What would it mean to build women's sports around women's bodies?
This week, my friend Becca returns to discuss Lauren Fleshman's memoir "Good for a Girl". What starts as a running memoir quickly reveals itself as something far bigger: an investigation into the science of female puberty and athletics, the eating disorder epidemic inside women's collegiate and professional sports, and one woman's relentless fight to change a sport she loves from the inside out. We discuss Lauren's unconventional path to running, the ways puberty has been treated as "the one injury a girl can't come back from," the NCAA's staggering lack of policy around eating disorders in women's athletics, Lauren's famous Nike "Objectify Me" campaign, and the ways female athletes are still being failed by the systems built to protect them.
This episode is for every woman who was ever told she was good — for a girl. The runners, the former athletes, the moms of daughters in sports, and anyone who has ever felt their body was working against them instead of for them.
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Purchase "Good for a Girl"
Other Links:
https://www.milesplit.com/articles/211759/dear-younger-me-lauren-fleshman (Lauren's letter to her younger self)
Follow Becca's bookstagram: @bookedwithbecca and her new running account: @run.with.becca
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Thank you for listening!
Xx, Alex
Timestamps!
00:00 — Intro: Lauren Fleshman's Good for a Girl
01:02 — Why did Becca pick this book?
03:33 — The book's dedication and opening lines
03:57 — How did Becca's running journey begin?
05:15 — How do you stay safe on solo runs?
07:05 — What would you tell your younger self?
08:09 — "You can do anything, Lauren" — her dad's voice in her head
09:58 — How do we hold space for people who shaped us for better and worse?
11:35 — "Dad was a wild tide, but mom was our shore"
12:08 — How do parents give equal love and attention in a big family?
13:44 — Beating the boys, and not questioning it
17:03 — Why do we still say "good for a girl"?
17:51 — Middle school dominance, then puberty hits
19:00 — Do we tie our identity to winning?
19:50 — Becca's Lauren Fleshman sighting on a race course
20:25 — Why are girls quitting sports by 14–17?
22:37 — Why does puberty help boys and hurt girls athletically?
23:32 — The clash between athletic function and the male gaze
25:39 — Finding her running form and making the team
27:20 — When did you first realize the boys were pulling ahead?
29:30 — How did Title IX change the culture of effort?
33:04 — "Puberty is the injury you can't come back from" — what did the captain mean?
34:20 — Why are eating disorders so prevalent in the running world?
35:53 — Why does the NCAA still have no policy on eating disorders?
39:06 — Stanford, Jesse, and asking the hard question up front
40:07 — "What made great women possible?"
41:19 — Body image and the college uniform
42:41 — Equity vs. equality — why "same" isn't fair?
43:16 — Why do female athletes peak in their late 20s and 30s, not their teens?
45:08 — Going pro on a $60K Nike salary
46:04 — Coming heartbreakingly close to the Olympics
47:01 — What happened when she emailed Nike's CEO?
47:46 — The "Objectify Her" campaign — reclaiming the gaze
49:19 — How do you let anger fuel advocacy instead of consuming it?
49:56 — Why did she start her blog?
50:49 — The granola bar company
51:04 — Why did Nike treat her pregnancy like an injury?
51:33 — What real change would actually look like for young female athletes?
52:20 — Final thoughts: what are we taking from this book?
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