"I love the sense of satisfaction that I get when I’ve done a swimming workout or race, and know that I gave my whole being and heart to God in every moment of the swim. It’s the best worship I can offer him."
Notes on Feminism
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Lauren Windle, SPCK 2024
The subtitle is “being a woman in a church led by men”. The book also contains several chapters written by other women. The one of interest to this reviewer is “women and sporting bodies" by Olympic long jumper Abigail Irozuru. Her chapter has three subheadings: body image, hormones, faith.
She writes about the challenge being an athlete with big feet, muscular arms and legs - sometimes perceived to be “not very feminine”. This resulted in her having at one stage, in her words, a “warped perception of feminine beauty”. She also refers to a tension “between the feminine ideal and who I am as a woman - feminine, strong and uniquely me”.
She also picks up an issue of competition kit which can raise problems. She refers specifically to one athlete wearing the official team kit being told that her shorts were too revealing.
She also writes honestly about managing periods and potential issues with regard to pregnancy and fitting in a career in elite sport.
I loved her comment "sport is my world and I look at these women as examples of beautiful intersection of faith and feminism”, referring to other elite sporting women of faith.
Again I loved her comment “for me, feminism is standing out in the fullness of my womanhood - as an overly muscular female athlete – and saying ‘this is me. I'm still a woman. Even if this isn't how you see me through your limited view of the world, I am a woman and my womanhood is a gift”.