Can we talk about how I'm short, brown, fat, and how I love playing sports and working out?
I've never fit the mold of what people perceive as "athletic." I probably never will. When I was in high school and playing tennis, basketball, or football every day, my doctor told me that I would die if I didn't lose weight (imagine saying that to a 15-year-old girl...). This was without running any sort of test on me. Just one glance and boom: death sentence. Did he know I played sports every day and that I carried a lot of muscle? No. Did he listen when I tried to explain it to him? Also no.
For a long time, this messed with my brain. Thankfully, I had strong coaches who told me to ignore the negativity and helped foster a love for physical activity and exercise, regardless of how I look.
Here are 5 books that are doing the work of smashing the stereotype of what makes an athlete.
by Martinus Evans
Like me, Martinus Evans's doctor told him he was going to die if he didn't lose weight. He defied those expectations and went on to train for a marathon. Anyone can be a runner if they want to be one. You know what makes a person a runner? They run. They don't have to be thin or run fast. They just have to run. This is a great introductory guide to all things running if you don't know where to start.
by Meg Boggs
Meg Boggs's open letter to the fitness industry calls for inclusion. She wants them to include "[a]ll of us. People of every size, shape, and color." This isn't something we should have to ask for. And yet, there are gym goers who continue to ridicule fat people, BIPOC runners are discriminated against, and transpeople have been barred from using locker rooms. It is no wonder that we find it hard to love ourselves when the world seems to hate us for simply existing.
edited by Justice Williams, Roc Rochon, and Lawrence Koval
I'm an Exercise Science major and I'll be the first to admit that this book starts off a bit academic. Skip the intro. Go back to it later... Start with "How My Fatness Helped Me Reclaim My Power and Tell My Story." Each chapter reads like an essay, interconnected with those before and after, and is full of first-hand accounts and perspectives from those of us who have been marginalized by the fitness industry. It is powerful reading.
by Christine Yu
Women competing in sports is nothing new — women competed at Wimbledon in 1884 wearing corsets that left them bleeding. In recent memory, more women are playing sports than ever before, but sports science is only just now realizing that women are not smaller, lesser versions of men. There's a lot that we need to do to close the gender gap that exists in sports and this book is a great start. I wish this book existed when I was in high school.
by Summer Michaud Skog
Fat Girls Hiking is a community that started because fat girls and marginalized people needed a safe space just so that they could enjoy nature. Fatphobia and anti-fatness are real things and people are excluded, harassed, and bullied because they have a body that others don't agree with. I love that this book gives a few reviews on trails, including ADA accessibility and whether there are bathrooms. I also appreciated the honest reflections on how to "do your business" in nature.