The first thought I had when reading this was, “We need to be teaching this book in journalism schools and education schools.” Along with many other books about the body (“Trans Like Me” comes to mind) that help us see how the stories we are telling about the body shape our culture and curriculum, which then re-shapes our bodies. I went to an excellent J school and then an excellent MEd program, but my training in reading studies in both was cursory—I too flip to the “conclusions” without necessarily being able to analyze the methods. This then influences how I write a story or design curricula, which then shapes how other people see their bodies. I’m so glad this training is available through further professional development but it really should be 101-level content for anyone who needs to do critical thinking not only on their own behalf but for readers and/or students if their own.
Caroline Criado Perez's book INVISIBLE WOMEN addresses this as well, for example: Women are 70% more likely to sustain life threatening injuries in motor vehicle crashes because automobile manufacturers only use dummies with male weight distribution patterns. And on and on. The world has been designed for male safety and comfort. How did Brittney Griner end up in Russia in the first place? Because female athletes are paid so much less than their male counterparts, they pick up contracts in other countries to supplement their income.
From a health perspective, all the help I've gotten in managing menstrual problems has come from crowdsourcing advice from thousands of other sufferers online. The changes I saw were dramatic and immediate. Advice I got from physicians (women providers included) was basic and unhelpful.
I don’t know if this is covered in the book, but I would love to read more about why fat people aren’t included in research (except studies on how to make us less fat). 70% of the US is some form of plus size, so it’s just wild to me that basic shit like health and safety procedures, medications, almost everything just… pretends we don’t exist. How on earth can you say you’re doing good science if your results only apply to a small part of the population? Are people trying to include fat people in their studies and getting shot down, or do they just not consider it at all? So curious!
Growing up a fat person in the 90s, the culture was so toxic to me. I loved running and playing as a kid, but suddenly when I became a fat teenager, I was the recipient of comments. If I ran faster or jumped higher than other body types, I was unbelievable, amazing, performing despite my body. If I wasn’t as flexible, it was my body holding me back. Boys received the most coaching, athletic bodied girls who could compete received some and plus size figures received none. I only discovered in my 40s how much I live moving and often think about how much of my previous attitude to exercise, that it was a punishment rather than a joy, came from my environment. In fact how much was my eating disorder caused by these judgements about what my body was capable of? I’m glad attitudes are changing but I think about how even now, thicker athletes are scrutinized despite their performance.
This book BLEW MY MIND. I was truly so shocked at how much researchers have prioritized men in their research, and how much I had taken as a matter of course that women were essentially just small men so that was fine. I know this book was specifically about exercise and sports and physical health, but it really got me thinking about the meds available for mental health treatment (and really how we treat illnesses in general) and made me realize there's a darn good chance these same biases are at play there too. Is there a completely different way we should be treating women with [fill in the blank with your chronic condition] versus men? Has anyone ever bothered to ask?
The first thing I thought when I began reading was, “Funding. It’s this way because studies for women get a fraction of the funding that those for men receive.” This is paramount in explaining the modern disparity. To put it simply, findings about male athletes can be monetized in far greater ways than those about female athletes, simply because professional sports are so dominated by men. (I’m including Olympic competitions in my definition of pro sports.) While the female sports infrastructure is growing, it is dwarfed by the male athletics economy.
I'm so glad you spotlighted Christine Yu and did this Q&A. I loved her book and hope more people, especially male coaches and fathers of sporty girls, read it. On my to-read list is a book that overlaps a bit: "Eve: How the female body drove 200 million years of human evolution" by Cat Bohannon. I heard a great NPR Fresh Air interview with her; reading this Q&A makes me want to bump up that other book on my list to read more on female anatomy and research.
currently working on a drug study expanding to pregnant and lactating women!!! it is both very exciting, and exhausting thinking about doing this in 2024! we have really historically sucked at this!
Thank you for this! As a long-time recreational participant in endurance sports who is in the throes of premature menopause, these topics are on my mind A LOT. There is so much information out there that just feels intuitively wrong, and yet, it's hard to find any proof to back it up outside our own anecdotes.
Also, my head exploded over the ski jumping bit ... what???
Very interested in this topic, and in reading the recommendations. I had an electronic loop recorder (a small heart monitor) installation go seriously awry years back (removal was not fun, either) and since I was awake and aware, I can attest that it was because the device is commonly installed on older men with loose skin, not people with breast tissue.
@Anne Helen Petersen If you have a body, read this. If you are a woman with a body, definitely read this. And, if you believe in science but you're not a scientist, you have to read this.
Such an important topic! I still feel the effects of disordered eating that started with comments about my weight as a child and were significantly aggravated by competing in sports in high school, specifically while rowing in a "lightweight" group (130lb or lower). We had weekly weigh-ins where our weight was logged in a notebook, and since our periods frequently caused a few pounds of weight gain, we had a code word to give our male coach (presumably because it was taboo to just say it out loud). Disordered eating was overlooked by coaches and sometimes even encouraged. Our men's team did not have this weight class!
Coincidentally, a friend sent me this study for women who participate in sports/working out at least 3 hours per week. It's about the effects of hormones on athletes. Anybody can do the survey and those in the UK can be part of a more in-depth study.
The first thought I had when reading this was, “We need to be teaching this book in journalism schools and education schools.” Along with many other books about the body (“Trans Like Me” comes to mind) that help us see how the stories we are telling about the body shape our culture and curriculum, which then re-shapes our bodies. I went to an excellent J school and then an excellent MEd program, but my training in reading studies in both was cursory—I too flip to the “conclusions” without necessarily being able to analyze the methods. This then influences how I write a story or design curricula, which then shapes how other people see their bodies. I’m so glad this training is available through further professional development but it really should be 101-level content for anyone who needs to do critical thinking not only on their own behalf but for readers and/or students if their own.
Caroline Criado Perez's book INVISIBLE WOMEN addresses this as well, for example: Women are 70% more likely to sustain life threatening injuries in motor vehicle crashes because automobile manufacturers only use dummies with male weight distribution patterns. And on and on. The world has been designed for male safety and comfort. How did Brittney Griner end up in Russia in the first place? Because female athletes are paid so much less than their male counterparts, they pick up contracts in other countries to supplement their income.
From a health perspective, all the help I've gotten in managing menstrual problems has come from crowdsourcing advice from thousands of other sufferers online. The changes I saw were dramatic and immediate. Advice I got from physicians (women providers included) was basic and unhelpful.
I don’t know if this is covered in the book, but I would love to read more about why fat people aren’t included in research (except studies on how to make us less fat). 70% of the US is some form of plus size, so it’s just wild to me that basic shit like health and safety procedures, medications, almost everything just… pretends we don’t exist. How on earth can you say you’re doing good science if your results only apply to a small part of the population? Are people trying to include fat people in their studies and getting shot down, or do they just not consider it at all? So curious!
Growing up a fat person in the 90s, the culture was so toxic to me. I loved running and playing as a kid, but suddenly when I became a fat teenager, I was the recipient of comments. If I ran faster or jumped higher than other body types, I was unbelievable, amazing, performing despite my body. If I wasn’t as flexible, it was my body holding me back. Boys received the most coaching, athletic bodied girls who could compete received some and plus size figures received none. I only discovered in my 40s how much I live moving and often think about how much of my previous attitude to exercise, that it was a punishment rather than a joy, came from my environment. In fact how much was my eating disorder caused by these judgements about what my body was capable of? I’m glad attitudes are changing but I think about how even now, thicker athletes are scrutinized despite their performance.
This book BLEW MY MIND. I was truly so shocked at how much researchers have prioritized men in their research, and how much I had taken as a matter of course that women were essentially just small men so that was fine. I know this book was specifically about exercise and sports and physical health, but it really got me thinking about the meds available for mental health treatment (and really how we treat illnesses in general) and made me realize there's a darn good chance these same biases are at play there too. Is there a completely different way we should be treating women with [fill in the blank with your chronic condition] versus men? Has anyone ever bothered to ask?
The first thing I thought when I began reading was, “Funding. It’s this way because studies for women get a fraction of the funding that those for men receive.” This is paramount in explaining the modern disparity. To put it simply, findings about male athletes can be monetized in far greater ways than those about female athletes, simply because professional sports are so dominated by men. (I’m including Olympic competitions in my definition of pro sports.) While the female sports infrastructure is growing, it is dwarfed by the male athletics economy.
I'm so glad you spotlighted Christine Yu and did this Q&A. I loved her book and hope more people, especially male coaches and fathers of sporty girls, read it. On my to-read list is a book that overlaps a bit: "Eve: How the female body drove 200 million years of human evolution" by Cat Bohannon. I heard a great NPR Fresh Air interview with her; reading this Q&A makes me want to bump up that other book on my list to read more on female anatomy and research.
currently working on a drug study expanding to pregnant and lactating women!!! it is both very exciting, and exhausting thinking about doing this in 2024! we have really historically sucked at this!
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/10/the-superhero-in-the-vagina/503720/ Also some cool work on the vaginal microbiome and how drug delivery is so different with lady parts!
Thank you for this! As a long-time recreational participant in endurance sports who is in the throes of premature menopause, these topics are on my mind A LOT. There is so much information out there that just feels intuitively wrong, and yet, it's hard to find any proof to back it up outside our own anecdotes.
Also, my head exploded over the ski jumping bit ... what???
Very interested in this topic, and in reading the recommendations. I had an electronic loop recorder (a small heart monitor) installation go seriously awry years back (removal was not fun, either) and since I was awake and aware, I can attest that it was because the device is commonly installed on older men with loose skin, not people with breast tissue.
@Anne Helen Petersen If you have a body, read this. If you are a woman with a body, definitely read this. And, if you believe in science but you're not a scientist, you have to read this.
Absolutely adored Christine Yu's book and so excited to see her and her work featured here!!
This is all just so infuriating.
Such an important topic! I still feel the effects of disordered eating that started with comments about my weight as a child and were significantly aggravated by competing in sports in high school, specifically while rowing in a "lightweight" group (130lb or lower). We had weekly weigh-ins where our weight was logged in a notebook, and since our periods frequently caused a few pounds of weight gain, we had a code word to give our male coach (presumably because it was taboo to just say it out loud). Disordered eating was overlooked by coaches and sometimes even encouraged. Our men's team did not have this weight class!
Such an important post!
Coincidentally, a friend sent me this study for women who participate in sports/working out at least 3 hours per week. It's about the effects of hormones on athletes. Anybody can do the survey and those in the UK can be part of a more in-depth study.
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=_oivH5ipW0yTySEKEdmlwr6JlyZkN7pDkZuOYkM2cxJUOFhaQkFBMFVDVUw0T05IQUc5V1lZSVVKUC4u
It's already mentioned below but "Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution" is a great companion for this conversation.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/227568/eve-by-cat-bohannon/
Enjoyed her on this podcast earlier this year:
https://www.conspirituality.net/episodes/190-females-drive-evolution-cat-bohannon