International Women’s Day 2020

As it’s International Women’s Day I wanted to recommend this book by Anna Kessel who was awarded an MBE for services to journalism and women in sport. She is Telegraph’s women’s sports editor and the cofounder of ‘Women in Football’ ⚽️ I found this book a fascinating study into the relationship between women and sport and what particularly resonated with me was her discussion around girls growing up and some of the stereotypes surrounding girls and sport. I think a lot of women in their middle age grew up like I did with very little encouragement to participate in sports and exercise which was something that only those girls that excelled in sport could do. Although things have moved on a lot I think there is still a tendency to brand children as sporty or not sporty and to focus on the sporty kids – as Anna says ‘this would not be allowed to happen in any other curriculum subject. A teacher would be obliged to help you learn, to help you to improve …’ I think that feeling of not being good at sport can stay with you as you grow up and can leave you with a negative attitude towards sport and fitness, which can be a challenge to overcome.
Anna’s observations on women and sport are extremely thought provoking and a really interesting read.
Let me know what you think if you get a chance to read it. ?