. I took a course on Women and Madness, a feminist view of how strong women were often labeled insane as a means of control. I took courses on marriage and family (sociology minor) and my favorite class, Modern Women Poets. (English Major).

I was introduced to a ton of amazing poets ranging from Maya Angelou, Sharon Olds, Marge Piercy, Joy Harjo, and Naomi Shihab Nye. And I was also introduced to Audre Lorde. And I fell in love with one of her poems. If I had to pick a poem to define myself it is this one. I spent a rainy afternoon in college copying this poem over and over on my manual typewriter in an attempt to get a perfect copy. I taped it to my wall and had everyone I knew read it.

So during another anxious night last night, I started reciting what I could remember of the poem. Some lines came back easily, some had to be coaxed. And for some reason those lines about fear calmed my anxiety and I was able to sleep. This morning I grabbed my copy of The Black Unicorn off the shelf and brought it to work so I could type it up. So for your reading pleasure and to remind me of why I love this poem....

Audre Lorde's A Litany for Survival.

For those of us who live at the shoreline
standing upon the constant edges of decision
crucial and alone
for those of us who cannot indulge
the passing dreams of choice
who love in doorways coming and going
in the hours between dawns
looking inward and outward
at once before and after
seeking a now that can breed
futures
like bread in our children's mouths
so their dreams will not reflect
the death of ours:

For those of us
who were imprinted with fear
like a faint line in the center of our foreheads
learning to be afraid with our mother's milk
for by this weapon
this illusion of some safety to be found
the heavy-footed hoped to silence us
For all of us
this instant and this triumph
We were never meant to survive.

And when the sun rises we are afraid
it might not remain
when the sun sets we are afraid
it might not rise in the morning
when our stomachs are full we are afraid
of indigestion
when our stomachs are empty we are afraid
we may never eat again
when we are loved we are afraid
love will vanish
when we are alone we are afraid
love will never return
and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcomed
but when we are silent
we are still afraid

So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive.