People are awesome

Love it! Some of those people are mad...but makes you think get out there and give things a go!

Oh MamaMia, couldn't agree with you more - people ARE awesome. But not only the 62 blokes and 4 ladies in that clip (3 of them gymnasts, and 1 little lady parking her bike).

Just finished an insightful Sociology subject, one of the topics being sport. Historically, women have been excluded from sport, reflecting the broader exclusion of Us from much of Life. Apparently we do this to ourselves as it's very much in our nature to accept the 'dominant culture' in whatever form it takes.
Hmmmmmm.
Know you know what I'm talking about here, as the dominant culture, in the media, sports and biz, is ferocious at times.
But I'm sure trying to rectify that as I know you and others are too.

The Australian Sports Commission did a study in the mid-90's into coverage in the media of Women in sport (my lecturer states is largely unchanged today):
TV = 2%
Radio = 1.4%
Newspaper = 10.7%
Sports mags = 6.8%
(and one of the programs back then dedicated a wonderful *she says facetiously* 15 secs to Women's sport YET 6 minutes to guinea pig racing). Further, in newspapers and sports mags, women are generally placed on the bottom of the page or on the last page (not to mention the vocabulary often used when describing women's performance is just borderline atrocious at best, and a guy's poor sporting performance has been previosuly described as being that of a "girl"). Hrrrmphh.

Coming from a sporting family - world champion risk-taking extreme sport brother (and a radical show-off) - I'd taken up a quasi "extreme" sport myself - nothing competitive, just not the run-of-the-mill. Costly yes (waaaay too much mainly bcs my less 20% than the average male wage that women in Australia earn apparently doesn't allow me to enjoy life 25% more bringing me up to parity with the guys). Anyway, the sport is personally challenging yes. Absolutely exhausting yes. But a big check in with myself, marvelling about the reality of how little I really am/what my problems are in the bigger scheme of life - Absolutely.
Makes you realise how spec life is and how gender shouldn't but does stand in the way.
Then again it's in my genes to challenge conventional ideals: parents, back in their day, were 'risk-taking' snow skiers and early pioneers of the sport here - incl a bit of jumping).

Mamamia, I'd like to ask, being right here on the cusp of 2011, why can't we be highlighting the ladies out there who ARE doing their thing - their dynamic, incredible, inspiring, challenging thing - whatever it is? Be it in sport, politics, engineering, industry, business - those realms traditonally domiciled to guys just because they've previously been seen as areas supporting "the natural order". No matter who, where, when, how or why they get such longitude and leverage to participate in life and be their awesome selves, women somehow always get sidelined or placated with a token 4/62 or 15 secs. The maths says we're worth 6%. *Sigh*

Here's Karina Nowlan - an Aussie World-Record holder (I think she's only about 21 now) - her sporting and physical talent is inspiring for plenty, guys included:
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

and women jumping for a cause (some of them Aussies, and plenty of them are team world-record holders):
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

and Australia's Fiona Horne in this VERTICAL world record:
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

and Torah Bright snowboarding her heart out - grounded yet uplifting personality to boot:
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

and Steph Davis, climber and wingsuit jumper:
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
- and I dare you to watch - off the Eiger in Switzerland - INCREDIBLE!
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

My point - if women are given the same opportunities in our society (lauding, funding, media - what comes first, the chicken or the egg?) we can be as awesome and wonderful as the people in the clip above.

We already are, it's just the disproportion and sidelining that challenges me.

Rant over.