[un]phased podcast

Shaunna was reorganizing her home office and happened to put her hands on the book “Our Black Year” by Maggie Anderson (2012). In short, Maggie and her spouse John -- a middle-class, relatively successful African American couple in Chicago -- attempted to buy from only Black-owned businesses for a full year. Yeah...it’s a notable and altruistic goal, but an almost impossible one given that lack of infrastructure and lack of investment in Black-owned supply chains.

The author coined the phrase “conscious consumerism”, and we take it a step further. It’s our hope that endurance sport athletes employ “critical consumerism” with their purchases and investments.

We bat around questions like “How do we consume differently?” “How do we consume consciously even when it comes with inconvenience?” “At what point do we divest from vendors, partners, localities, states, and organizations whose values align with ours?” Maybe more importantly, “At what point do we force the hands of endurance sport businesses out of neutral, comfortable spaces in order to take a stand for values that are paramount to us?”

Take a listen to Episode 55 as we consider options of how to support ethically-aligned businesses and organizations and divest from those who do not serve the greater interests of the systemically excluded.

My Black Year: Maggie Anderson at TEDxGrandRapids

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This week on the podcast Shaunna and Lisa discuss the Paralympic Games. The name “Para” is meant to be perceived as beside or alongside “Olympic,” however, the Paralympic games have historically been treated as other, or maybe even less-than the Olympics. We see this in a number of ways: the Paralympic Games are always held after the completion of the Olympics, and access to television coverage of Paralympic events is painfully difficult to find. It is likely that this is based on the implicit assumption by organizers and media outlets that the Paralympics will not be as popular and will attract less spectators.

If the two Games were truly parallel, Shaunna and Lisa discuss they should perhaps be hosted at the same time and at the same venue. This would allow all athletes to be celebrated on a more equal playing field, despite their level of ability. It is argued though, that the logistics of hosting the two games simultaneously would be “too complicated” and society normalizes access to sport through an able-bodied lens. Shaunna and Lisa counter that argument by reminding us that if the Games were developed with universal design from the beginning they would start on a foundation that includes athletes of all abilities equally.

Inspiration porn definition and examples

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewpulrang/2019/11/29/how-to-avoid-inspiration-porn/?sh=47c746a25b3d

Jessica Long Toyota Commercial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqWG5_7nwyk

Inspiration Porn Critique (of Jess Long commercial)

http://www.criticalaxis.org/critique/jessica-longs-story/

We are 15 campaign commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng6mT_EJy2Q

(only aired during the paralympics per what Lisa saw)

We are 15 website: https://www.wethe15.org

Should the Paralympics and Olympics be combined?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/08/15/why-unified-olympics-should-replace-paralympics-column/3362822001/

https://disabilityhorizons.com/2021/08/disability-inclusion-should-the-olympics-and-paralympics-be-merged/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gusalexiou/2021/09/05/sporting-apartheid---should-the-paralympics-be-scrapped-and-merged-into-the-main-games/?sh=431666dd6da9

Paralympic History

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/25/1030629549/paralympics-history-name-meaning

https://www.paralympic.org/ipc/history

https://onherturf.nbcsports.com/2021/09/05/paralympic-medal-count-tokyo-2020-women-team-usa/

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This week on [un]phased Shaunna and Lisa are joined by retired professional triathlete, and recent finisher of the Leadville 100 mile Trail Run Rachel Joyce. The three discuss the lack of female representation at the race, and in ultra-distance running events in general. As a former professional athlete, Rachel was accustomed to carving out time each day for her training. But she tells us how she found it more difficult she found it to carve out that same time for training now that she is a mother of two.

Shaunna and Lisa chat with Rachel about those societal pressures that women face, and how these can present systemic barriers to participation in endurance sport. This last 18 months has been especially fatiguing, both physically and emotionally for those that are in the role of a caregiver. We know that this predominantly falls on women, and is a contributing factor that keeps many women out of endurance events. But we also know that the process of training for a triathlon or an ultra run can be incredibly transformative, and has the power to have a hugely positive impact on the lives of women.

Getting more women to the start lines of these events is multifaceted, and it is about much more than just lowering registration fees or adding world championship qualifying slots. We need to start to create a shift in the narrative of the endurance sport culture that allows all folks, but especially women, to see endurance sport as a form of emotional care for themselves and to realize that getting to the start line of an event is a goal they are worthy of setting.

Learn more about the Outspoken Women in Triathlon Summit at www.outspokensummit.com

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Welcome to our one-year anniversary episode! We are officially celebrating 52 weeks of the [un]phased podcast with a look back at some of our favorite clips from our first year. Shaunna and Lisa each take us through their three Top Picks and reflect on how their thinking may have evolved or stayed the same (i.e., reverse racism is still not a thing!) on some of the key topics they have covered since Episode One.

Taking the time to reflect on these thoughts and concepts is important as we continue to grow and develop as a podcast, and to help our listeners grow along with us. We hope you enjoy this little walk down [un]phased memory lane!

Learn more about the Outspoken Women in Triathlon Summit at www.outspokensummit.com

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Have you ever felt that you simply did not belong? Have you ever felt like you simply did not “fit” in endurance sport? If you have never felt this way, you are in the minority. Based on the research done in this area, most people, regardless of gender, have felt as if they are inadequate, did not measure up, and emanate some type of “phoniness” in sport.

Imposter syndrome has been studied since the 1970s and it continues to be studied in academic spaces. We can’t help but see all of the connections and parallels to endurance sport -- wondering if you belong, wondering if you have experienced enough to “truly” be an athlete, wondering if you can live up to the standards of the sport or your own. Adding the qualification that you are “slow” or that you are not a “real” runner, all come from a place of feeling inadequate, that you are, essentially an imposter

During this podcast, we grapple with what imposter syndrome is, and how we can try to construct endurance sport contexts to help minimize such feelings. We are not suggesting that every minoritized person grapples with imposter syndrome. However, we wonder how anyone can avoid such a challenge given that all athletes have set a goal -- whether it’s to win the entire race or simply to show up at the start line.

For those who have never felt that pangs of imposter syndrome, make sure you listen in. Your empathy and ability to understand such a feeling can equip you to help create spaces where sense of belonging increases and as a result, participation of all people increases as well.

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What comes first: presenting diversity in your event’s messaging and media when you don’t have full representation, or actually having a diverse representation of participants before publicizing? As in many of the topics we discuss, the answer is never straight forward. Putting out an image that portrays your race or event as more diverse than it actually is could be perceived as disingenuous, or even deceptive. However, if underrepresented groups never seem themselves reflected in your marketing materials it’s likely that they’ll feel that your event is not for them. So, which comes first, is it the chicken or the egg? Do we bring in diverse groups and then include them on our social media afterwards? Or do we project what we hope our event will become?

Even though the answers here aren’t always clear, what is clear is that we should be authentic and honest with this messaging. Ultimately, projecting the image of what we want our event to become can help us get there, but the messaging should portray this depth. It should create the narrative that, even though our sport or events are not as diverse as we’d like them to be, we are doing our best to get there. In doing so, it demonstrates authenticity and vulnerability, allows under-represented folks to see themselves in the marketing materials, and assures marginalized folks that the organization is prioritizing a welcoming atmosphere.

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As podcast hosts, educators, triathletes, and leaders in our communities it is important for us to always be thinking of the audience that we are speaking to. Is our messaging communicating the right thing? We make decisions, some intentional and some implicit, around the language that we choose to use, and these choices in language can make our audience feel either included or excluded. Being aware of who our audience is currently, as well as who we want to draw into it, can help guide our decisions in how we communicate.

Shaunna and Lisa also make an important distinction between including and centering. It is important to recognize the folks that have historically been excluded from our audiences, and look for ways to make them feel included and engaged. Being truly inclusive may also mean that the folks that have always been centered at our events or in our audience or now decentered to make room for others. This decentering can be uncomfortable for the folks that are used to having everything built with their needs in mind, but it is a crucial step in creating spaces in endurance sport that are a welcoming environment for all.

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This week on [un]phased, Shaunna and Lisa dive into the intersectional experiences of female athletes. Women, predominantly women of color, often face critiques of their physicality and femininity in the context of their sporting environment. In the United States especially, there has been a history of women of color being harmed by a white construct of femininity. Remnants of these biases still exist today and are especially pertinent in professional sport where women are judged so harshly based on their physical appearance.

Athletes are often conceptualized in the popular imagination as entertainers; performers who are there for us to watch and sometimes, judge. Women athletes are expected to conform to an image of femininity that is defined and constrained by whiteness. Women in sport often have to defend their identities and fight for the right to compete as they face added stress compared to their white, male counterparts.

As consumers of sports media, it is critical that we step back and examine any judgments we make, implicit or explicit, and how general critiques of, and commentary about female athletes, especially women of color, are presented to us. We have to resist harmful narratives that take power away from women athletes by limiting them to narrow definitions of womanhood. Consumers, athletes, leaders, sponsors, and business owners must constantly contemplate how to build anti-racist and anti-sexist sport organizations. Resisting limited notions of femininity is one place to start to support athletes of all identities.

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As the amazing athletic feats continue to unfold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Shaunna and Lisa encourage us to take note of the gender disparity between men and women in Olympic coverage. Notice how commentators and other members of the media refer to their skills, performances, and bodies. In many instances, there is a distinct difference between the way women and men athletes are described and their performances dissected. Even the uniforms the women wear are noticeably more revealing and sexualized, save perhaps the male divers. A question this raises is who gets to decide what is “appropriate” attire for athletic events? Shouldn’t athletes have the right to decide what they wear in competition based on their needs and comfort? At what point does tradition become oppressive and reinforce harmful stereotypes about women and women’s sport? And how does a commentator’s banter and anecdotes reinforce or explode these stereotypes?

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This week on the podcast Shaunna and Lisa take on questions from a listener that expand on their conversation around DEI Committees. Committees often face resistance from different areas or leaders within their larger organization. This may be due to budgetary concerns, unwillingness to embrace change, unbalanced power dynamics, or unrealistic expectations of what the committee can accomplish. Shaunna and Lisa guide us through all of these challenges and offer their expertise on how DEI committee members can start to address them.

They also remind us that it is important for committees to acknowledge when they should advocate for hiring an external DEI expert, and explain how companies can and should shift from seeing this as an “expense” to an investment in the future of their company. The value of hiring an external DEI expert should not be underestimated, as they are able to come in with an unbiased view of the policies and practices currently in place within an organization. Shaunna and Lisa outline how committees can articulate the importance of this to decision-makers within their organization, and help them realize how it will benefit them in the long run both socially and also financially.

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