... or at least significantly changed. "Women's" gymnastics is child abuse.
... or at least significantly changed.…
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
Why Gymnastics Should Be Banned - Comments Page 2
... or at least significantly changed. "Women's" gymnastics is child abuse.
... or at least significantly changed.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments26 - bri
gymnastics does stunt a gymnasts highth, if the gymnast is serious and is starving herself.
if the child is not eating then she's not getting the nutrience to grow.
sometimes this even stops the production of estrogen, therefore stopping menstral cycle, for girls.
27 - Lau
There is no need to worry about recreational gymnastics stunting growth or delaying puberty or anything as the training is simply no where near the level of elite gymnasts.
however as an ex-elite gymnast myself who trained almost 30 hours a week from the age of 7 to 15, it was obvious that the hard training did actually delay puberty. When i quit gymnastics due to injury, i found that my growth caught up with that of my friends. Also, when training i was very underweight even though i had a muscely physique- this was not due to me starving myself; and I also never knew any gymnast who did that even though i was friends with very many also being trained for the olympics. I actually ate two dinners every night because i always came home from training starving. It was obviously the hard conditioning which pushed you to your limits everyday that burned off all the calories you ate which caused us gymnasts to have next to no body fat.
Many people believe that gymnastics stunts height however, even though it delays puberty many of the taller gymnasts drop out at a younger age as it is not as natural for them to perform the moves- so gymnasts are small due to natural selection.
28 - A.E.S
This article is totally dumb. Gymnasts should be able to do anything they want just like other athletes can. And if boys can do it, so can girls. If people love it, you can't stop them from making their dreams come true.
29 - Wendi
I think you may all be missing the point...
I was a competitive gymnast for 10 years. By the time I was 12 I was working out around 25 hours a week. The problem is not the hours working out as much as the extreme stress it causes the body. As a competitive gymnast, you are EXPECTED to work through any pain, even when you have serious injuries. This is TERRIBLE for a growing prepubecent body.
Many girls in my gym broke bones, but didn't find out until days or weeks later. And until they had evidence from a doctor, they were forced to keep practicing. I practiced AND competed on a broken ankle for 3 months. They teach you to not feel pain, when pain is the body's mechanism for telling you something's wrong.
As for the stunted growth and slowed puberty, these are fairly serious problems. The body doesn't need two things in order to survive: to grow and to keep up sexual reproduction. So when these girls are eating less and working out for hours on end, their bodies actually think they're DYING, so they shut off the two mechanisms not necessary for living. That fact alone should be terrifying! Who wants their children's bodies reacting to exercise like that?
Since I have quit gymnastics (about 12 years), I have many many surgeries to try and compensate for the severe damage I did to my body. By the age of 18 I had arthritis in many of my joints due to tearing the cartlidge apart in gymnastics.
Sure I had a smile on my face a lot of the time, but it's because they made me think that all kids deal with the same issues in other sports. They teach you to think that injuring yourself and working through extreme pain is normal. That is dangerous things to teach children, and has only led me to more severe injuries.
Overall, I believe gymnastics is not at all healthy for young girls, mentally and physically. I wish everyday that I would have realized the effects it would have on me today. But they don't tell you that at practice.
30 - Niki
well im a gymnast myself.I hate how people are trying to stop gymnastics. It' a great sport.The reason i do gymnastics is for fun.If you want to take your daughter out then go ahead and destroy there dreams!!!!!!Gymnastics is my dream and my mom tried to get me to quit but i won't because i love it.Think about it . If you were doing something you loved and you had to quit because of your mom or an injury wouldnt you be mad?I know i work out a long time and some people ask why am i wasting my childhood on this sport i say because im not wasting it im living it.This is my dream.Some people arent cut out for it but its a fun sport.It's how I express myself.I may miss alot of fun stuff but this sport is totally worth it!!!!!!!I get injuries a lot.I've sprained my ankles 4 times and ut doesnt stop me.I'm scared of a lot of things,I've strdled the beam once and flew off the bar 4 times but i will over come my fears.
31 - Jennie
I coach gymnasts in Ireland, our training is nothing like as intensive as training in the US or China. my top competitive gymnasts train for 6 hours a week and they are happy and healthy!
Gymnastics is much harder for taller people but that doesn't mean that they don't enjoy it as much as everyone else. We have a display group that the gymnasts go into after artistic and they perform at festivals all over the world even when they're in their 20s!
32 - lisa
gymnastics is fantastic if you dont wanna do it then dont if you had a brain wouldnt u think of that??????????????????????????????????????
you are such a dimwit!! how dum are you??????
from someone you definetly dont want to know!!!!
33 - lisa
im sorry i just could resist to send you another comment!! well here it is.......
STUFF YOU!!
34 - allison
Why gymnastics? If you love the sport, then why are people discouraging gymnasts from doing what they love? Why not football, soccer, baseball, or cheerleading,
Im pretty tall and I do gymnastics. Is there something wrong with that? I have tall friends who do it with me. Its not like we arent cappable of doing this.
35 - rebecca
They should not banned gymnastics just because of how chins girls are trained. That is just stupid. Im pretty sure there are other sports in the world where they are trained very hard. Its not just gymnastics. And its not true that their growths have been stunted. look at Americas national team right now, they look fine. Obviously not much knowledge about gymnastics or its needs to train were not known prior to writing this very untrue atricle
36 - pj
gymnastics is all about passion. if you love then great. everything is worth it if you want it. i love gymnastics and compete because i want to. noone should be able to tell me that i cant do it any more.
37 - M.J
Im a 22 yr old male gymnast training 30 hours a week. I love gaining strength, skills and pushing the boundaries of my body and will continue until Im no.1. The best part of my day is when Im in a gym training.
38 - gymgal
ok as a gymnast i think you should look at some other clubs!!
not all clubs are like that
sure a lot are competitive and we try hard to win and we are pushed to our limits but we are not pushed beoynd what is safe we are taught how to do everything safely and if we are usafe we get help or dont do it untill we have done some lead-ups and a lot of clubs also provide a recreational class for children who wish to go along just to have fun and not be to serious.
at my club we have fun we joke around but we also train hard.
we train to win because we want to and that is what we want
some clubs do have strct training reigimes but so do a lot of other sports.
i is recomended now by the gymnastics association that children on lvls 4-7 only train up to 20 hours per week.
surly other sports do just as much
if we are injured we are allowed to just do what dosent hurt us untill our injurys are healed.
and as for growth a lot of gymnasts are selected as levels gymnast BECAUSE THEY ARE SMALL not the other way around and if u are worried about our weight i maintain a healthy diet which is one of the most important things gymnastics has taught me
i am not annorexic i eat when i am hungry and i choose good foods to eat.
occasionally i do eat bad stuff and i dont feel to bad i understand that some times foods are okay sometimes or lese they would be called never foods
i have a great group of friends at my gmy we go out together and have sleepovers and participate in a normal teenage life.
we love our sport and it is our passion!!!!
y would you stop us doin it
would you stop footballers doin football because they are getting hurt when they are tackled no ppl dont. y?????
is it because they are men?????
who cares wimen can be just as tough
and it is called wimens gymnastics for a reason
we act like adults we make our own decisions with in reason in the gym we have responsibilitty to make sure we are doin our training to the best of our ability and we are sensible with that responsibility. we still have fun as kids out side gym but in gym we are gymnasts in WIMENS gymnastics.
gymnastics has several good things that it teaches its gymnasts
1)self diciplin
2)self motivation
3)self respect
4)respect for others
5)time managment
6)a healthy life style
7)good eating habbits
8)it actually helps us sleep at night
9) with sleeping at night comes better performance in school
10)provides us with positive friends for life
11)good job refrences
12)future job oppertunintys e.g coaching
13)keeps us buisy so we arnt off getting high or sumthin
14) injury managment
and i could keep goin and goin
i understand that as with all sports some clubs are not treating its athleats the right way but a lot DO
ballerinas a super flexible does that mean bellet should be banned?
We love our sport and the government is always encouraging children to get more exercise and now u wanna ban it??
so it dosent matter if the 32000 competitive gymnasts in my state plus all the other non competitive gymnasts loose the sport they love??
we wouldnt do it if it was so horrible
DONT BAN GYMNASTICS
if u dont like it dont do it!!!!
i love it and i will continue doing it
39 - gymgal
whoops i didnt realise that was so long
i love my sport so much that i can ramble on for hours
gym has been my sport since i was 1 and doin kindi gym
i started competitive at the age of 5
i still love it ok it is difficult and scary but that is what it is
should we give up because it is hard ?
is that what you want to teach the next generation? the generation who will be the next leaders?
all the girls at my gym are there bacause they love it
we talk about gym all the time (as wel as the normal teenage stuff like the really cute boys in our math class) we sit and watch the olympics to gether and complain when they dont show enough gym
we dont aim for perfection just the best that we can be because we knoe that nobody is perfect
we set goals and feel like we have acomplished something when we reach them
my team is the greatest and so is gymnastic
(whoops sorry rambling agin)
im short and i know it but so is my mum and she didnt do gymnastics and some of my team are normal hight and they do just as well as the short ones
we dance we laugh (a lot) and we generally have fun being gymnasts
if we fall we just laugh and try again
we scare our selves and that is the whole fun of it if it wasnt scary or hard it wouldnt be a sport there would be no point of it
gymnasts dont fall off the beam!!!
like others do
we have been trained to fall so it is safe
if we get in trouble it is usually because we did something unsafe
and when we get in trouble our coaches speak to us
they treat us like gymnasts, not kids, gymnast
they respect us and we respect them
we respect each other in a mutural respect for our sport
(sorry i ramble a lot dont i? at least you can see gymnastics dosent stop us from talking lol.)
im sorry those who dont like gymnastics it is really unfortunate that u miss out on this truly amazing sport.
oh and for all those who think gymnasts are short!!!!!
we stand taller than you ever did even if we are only 5 foot.
40 - Emily
I would just like to say that I think that many of the people commenting on this site have no clue what they are talking about. I am a gymnast myself, so I know all about the sport.
First of all, gymnastics DOES NOT stunt growth. The reason that many people believe so is because SHORTER GYMNASTS GENERALLY GO FARTHER IN GYMNASTICS. This is because your center of gravity is lower, therefore making it easier to flip yourself around.
Second of all, gymnasts ARE pushed their limits very often. However, it is their choice to remain in the sport. They know that that is the sacrifice they are willing to make to be a good gymnast. They COULD quit if they wanted to. As for competing and training on broken bones, they choose not to see a doctor. They could if they really wanted to, it is just that they choose to take being their best over doing what is best for their bodies. Often times that is just the "competitive spirit" that us gymnasts have grown up with.
Third, girls do gymnastics because they want to, not because they have to. By their teenage years, they know what "real life" is like, and let me tell you, it is not one that has a gymnast's training schedule. They know this, but they choose to live the gymnastics life in pursuit of perfection.
Fourth, it's debateable whether or not gymnastics slows puberty. I think it also depends on the person. I think that ANY athelete that trains around 15 hours per week will naturally mature slower.
Fifth, the reason that their is an age difference between men's and women's gymnastics is because of the age where each sex reaches their peak. Men start and finish puberty later than women, so their atheletic peak comes later on in life. Their body can handle the stress of the sport for much longer.
Sixth, many people talked about all of the injuries from the sport. Well, I could name MANY more "activities" that are much more dangerous. Do you think driving should be banned? I mean, we don't HAVE to drive. Or do you think that swimming in the ocean should be banned? We don't HAVE to do that either. Both of those things are probably as or more dangerous than gymnastics. That is how ridiculous it sounds to say that gymnastics should be banned.
Gymnastics is a fun, competitive sport that also teaches discipline and behavior. It is also a good way to prevent obesity and give people a good workout.
So,next time you diss a sport, make sure that all of your facts are correct. Or even ask someone who knows a little more about it than you.
41 - Rachael
Ok, just a couple of comments. Firstly, Oksana Chusovitina now competes for Germany and is 31 (nearly 32) years old, is a mother and still wins medals on individual apparatus, mainly the vault so that completely wipes out your comments about age.
Secondly, tall gymnasts can also do well. Svetlana Boginskia was 5' 4" tall and she did amazingly well competitively as did Svetlana Khorkina who was also tall, not sure how tall but probably about the same height.
So there!
42 - Rachael
Ok, just looked it up - Svetlana Khorkina was actually 5' 5" which is the average height that the average female will grow to. She also competed until she was 25!
43 - alessandro Nicolo
Is Mary Lou Retton still around?
44 - gymfreak
obviously you have never been to a gymnastics center or talked to a gymnast before.
gym is: my world
my life
my dream
my balance
my swing
my power
my beat
my spotlight
my story
and I like it that way!
We arent just freaks who never experiance anything in life and are out to destroy our bodies. We work so hard for so many things that many normal kids will never experiance. We have disipline, dedication, determination, and drive.
As for those parents who are afraid to let their kids do gymnastics. They shouldnt be held back from something they want to do. They wont get shorter or have an eating disorder or any of that bs. In fact they will grow strong, sterdier women who will have an amazig talent that makes them unique and sets them apart from the rest of the world.
thank you
45 - nicky
i love gymnastics and i know it can be very dangerous but i do not want it to be band...gymnastics is my life, im not the best out of all at it but i am 13 and i love it very much. please do not band gymnastics!
46 - Annie Grinnel
Gymnastics is a wonderful sport, I started when I was 12 which is a very old age to start and it was hard. I worked very hard and got on the team the next year. I love this sport and it taught me how to overcome obstacles like age. Also I have a question for Natalie Bennet, have you ever taken gymnastics??? cause if not then you should not be talking cause you havent really experienced it.
47 - india
Ok, I get what your saying. Im thriteen years old and Im a gymnast. I dont particularly enjoy working out 30 hours a week, but hey, that what we're signed up for. And for girls to be able to go the Olympics they have to be 16 or turning 16 that year. And if you did gymnastics when you were older (like 26 or 27) it would be become much to difficult. Most people retire once they turn 18 or 20. As for the pain thing, thats what gymnastics is, its basically, blood sweat and tears. Its not an easy sport, but a lot of people like it. Theres nothing you can do to change that.
48 - lisa
i didn't even bother finish reading all of this but had to comment. i was a gymnast for over 10 years. i'm 5'9'' and always weighed around 135 at this height. i wasn't petit and i was still good. granted i wasn't olympic bound, it wasn't what i wanted. i mean, i don't know how it is for these other girls but i worked out up to 30 hours a week and loved it. sometimes you struggle, sometimes it hurts, but mostly every day is a great demonstration of what you can achieve. when a coach is standing on your toes so that you can have the perfect point, it's a temporary pain that makes the performance so much better. nothing is better than feeling prepared for a meet. and the peak age for gymnasts is very young, but you can't live your life comparing yourself to the others around you. its going to drive you crazy in anything, not just gymnastics. i mean its the same when you're a 20 yr old in a 40 yr old persons job. people will be critical but you just have to be in your own state of mind and let it rule your life. bottom line is if you have a passion for something put everything you got into it. if you don't, okay, don't do gymnastics.
and bottom line too is most gymnasts HAVE to eat, otherwise they can't make it through a workout. i know eating disorders are all the rage, but the real athletes can't do that. they would faint after like a week of not eating and working out.
49 - I LOVE GYMNASTICS
YOU have no idea what you are talking about- how about writing an article when you actually know what your talking about!
1) you have to be 16 to compete in the olympics..so your main point is shot!
Gymnastics is an amazing sport. I started when I was 3, and am now 21 and coaching it. I love the sport- and it serves as a great developmental tool for children!
SO how about you dont rip apart this sport. IDIOT
50 - Shay
first of all.. a lot of people, including me LOVE gymnastics. it is the most amazing sport out there. you have no clue what your talking about. just because china girls are trained wrong doesnt mean gymnastics should be banned. and being judged on your preformance is like the whole point of gymnastics.. what do you think we just practice 30 hours a week for nothing? we practice to GET GOOD to PUSH OURSELVES to be the BEST THAT WE CAN. just cuz the china girls can't do that doesnt mean gymnastics is bad okay!!!! and if you knew anything you would know that you have to be 16 to be in the olympics.. and if the china girls think its so hard and they cant do it then why dont they just quit and stop doing it. some people actually like it.
51 - GYMFAN
I think all of you have missed the point of the article. The training practices that are what is in question here not the sport. In the sport you must be flexible agreed,? but does it take a coach or a team mate standing on you back or pulling your leg into unnatural positions to make you flexible?
I would think not. I say don't bann the sport but do bann abusive training practices that are sometimes used.
52 - Danielle
Gymnastics means the world to me and if it was banned id be crushed!
all ive wanted to do since the age of 3 is be a gymnast but due to the lack of money and the fact we have no car to get places has held me back.
Now i have to settle for a recreational gymanstics club that i joined 2 years ago and only train for 1 hour because we cant afford any thing else.
Many times ive cried myself to sleep at night because i know ... no matter how hard i try i wont be succesful becuase im 13 already.
But still gymnastics means more to me than words can say. So before you go about saying it should be banned think about it ... the way me and a hell of a lot of gymnasts feel when we tumble or perform is impossible to put into words.
xxxx
53 - laura
You cannot compare mens gymnastics with womans gymnastics by any means. Gymnastics is not child abuse unless the sport is forced upon the child, which is not usually the case. Many girls/woman make the decision to take gymnastics. I have been doing it for sixteen years and have been competing for eight of those years. I have also been a gymnastics coach for three and a half years. These children make the decision to continue the sport. The age limit for competing in the olympics is not 12! Many gymnasts may look younger than they really are. I have sophmores in high school asking me what grade I am in. But i guess that will be a good thing when I am old. Anyway it upsets me when people say that gymnastics should be banned, especially when they have no experience in the sport. How can people argue about that when they dont even have personal experience with it and dont know the real facts about the sport. If people do decide to argue about it then they should at least research it more and GET THEIR FACTS STRAIGHT!!!! And if you think that gymnastics is a harsh sport then you haven't look into other sports!
54 - Justin Slife
Sports don't abuse children...people do.
55 - Coach
Well the author of this article is a complete and total idiot.
56 - gym dad
well for starters we should have a little background on what shaped natalie's opion. it is very obvious to any one involved in the sport that natalie is extremely misinformed. not sure if natalie even has children but either way she is very bitter about a sport she doesn't understand. i am a parent of a 14 year old level 10 gymnast. she has been in the sport since the age of 3...by her choice. she took dance and it was not active enough for her. she tried gymnastics and has stuck with it. if she were not happy or would ever want to quit we would support her decision.
over the years my wife and i have discovered that the majority of athletes involved in the sport also excel academically. these girls are achievers who learn self-esteem, teamwork, confidence, time management and leadership skills through their involvment in the sport. they are stronger and more fit then their school counterparts. they will excel at whtever endeavor they choose, whether scolastically or sports wise.
as in any endeavor there is always room for abuses and also for improvement. gymnastics is not immune to individuals who abuse their power.
in regards to the age...many girls go on to continue their careers collegitely. and the olympics...only 7 girls make the squad every 4 years so it is not a realistic option for the majority of competitors.
comparing the mens and womens programs is unfair. men and women develop differently and on a different schedule and the individual programs demand a totally different set of requirements from their participants.
our daughter is a well rounded great kid who gets up each day looking forward to going to the gym. she is currently 5'1" tall and weighs 105 lbs. a body time determined by her genetics and not her sport.
natlie...i would like for you to now read my own personal blogs on "why museums are a waste of tax payers money", london the scum of scums" and "feminists, the scrounge of the human race". but please be fore warned...i know absolutely nothing on any of these subjets. sounds familiar doesn't it??
57 - Andrea
obviously this lady is stupid. she couldn't of done any research for this article and probably went off of what she heard about gymnastics in the 70's. look at the gymnasts that are staying around past 16, chellsie memmel and alicia sacramone are 20, oksana chusovitina is 37! there are many others who are staying in it for much longer. gymnastics teaches many life lessons, why else do most gymnasts have 4.0 GPA's??? it's a proven fact. although she must not know that since she didn't research. there's much more i could go on with, but she obviously doesn't like the facts and goes with fiction.
58 - christina
okay i have been in this sport for fifty years...while extreme as your article is ....it is also just as extreme in every sport at the 1% top level...gymnastics is one of the healthest feel good fun sports around bar none....you should not write about something with no information
59 - Jess
If you are going to critize the sport at least do some homework first! Gymnasts have to be at least 16 years old to compete at the Olympic or World Championship level. There is an exception that rule where the year preceding the Olympic year you could compete at 15.
60 - Geoffrey Taucer
The author of this article is very clearly completely misinformed, and did not do her homework before writing this.
First of all, the flat factual errors.
-Girls under 16 are not allowed to compete in the olympics.
-Girls are not "washed out" by 16 or 18: ever heard of college gymnastics? Just because the Olympics are where gymnastics recieves the most publicity does not mean it is the only thing to which girls aspire.
-Diet: perhaps there are a few psychotic coaches and parents out there who restrict their kids diet, but these are the extreme cases, not the norm. There are overdriven psychos involved in every sport.
This entire article seems to be written under one assumption which is so utterly off-base that one has to wonder whether the author did the slightest amount of research beforehand at all; that is, the assumption that the Olympics and the World Championships are the ONLY competitions to which a gymnast can aspire.
This is utterly untrue. At my gym -- and I believe many, if not most gyms operate this way -- our goal is not to send these girls to the olympics; that is not what we are shooting for at all. Our goal is twofold. First, we want these girls to benefit from the experience; if/when they quit gymnastics, we want them to leave as stronger, more disciplined, and more confident individuals than they would otherwise have been. Second, we hope that those girls who stick with the sport through highschool will be able to get gymnastics scholarships.
Please do your homework before attacking a sport about which you clearly know nothing at all.
61 - Mercedes
execuse me,
As a gymnast and as a coach, I believe that many of you are not well informed. I agree that in some country there is mistreatment. BUT, there are many other storie's,like in russia and other european country many gymnast are saved from lives on the street because of their willingness to train AND do what they love,
If you go to any gym in any state in the united states and canada, and ask a child, do you hate gymnastics or do your coaches push you to hard. The awer would be no. Most kids live to go to the gym. We coaches live to teach and help these kids become healthy well rounded teens AND adults. and as far as physical feature I am 5'5 an am not flat chested, so I would not worry about your kids being short or flat chested. I would worry about your kid becoming overweight and have no reason to push yourself for a awesome goal, which IS what gymnast, Boy or girl does everyday!!!
Some time vist a local gym and become more informened of this great and popular sport.
62 - Rick McCharles
I emailed Natalie personally asking her to clarify her position on Women's Artistic Gymnastics. And to correct the errors in the original post.
editor
GymnasticsCoaching.com
63 - Natalie Bennett
Hi, Thanks for writing to me. And no, I haven't changed my mind about the nature of gymastics - I think it presents a harmful, damaging model of what it means to be female in our society. Why are the women supposed to smile and wear makeup through all of their feats, when the men are not?
64 - Marcus
they don't have to smile, they're not "supposed" to smile
if you know anything about gymnastics and actually WATCH a competition thoroughly, they're not all sporting fake smiles, if you watch any of Nastia Liukin's routines, you'll see that she's not wearing a ton of make-up nor is she smiling the entire time. She'll smile when she does well or when she wins something, but she's not going to smile when she's losing or smile when there's nothing to smile about.
65 - Marcus
and by the way, there are plenty of female gymnasts who have gone through puberty and are still very good
try looking up Alicia Sacramone or Chellsie Memmel, for example
66 - gym dad
Gymnasts are not allowed to wear makeup, they can only wear one set of stud earrings and visible tattoos are a no-no. Wild hair styles and colorings are also forbidden as is nail polish. Pretty girl embellishments are frowned upon not only by feminists but also gymnastic judges and coaches. Gymnasts are serious athletes, at least the competitive ones. It is a very positive empowering sport for females. Gymnasts are usually at the top of their class in school and graduate to become leaders in their communities. Statistics prove that members of collegiate gymnastic squads are also honor students while attending college maintaining some of the highest grade point averages of any sports teams. All American Athletes on the Dean’s list. Please check out www.ncaa.org for more details.
While every one of us is allowed their own opinion.-hopefully before sharing it or blogging about it on the internet for all to see...we really should educated ourselves on our topic of choice.
By reading between the lines it starts to become apparent that perhaps your "sexualisation of routines" remark refers back to some repressed emotions on your part in dealing with your feminist leanings. I think you would agree that it would be very unfair of me to start my own blog against feminism declaring that all feminist are tree hugging lesbians when I really know nothing on any of these subjects. And even if I had some knowledge it would still be unfair and just plain mean and unkind. Such are your comments.
My daughter is an honor student who practices gymnastics 20 hours a week. She does not have a restricted diet. She eats whatever and as much as she would like. In the process she wins her schools presidential fitness challenge beating out most of the boys in the process. She is also a 14 year old state gymnastics champion who is well adjusted, confident and very happy. And for your info she is not flat chested for her age and she does like boys. She is a gymnast by choice and very proud of it.
And Natalie, as a self proclaimed feminist, I am very shocked by your remarks on girls “being washed up” and “failures” by the age of 14 or 16 if they haven’t made the Olympic squad. Feminism is about equal rights and equal opportunities (check out title IX). Not every gymnast aspires to be an Olympian even thought they may at times have dreamt of it and certainly wouldn’t turn the opportunity down if it presented its self. Many are happy to be regular gymnasts and to have the opportunity to freely express them selves, to walk out on to the gym floor and own it, to do things that the skater boys at their school can only imagine. Gymnastics is a team sport in some aspects but over all it is an individual sport. The results are up to the individual. That is very empowering. Only you can allow yourself to be a failure. To try something, to work at it as hard as you possibly can, to put all of your heart and sole in to it, to test the limits of your body, to set goals and to compete against yourself, your own mind and body…that is not the makings of a failure. No matter if a medal was won or not…that is the making of a very empowered winner. If you know you’ve tried your best and you’ve made improvements…that is worth more in the long run then any Olympic medal..
Now if you don’t mind, please go enjoy your “Carnival of Feminists” and leave the sport of gymnastics to free thinking confident and empowered females who actually enjoy life.
67 - Samantha
It enraged me to read Natalie's comment that "women are supposed to smile and wear makeup through all of their feats, when the men are not?" It seems to me that she is trying to prove that gymnastics is a sexist sport and decided to support that feeling with examples of abuse and dietary restrictions, personally I think her article was just plain bad writting! Natalie is entitled to her opinions and most educated people can tell that there is no fact to her comments. Hair, makeup and smiles are all a part of performing and when you are in a performance sport you need to have stage presence. Natalie, if you want to take this position then i suggest you add competitive dance, cheerleading, figure skating, synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics as well as every other sport where the female athlete wears makeup to your list of sports that should be banned. These sports showcase the athletes and they are required to present themselves to judges and an audience and would not show up with their hair a mess and a scowl on their face because that would look more riduculous than wearing makeup and smiling. Natalie's comment has proven that her problem is with society's demands on women, not the sport of gymnastics. As a former gymnast, certified gymnastics coach, current dance teacher and female; I suggest Natalie visit a gymnastics facility and talk to these "underdevelopped girls". I'll take an uneducated guess that all she will find are women who are both mentally and physically capable and who have a healthier body image than girls their age who are not in competitive sports. I hope that the response to this article encourages Natalie to research her topic makesure her point is clearly outlined before printing it. I would also like to point out that women are not the only ones that are "required" to wear makeup, I personally know some male athletes that wear more than their female counterparts!!
68 - laura
gymnasts do not wear alot of make up and do not always smile. Gymnasts are not even allowed to wear a lot of make up when they compete. Do you ever think that they smile because they are enjoying what they are doing? When they smile they are presenting themselves with confidence not because they have to! LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY STILL HASN'T DONE THEIR RESEARCH!!! when is she going to get the point?
69 - another gym dad
>Female gymnasts are usually washed out for serious competition by the age of 18, if not 16.
By what evidence? Ever watch NCAA competitions? At what age does college start? End? (Hint: Not 16)
>labelled as failures as 10, or 12, or 14.
I don't know who is labeling them as failures at 10 (or 14). No one I've heard. And that's inconsistent with the next statement about education.
>And what sort of education will they have received for other careers?
They'll receive the same as any other girl, because (and I actually researched this) THEY GO TO SCHOOL. (Hint: YOU might want to research how many competitive gymnasts are in academically gifted programs.)
>Oddly enough, the men...are usually in their late teens or early 20s.
It's odd that you'd find that odd. Why would you expect men to excel at a sport before they're physically mature? (Hint: Perhaps research the age at which males reach physical maturity. And females.)
>Aside from the sexualisation of routines
Funny, but I've never found vault, bars, Patterson dismounts on beam, or tumbling double back layouts to be sexualized. If you do, maybe you shouldn't admit that publicly.
>there's a question about a sport that ensures all of its participants are washed up before the age of 18.
Once more, watch a collegiate championship some day. Factual misstatements like this make you look amateurish.
>The answer surely is to limit the age of participation - should children of 12 really be competing in Olympics and World Championships?
You should be thrilled to know that this is already the case. Of course, you might feel foolish to learn it's been the case since before you wrote the article.
>And should the competition really require, and be judged, on the basis of what a child's body can do?
Such a silly question. Setting aside the poor grammar, you're asking if a sport should be judged on the basis of what a body can do? By what other measure would you judge sport?
> Isn't this child labour, and child abuse...everywhere?
Umm, no. And to suggest such shows an incredible insensitivity to the horrid circumstances of actual child abuse and actual child labor. Comparing kids passionate about their sport, developing admirable physical prowess, and learning wonderful life skills to kids denied education and other basic human entitlements is irresponsible sensationalism. It's certainly not journalism.
70 - Cait
I think the previous poster did a fairly sufficient job at explaining a few things to you.
Natalie, There is one major thing that you dont understand, and as others have said before me, Its passion. I work out 6 days a week and the 7th day is my least favorite- i love to be in the gym, i love everything about it. Thats the only reason why i, and others, continue to do the sport... we love it. I would say that, yes, i have missed out on some "normal teenage activities" but I dont care. If you asked me if i wanted to go to a football game or to practice to do coniditioning, i would certainly choose practice. The same goes for parties... I have missed friends birthdays because i dont want to miss practice, but i dont feel like i missed out on a single thing. I was where i wanted to be.
Another point i would like to make is that there is such a thing as "safe" gymnastics. When coached correctly, you shouldnt feel back pain, you shouldnt even get hurt. If you do gymnastics correctly, you'll be fine. It's when we forget our basic shapes, that are oh so important, that things start to happen. Things that could happen doing any other activity. (I, for instance, find that i get hurt tripping down the stairs more often then tumbling. I suppose you think we should ban stairs aswell. They too have an age limit, as people get older they no longer use the stairs... they use ramps.)
As far as eating disorders go... most of the stereotypical information that people beleive about gymnastics was create some decades ago. Since then, USAG and other Gymnastics associations have create maany programs which not only discourage strict eating diets, but teach kids to eat to be fit, not to be skinny. On occasion, i hear people tell me that I can eat what ever i want because i work out so much. While i suppose this is true, I would burn it off at the gym not matter what i ate, I still generally try to pick the healthier option. Its not because i have an eating disorder... if im hurgy, i'll eat... its because your body doesnt function as well on ice cream and doughnuts then on carrots and apples.
I could ramble on forever, telling you what either A, you do not understand, or B what you choose not to hear, but either way i have a hard time beleiving i could sway your veiws alone. Because of this, i have only one request from you. Next time oyu write an article, not matter the topic- gymnastics, athletics, politics- do some research. As a writer, Nothing is worse then writing a peice for a magazine -online or on paper- with information that is entirely and completely wrong. Some information you will ifnd will support these stereotypes, but a variety of resources will open your eyes to the world. Perhaps you need to pick up a book on writing ehticly, responsibly, criticly, and with respect.
71 - A.
Wow! Yet another reason I'll never call myself a feminist!
Really what it comes down to is this:
Gymnasts, expecially when they get older, are a tough breed of women. They have strength, poise, FEMININITY, and CHARACTER.
Natalie just doesn't want females with more integrity and character (not to mention strength and beauty) than her being brought up in this world.
Sounds like jealousy and ego talking to me.
Oh, and what a typical feminist to not retract some of her misinformed statements. Presenting a clear and logical argument with this close-minded yet somehow "liberated" individual is futile. I'm not even going to try.
By the way, the young woman above me just OWNED you.
72 - ME
THE GYMNAST DECIDES FOR HERSELF THAT SHE WANTS TO BE A GYMNAST.
73 - Bethany
Wow, completely uneducated post but I think that was made clear by previous posters. Gymnastics is a great sport for young girls, judging the system by one country (which was probably hardly researched) isn't fair. Also, the percentage of gymnasts who make elite is minimal, what about all the other gymnasts out there? It's good for kids to work out and do something they enjoy. This isn't the 70's, 80's or early 90's anymore. Gymnastics is completely different, why is everyone so excited to shed negative light on our sport? Watch the gymnasts on tv now, compared to in the 80's. It's a different group of girls, in size weight and personality. Please be educated about gymnastics before posting anything about it.
74 - Geoffrey Taucer
Natalie, while I am glad you took the time to respond to criticisms here, it is very clear that you didn't really read them; probably just skimmed them.
It is also very clear that you have made no attempt to further educate yourself about the sport.
I hope, so that you can avoid looking ignorant, you will understand and internalize these facts before posting any further responses:
1. The olympics are not the only thing gymnasts can ever shoot for. Many do the sport in college. Many do the sport simply for fun. A kid who does not make the olympics is by no means a failure.
2. The colossal majority of girls who do gymnastics do it because they enjoy it. I think if you were to go to any decent gym and observe a workout, you would see that; for us coaches, it's not about whipping the girls into shape so they can earn medals, it's about seeing the smiles and benefits the girls are getting from all their accomplishments. This girl just got her back tuck, and she's ecstatic about it! This one just did her first kipon bars, and it absolutely made her day! This one was a mess when she started a year ago, but is now a completely different kid, having learned discipline and self confidence through the sport. These are the things that we as coaches live for! Not for the medals, not for the idea that one of our kids may make the olympics, but for the every day accomplishments that kids take such pride in.
3. Girls under 16 are not permitted to compete in the olympics. Period. This is undisputable fact.
4. Girls are not encouraged to wear makeup or in other ways "sexualize" themselves; in fact both things are strongly DISCOURAGED.
I eagerly await your response. I hope it will be more educated than your original article.
75 - angela
I found it very odd that you would percieve the gymnastic routines were "sexualized". Like someone mentioned, what does front tucks, double layouts and back handsprings have to do with sexually? It must be your own perverted mind to think any such gymnastic trick reminds you of sex; be it a split, a handstand or whatever else. To find all things innocent like this, it is very disturbing.