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13 Times Women In Sports Fought for Equality


Even so, glaring equality gaps persist: At the 2014 and 2018 Winter Games, men had three separate ski jump events, while women only had one. “It’s like, ‘Here, we’ll give you a little piece,’ and then, ‘Go away, leave us alone,'” Lindsey Van, a now-retired American ski jumper who helped lead the discrimination lawsuit, told the Chicago Tribune in 2018. “I still think that it’s an old boys’ club.” According to 2022 Beijing Games website, there will be a new mixed team event in ski jumping; there is no mention of any new women’s-only competitions.

Olympic Runners Speak Out About Poor Industry Maternity Policies

Last spring, several Olympians-slash-mothers—including Alysia Montaño, Allyson Felix, and Kara Goucher—spoke out about the sporting industry’s lack of support for women athletes both during and after pregnancy. “The sports industry allows for men to have a full career,” Montaño said in an op-ed video for the Times last May. “When a woman decides to have a baby, it pushes women out at their prime.” The women specifically called out Nike, Asics, The United States Olympic Committee, and U.S.A. Track & Field. “I asked Nike to contractually guarantee that I wouldn’t be punished if I didn’t perform at my best in the months surrounding childbirth,” Felix wrote in an op-ed for the Times published in May. “I wanted to set a new standard.”

Three months after the allegations, Nike (who Felix said had previously denied her asks) announced a new maternity policy for all sponsored athletes that guarantees pay and bonuses for 18 months surrounding pregnancy. Three other athletic apparel companies adopted maternity protections for sponsored athletes as well, according to the New York Times.

Mary Cain Calls for More Women in Power

Last November, former teen phenom runner Mary Cain waged allegations of emotional and physical abuse against Nike’s Oregon Project. In a powerful op-ed video by the New York Times, titled “I Was the Fastest Girl in America—Until I Joined Nike,” Cain described how the all-male staff of the elite training team, helmed by coach Alberto Salazar, constantly pressured her to lose weight. While running with the team, Cain said she didn’t get her period for three years, broke five bones, started to cut herself, and had suicidal thoughts. And when the young athlete shared her self-harming habits with Salazar and the team’s sport psychologist? The men “pretty much told me they just wanted to go to bed,” Cain said.

Cain called on more women to assume leadership roles in the sporting world. “We need more women in power,” Cain said in the video. “Part of me wonders if I’d worked with more female psychologists, nutritionists, and even coaches, where I’d be today. I got caught in a system designed by and for men which destroys the bodies of young girls. Rather than force young girls to fend for themselves, we have to protect them.”

After the video went viral, eight other athletes with Nike’s Oregon Project quickly backed up Cain’s claims with some sharing their own stories of mistreatment. Salazar denied the claims, and Nike announced it would investigate the allegations. Meanwhile, the video’s ripple effect continued: In December, hundreds of Nike employees protested the company’s support of Salazar and treatment of its female employees and sponsored athletes. And in January, the U.S. Center for SafeSport placed Salazar on its “temporarily banned list,” which could result in a lifetime ban.

Serena Williams Takes Aim At Gender Inequality in Sports

Legend Serena Williams is not afraid to speak her mind and challenge the status quo. From calling the pay gap for female athletes “ludicrous” to candidly sharing the struggles of motherhood to accusing an umpire of sexism during the 2018 U.S. Open, Williams has shown that she’s willing to speak up loud and clear on issues that matter to her.

Earlier this year, Williams announced a partnership with Secret that addresses inequality in sports. “Just because I am a woman doesn’t mean I deserve less—I work just as hard,” Williams told Glamour. Through the partnership, Williams and the brand are launching a study on gender inequality in sports to pinpoint three to four areas of need. From there, they’ll distribute $1 million to hopefully create true change. “I’ve given up so much in my life and I’ve sacrificed so much. Why do I have to get paid less?” Williams said. “I feel like women in sports are fighting with that right now.” And with Williams’s influence and Secret’s backing, perhaps that fight can go one step further.

*Special thanks to [Paula D. Welch](https://vivo.ufl.edu/display/n14886) and [Bonnie J. Morris](http://www.bonniejmorris.com/) for providing invaluable insight on the history of women in sports.*



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Casey Wilson: In Times Like These, We Need More Reality Garbage Like Love Is Blind


It’s a stressful time right now. There’s a lot going on in the world that is problematic and troublesome. Not to mention the global pandemic. Everything is moving fast. We all feel busy and overwhelmed. Sometimes, life just feels like a series of uncomfortable moments strung together.

And yes, we all need to resist and work hard to make the world better. But there’s so much expected of us these days—especially women. So after a full day, I want nothing more than to relax into the loving arms of screaming women on reality TV. Watching these monstrous, majestic creatures yell at each other is soothing. Really.

I’ll always consider Bravo’s Real Housewives my form of self-care, but I’ve also gotten deeply involved with Love Is Blind on Netflix. I can’t even tell you what’s going on between that show and me lately. It’s too much. For someone else, it might be Love After Lock Up, 90 Day Fiancé, or The Bachelor. Whatever reality show you prefer, I don’t think you should be ashamed if that’s your outlet to recharge. Would I love it if meditation and journaling helped me de-stress? Sure. But in reality, I’m putting my kids to bed, settling in with a glass of wine, and turning on reality garbage.

It’s fun to care so passionately and deeply about something so meaningless and silly! I’ve been watching Real Housewives for decades. I know their full histories, and it feels like I’m a part of their families. I call them my weird drunk aunts.

There’s a bonding process that happens when you meet other fans, too. My friend and Bitch Sesh podcast co-host Danielle Schneider and I love the community our listeners have built. Major, major lifelong friendships have been developed over talking about women we don’t know. We post memes. We send each other information about what’s going on. Well, information is a strong word. It’s more like, “I saw Dorinda Medley walking down the street.” That’s it. It’s frivolous, sure, but it’s all we need to get a lift for the day.

Look at sports fanatics and nerd culture—it’s no different whatsoever. The reunions are my Superbowl, and I’m not going to be a reality TV apologist about it. It’s a way to connect with people when you might not have much to talk about beyond the weather. You can have a heated, passionate debate about Jessica from Love Is Blind and know there’s nothing behind it.



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Meghan Markle Says the Royal Tour Schedule Is Based on Archie's Feeding Times


Meghan Markle and Prince Harry may have decided to bring five-month-old Archie to only one official engagement during their royal tour in southern Africa, but the little royal has apparently been at the center of all the planning.

During an interview during her events yesterday, the Duchess of Sussex was asked about her first work trip as a family of three. “We’re doing well,” she said, which you can see in the video below. “I think the schedule—they have been very kind to me, because everything is based around Archie’s feed times. So it’s a full plate, but we’re making it work. It’s worth it.”

She also revealed that she’s really missed her husband while he’s been on a solo leg of the tour. “It’s my first time being in [South Africa] … and Harry has continued on in a couple [of] other countries,” Markle said. “We are reuniting today, which I can’t wait for, I miss him so much!”

Meghan Markle with Prince Harry and baby Archie

Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage

The duchess also spoke about the importance of seeing the work that so many are doing around one of her most important causes: the empowerment of women and girls.

“It’s been very important to me for a long time to focus on women’s and girls’ rights and especially their empowerment,” she said. “So to see this from afar and then to see the work that is being done on the ground, I think what’s really key is to focus on the work that needs to be done, but also how much incredible work is being done and to be able to be hear and support those people who are really actively working to champion the rights of women and girls.”

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The Sussex family wraps up their tour later today and will fly back to London tonight. Next on the schedule: They’re currently taking on a British publication for what the royal family says was the illegal use of a letter Markle sent to her father after the royal wedding.



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Beating Cancer Three Times Inspired This Woman to Invent a Mastectomy-Friendly Bra


We’ve all had those fitting-room moments where we stare into the mirror and wonder: Does this really have to be so hard? But when a fashion CEO has one of those moments, that’s when real change can happen. Fran Dunaway may run one of the most buzzed-about underwear brands, but after she had a double mastectomy last May, she found herself an almost complete loss when it came to bra shopping. A three-time cancer survivor, the TomboyX co-founder had already experienced one of the less-talked-about aesthetic effects of battling the disease: how breasts can change shape or size after radiation treatments. She remembers wishing she had a bra where she could add an insert on just one side or stack a couple of inserts. Then, after her recent mastectomy, she opted not to have breast-reconstruction surgery. “The reality was that it would mean two more surgeries for me and I’d had enough surgery, thank you,” she says. “For me, I just couldn’t get my head around putting myself through that to make other people feel comfortable with how I look now.”

TomboyX co-founder Fran Dunaway.

After the surgery, she also couldn’t get her head around how underwhelming the bra options were, especially considering how many women undergo the same surgery. “I was given a prescription and told I could go to a department store to be fitted for a mastectomy bra and I thought, that’s awesome,” she says. “But when I got there, the options for me were pretty limited.” Rather than seeing bras designed with her situation in mind, she was given regular bras adapted with a flimsy piece of fabric meant to hold a prosthetic, in styles much more frilly and femme than anything she’d ever wear. Not only were the options off-putting and ill-fitting, “the ones I got were coming apart within two weeks—hardly an empowering experience overall,” recalls Dunaway, who continued to lead the TomboyX team throughout her most recent breast-cancer treatment and recovery. “I thought, well, it’s a good thing I own a bra company!”

Of course, Dunaway also knew firsthand that a perfect bra is easier to dream up than actually build. “Bras are one of the most complicated things to make, right up there with shoes, because of all the various components required to do it well and to do it comfortably,” she says. TomboyX’s first bra styles had focused on simplicity and ease—”for lounging around, not bouncing around.” Yet she immediately set out to design bra options more functional, comfortable and versatile for women interested in using prosthetic inserts for whatever reason—post-mastectomy, during transition, or just to even out asymmetrical breasts. The resulting styles—the Ruched Bralette with Removable Inserts and the Soft Sports Bra with Removable Inserts—feature built-in pouches large enough that you can easily insert prosthetic breast forms, if desired, without any struggle or worry that they’ll pop out.



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All the Times Kate Middleton's Fashion Has Reminded Us of Princess Diana


Rarely does a week go by without a Kate Middleton outfit sighting the world instantly wants to copy. And while we now scramble to pick up her exact Zara coats or a close imitation of her best dresses, Middleton’s fashion choices themselves appear to be inspired by another member of the royal family: the late Princess Diana. Over the years many have inferred that the Duchess of Cambridge’s wardrobe has paid homage to her late mother-in-law, with some instances being more obvious than others. Whether it be a single similar item or a piece-for-piece recreation, some of Middleton’s best looks make us reminisce about Princess Diana’s iconic stylebook. The two women favored different designers—Kate is partial to Alexander McQueen and Erdem, while Princess Diana leaned into David Sassoon and Bruce Oldfield—yet both women’s tastes include crisp coats, pastel suits, and dazzling formal wear. Here we gathered the 15 instances of straight-up fashion twinning, courtesy of Kate Middleton and Princess Diana.



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10 Times Celebrity Moms Got Real About Breastfeeding


It’s unfortunate that in 2019, women are still being criticized about whether or not they choose to breastfeed their children—or even where they decide to do so. Feeding your child is a good thing! But when celebrity moms like Amy Schumer, Hilary Duff, Jessica Alba, and Khloé Kardashian publicly speak out about the struggles (and joys) of breastfeeding and pumping (or not), it helps to normalize the conversation for all women.

Below are some of the best quotes on the topic.

Amy Schumer

The comedian gave birth to her son, Gene Attell Fischer, in May. In true Schumer fashion, she was honest and hilarious about her pregnancy and breastfeeding. “Guys what are we doing tonight? #schumerpump #ootd @stassischroeder,” she captioned a photo of herself attached to a breast pump and jokingly tagging Stassi from Vanderpump Rules with her “outfit of the day.”

Jessica Alba

Alba, an actress and founder of The Honest Company, often shared photos of herself feeding her son, Hayes, everywhere from the boardroom to a Target dressing room. “I felt like he wanted to nurse 24/7, which was obviously really challenging when you’re trying to go back to work,” she told Motherly. “Also my milk supply was challenged with him. I felt like I had the most milk with Honor and then it got less with Haven and even less with Hayes. And so that was just tough for me.”

Rachel McAdams

The actress has been mostly private about the birth of her first child but she made headlines with a photo shoot for Girls. Girls. Girls. magazine where she wore Versace—and a breast pump. “Obviously #rachelmcadams looks incredible and was quite literally the dream to work with but also this shoot was about 6 months post her giving birth to her son, so between shots she was expressing/pumping as still breastfeeding,” the magazine’s founder Claire Rothstein shared on Instagram. “We had a mutual appreciation disagreement about whose idea it was to take this picture but I’m still sure it was hers which makes me love her even more. Breastfeeding is the most normal thing in the world and I can’t for the life of me imagine why or how it is ever frowned upon or scared of.”

Hilary Duff

Duff recently opened up on social media about her decision to stop breastfeeding her daughter, Banks, after six months. “My goal was to get my little girl to six months and then decide if I (and her of course) wanted to keep going,” she wrote on Instagram. “Let me tell you. Pumping at work sucks. I had zero down time and am usually pumping in a hair and make up trailer while four hands work to get me ready for the next scene with lots of other people around. Even if I had the luxury to be in my own room, it’s not even considered a ‘break’ because you have to sit upright for the milk to flow into the bottles!”

While she was still breastfeeding, Duff recreated McAdams’ famous pumping shot.

Chrissy Teigen

“The feeding schedule surprised me a lot. If you kind of do the math, you’re kind of breastfeeding for 10 hours a day total,” Teigen said after her daughter, Luna, was born. “It’s very loving and sweet, but it’s not easy. They just use you for your milk and you just feel like you are just a cow all day. It’s hard to work your entire day around getting her the nourishment she needs because they are just little animals.”

Nikki Reed



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