With Cincinnati's very own Queen Bee Half Marathon coming up, I wanted to get this out there:
I absolutely abhor all-women's races. I don't think they should exist. I don't even think they should be called races. I'm not going to link to any race websites because I don't want to give them the dignity. They may be worse than color runs and other novelty events in my book. Before you call me a sexist and a male chauvinist pig, hear me out:
I don't think all-women's events are necessary any more. This isn't the era of race directors physically pulling Katharine Switzer out of a race specifically because she's a woman; rather, women make up the majority of participants in running events today. Thirty or forty years ago, when road running was an all-male endeavor, women's-only events definitely had a place. But now, nearly every race is a majority female affair. Road races are already women's races -- making some specifically only for women just seems unnecessary.
All-women's races are overwhelmingly and overtly sexist. Instead of empowering women, they propagate gender-specific stereotypes. Go to any women's-only race website and you'll be bombarded with ultra-feminine imagery: queens and princesses and pink and purple and divas and jewelry and spas and 'girls weekend out, woo!' I mean, it only takes one quick read of the Queen Bee HM's home page:
These events are often designed and advertised as non-intimidating, non-threatening, non-competitive "races" (if you can really even call them that), which subversively sends the message that women are not and cannot be intimidating, threatening, and competitive -- or, you know, athletic. Girls just wanna have fun, right? Of course, that notion is demonstrably false -- look no further than the cutthroat competitive nature of the most recent Olympics -- yet it is propagated by the existence and expansion of these types of events. These are doing more to undermine women's athletics than to advance them.
They are a fairly blatant cash grab for race organizers. As road running has exploded in popularity over the past 20 years, so too have race entry fees and the 'perks' of each race to entice a customer -- I mean, participant -- base. Gone are the days when people organized races because they were simply passionate about racing. Maybe I'm a little jaded, but the industry now operates with a money-maker ethos, not a passion project one. Women's-only races are right up there with other faddish events (color runs, glow runs, obstacle courses, etc.) in terms of nauseatingly money grubbing operations. Race organizers -- and their sponsors -- aren't stupid: they know that women make up a majority of participants and that women as a demographic are more likely to spend money, so they say, "let's have an event for only women and bombard them with tons of perks and marketing and samples and stuff. We can't lose!"
So please, I implore you, vote with your feet and choose running events that truly care about racing.
I absolutely abhor all-women's races. I don't think they should exist. I don't even think they should be called races. I'm not going to link to any race websites because I don't want to give them the dignity. They may be worse than color runs and other novelty events in my book. Before you call me a sexist and a male chauvinist pig, hear me out:
I don't think all-women's events are necessary any more. This isn't the era of race directors physically pulling Katharine Switzer out of a race specifically because she's a woman; rather, women make up the majority of participants in running events today. Thirty or forty years ago, when road running was an all-male endeavor, women's-only events definitely had a place. But now, nearly every race is a majority female affair. Road races are already women's races -- making some specifically only for women just seems unnecessary.
All-women's races are overwhelmingly and overtly sexist. Instead of empowering women, they propagate gender-specific stereotypes. Go to any women's-only race website and you'll be bombarded with ultra-feminine imagery: queens and princesses and pink and purple and divas and jewelry and spas and 'girls weekend out, woo!' I mean, it only takes one quick read of the Queen Bee HM's home page:
"Bee-Liege it girlfriend... The Queen Bee Half Marathon is on a mission: to promote the fun of fitness... Race weekend will include plenty of pampering, swag, and fun -- the perfect ingredients for a great girls' weekend."If you appreciate women's athletics (which, yes, involves legitimate competition), this kind of attitude is nauseating.
These events are often designed and advertised as non-intimidating, non-threatening, non-competitive "races" (if you can really even call them that), which subversively sends the message that women are not and cannot be intimidating, threatening, and competitive -- or, you know, athletic. Girls just wanna have fun, right? Of course, that notion is demonstrably false -- look no further than the cutthroat competitive nature of the most recent Olympics -- yet it is propagated by the existence and expansion of these types of events. These are doing more to undermine women's athletics than to advance them.
They are a fairly blatant cash grab for race organizers. As road running has exploded in popularity over the past 20 years, so too have race entry fees and the 'perks' of each race to entice a customer -- I mean, participant -- base. Gone are the days when people organized races because they were simply passionate about racing. Maybe I'm a little jaded, but the industry now operates with a money-maker ethos, not a passion project one. Women's-only races are right up there with other faddish events (color runs, glow runs, obstacle courses, etc.) in terms of nauseatingly money grubbing operations. Race organizers -- and their sponsors -- aren't stupid: they know that women make up a majority of participants and that women as a demographic are more likely to spend money, so they say, "let's have an event for only women and bombard them with tons of perks and marketing and samples and stuff. We can't lose!"
So please, I implore you, vote with your feet and choose running events that truly care about racing.
I do not incourage this behavior Mr. Kauffman
ReplyDeleteI encourage you to use improper punctuation and spelling. Especially, if you're going to publish it.
DeleteI agree with your statement because it is precisely the reason why I have never ran an all-women's race. All though I disagree with you on color runs because those are simply for fun not racing.
ReplyDeleteI would like to hear your opinion on mud runs.
ReplyDelete