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Cate Denial's avatar

Here's where I get stuck: when we celebrate fitness . . . fit for what? Often the language of fitness feels like another form of ableism, a corollary to "be healthy!" without consideration as to what we're defining as "unhealthy" and what that reveals about our beliefs about disability and bodies. If there are people who are fit there are surely people who are "unfit"? And whew, is that a loaded term.

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kate anfinson's avatar

Wow, I loved this interview so much. In the last five years, I had two back-to-back emergency c-sections, hip muscle and ligament damage from my pregnancies, and mobility issues for the first time in my life. I did yoga and ran daily prior to that. It was intensely humbling, to suddenly not be able to move your body as your mind believes— knows, even— that you should. For me, there was a profound grief at the loss of what my body was capable of. A huge psychological component because I felt an internalized sense of responsibility (blame) for the state of my “un” fitness, thanks to fitness culture. And it is still constant work to untangle my desire for health— to be able to move without pain, to lift things (my kids, heavy pots and pans), to model play-based movement of all kinds for my daughters— from 30+ years of weight loss-oriented diet culture.

I’m now in a “bodily renaissance” where i’m prioritizing how exercise makes me feel, mentally more even than physically. It’s helped my ADHD and my anxiety so much. One thing that’s only touched on in the interview, re: the $100 yoga pants, is the gear. After two babies, I need a specialty DD+ high-impact sports bra. It’s excruciating to run or do burpees without support, and I’ve spent hundreds of dollars just trying to find one that works. I heard an interview recently with runner Lauren Fleshman about fighting for equity in sports, and making fitness more accessible, and she mentioned her partnership with Oiselle (women’s running brand). I looked at their D-DD+ sports bras, and the price for a single high-impact bra? $75. And that’s the going rate for technical bras. I guess all I’m saying (as a fan of Oiselle!) is that this seems born out of the same issues discussed above. People critique exclusivity and boutique classes and Lululemon (an easy target due to the fatphobia and racism of the owners), but….fitness still isn’t any more accessible at the end of the day. $80+ sports bras? $2000 bicycles? I went to sign up for the Y to enroll my kids in swim lessons and even a Y family membership is $120 a month. Not including the classes themselves!

There’s something particularly pernicious about a society where “fitness”/health products are a luxury good AND healthcare is a for-profit industry. What is the incentive to keep people moving (or happy, or “healthy”) when you’re making money off them once they’re sick?

Anyway, thanks for this one! Excited to read the other responses.

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