Ladies enlighten me

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2

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  • wikitbikit
    wikitbikit Posts: 518 Member
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    There are a lot of great answers here! I agree with most of them, either remembering them in myself or seeing them now in my daughter and her friends.

    Another one for me was an increased sense of 'self.' I was a chubby kid and really awful at sports/gym, but in elementary school I never really paid attention to the fact that I was so much worse at it than the other kids. The teacher said do it, so I did it! As I got older, I became more aware of the fact that I was BAD at physical activity, and I just didn't want other people to see it. It wasn't so much a fear of messing up my hair or that I was chubby or even caring what the other kids thought--I just didn't like to do things that I wasn't good at, period, especially with others watching. It's easier to pretend you just don't care--or that you don't want to get sweaty, or you're too cool, or whatever--than to admit you're just plain BAD at it.

    (Seriously, BAD. Never managed a chin up, push up, couldn't climb the rope at all, completely without grace)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,708 Member
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    I have a different take on why my physical activity dropped at puberty...breasts. I developed early, large and fast. I was a C cup at 13, and had not yet gotten in the habit of wearing a bra everyday, had to buy new ones often due to size changes, so did not have many either. Suddenly changing in the locker room was more awkward, other girls would stare. 13 year old boys were worse. Even if I had rembered my bra that day, there is enough bounce to attract every 13 year old male eye in a 3 mile radius. Did not quite understand it and that made it worse. Last but not least on the bounce...it can hurt! Jump rope, trampolines and running became just too much to handle.
    Hadn't even take this into consideration. Thanks for the input.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
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  • TylerJ76
    TylerJ76 Posts: 4,375 Member
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    Just bumping so my friends see this...
  • _DaniD_
    _DaniD_ Posts: 2,186 Member
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    Just bumping so my friends see this...

    Nice try. You don't have any friends.
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
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    One time in gym class we were jumping rope, and one of the boys yelled out, "Look at MK's boobies bouncing around!" .... I was officially no longer interested in being active.


    Sixteen years later, I just make sure I have a good sportsbra. ;)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,708 Member
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    What about girls who continued to play sports throughout middle and high school? Any opinions?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • wikitbikit
    wikitbikit Posts: 518 Member
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    My friends who continued to play were either very good at the sports they were involved in, or they had a good (best) friend who was also involved in the sport. Or they were trying to appear well-rounded for their college applications.
  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
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    What about girls who continued to play sports throughout middle and high school? Any opinions?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    My nine year old daughter and I were just talking about this yesterday.
    She asked me what my favorite sport was and I told her I really didn't like sports when I was in middle/high school.
    (So I guess I'm addressing the converse side of this particular question).
    I remember not feeling very about my athletic abilities and wanting to avoid being made fun of by the boys in middle school.
    I went to an all girls high school, and my perception of the girls who played sports was that the were "jocks" and maybe a bit less feminine? I know I couldn't stand that "guy" female gym teacher who made us run the mile.:grumble:
    I was a baton twirler and in the color guard for marching band, so I guess I considered those my "sports".
    I enjoyed both immensely, but not sure if it was because I was good at them or if they were considered more "girly".

    A couple additional thoughts:
    Girls are beginning puberty younger and younger along with the hormonal changes.
    I remember feeling like I was losing my mind when I went thru puberty and I'm seeing some of that in my daughter too.
    However, she remains athletic and this may finally answer your 2nd question here.
    I believe how well a girl navigates sports, middle and high school, hormonal changes, boys etc. is due in large part to the self esteem she gains from a positive, highly interactive relationship with her father.
    I didn't have that, so I didn't believe in myself or my athletic abilities.
    My husband is an amazing father and our daughter is an intelligent, funny, adventurous girl who loves to try new things.
    I sometimes wish I could have been more like her and I'm so glad she has some of her father's personality. :smile:
  • melsmith612
    melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
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    For me personally, puberty had a lot to do with my lack of desire for physical activity in middle school. Between the "growing pains" experienced while developing to the awkward need to all of a sudden carry a handbag around with you everywhere.... middle school is a BIG transition for many girls. I was already much more developed than most girls my age by the time I hit middle school and it certainly made me shy to think that I'd be one of the only girls bouncing around gym class or having to worry about whether or not my sanitary napkin was leaking because of the excess movement.
  • avababy05
    avababy05 Posts: 930 Member
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    I have three daughters: 26,24 and ....7.

    When the older two were 7 they still ran around outside getting dirty and sweaty and dind't really start to get self conscious until fifth or sixth grade.

    My youngest daughter,who is in second grade,just this year really started to care about what others thought of her as far as dress and personal apperance.

    I'm not sure how much media would affect her.She's been raised without television and I don't have a lot of fashion magazines in the house.

    I think she's more or less influenced by the other girls.
  • sbbhbm
    sbbhbm Posts: 1,312 Member
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    Huh. This is a foreign concept to me. When I was in school (all grade levels) the cool/popular girls were the ones who played sports. I was "hot" cause I was a volleyballer and ran track. And the more hard core you were at your sport the better. It even helped out some girls to fit in who may have otherwise been ostracized because of appearance.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    I have a different take on why my physical activity dropped at puberty...breasts. I developed early, large and fast. I was a C cup at 13, and had not yet gotten in the habit of wearing a bra everyday, had to buy new ones often due to size changes, so did not have many either. Suddenly changing in the locker room was more awkward, other girls would stare. 13 year old boys were worse. Even if I had rembered my bra that day, there is enough bounce to attract every 13 year old male eye in a 3 mile radius. Did not quite understand it and that made it worse. Last but not least on the bounce...it can hurt! Jump rope, trampolines and running became just too much to handle.

    This was my first thought too. The actual changes in a body well change your movement dynamics, your center of gravity, the change in your hips. When you went from being able to run carefree to know you've got things moving all over the place well that makes running not so fun, and your sweating like turk wearing polyester. At that age there is a lot of physical changes. I used to get growing pains all the time. I was also a very socially fearful child and the idea of changing in the locker room was terrifying.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    I think that to many girls in my class, it was because they were at the point where they wanted to look attractive. You get up and spend all this time doing your hair and makeup, and then you go out and mess it all up, getting sweaty and stinky during PE.
  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
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    I think that to many girls in my class, it was because they were at the point where they wanted to look attractive. You get up and spend all this time doing your hair and makeup, and then you go out and mess it all up, getting sweaty and stinky during PE.

    I still think this way.
    Am I regressing?
    :tongue:
  • Rosytakesoff
    Rosytakesoff Posts: 321
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    I hit puberty with a thud at age 11, which was grade six. I was horribly self conscious of my developing and changing body, and I was teased about it too. As I got older, the only physical activities I wanted to participate in were those I could do solo: bicycling, jogging, shooting baskets.

    I also wasn't raised in a sports playing family, so I didn't know how to play some sports. Lots of PE teachers were impatient with the kids who didn't know how to play. That didn't make me want to get out there and try either.

    So for me it was twofold: puberty and lack of knowledge. I was also really uncomfortable with my changing body and awkward too. It is hard to play sports when you get smacked square in the chest with a football--it hurts! Guys get to wear a cup, but there is no bra equivalent for girls.
  • jacklis
    jacklis Posts: 280 Member
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    I echo the comments from many women who have posted about the body changes, about developing early, about being made fun of for the 'jiggle'. I loved sports and pushed past the embarrassment because I had a great PE teacher and he encouraged me and pushed me. What would have made me feel less self-concious (because he could never change that) would have been a great female role model who took me shopping for compression shorts and a good sports bra. Had I been all tucked in and tight who knows what I could have done.
    Is there a female counterpart that the girls might think is cool that could come talk to them about athleticism and the wonder of a great sports bra?
  • suzywuzy90
    suzywuzy90 Posts: 20 Member
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    I don't have a competitive bone within me and I am not into trash talk. In third grade when my friends who were boys tried that on me, I gave up from the get go and lost all interest. I still would be invovled in Ballet, tap, acrobatics and Toe because those are non-competitive activities.

    And not a fan of the communal shower either.
  • Weebs628
    Weebs628 Posts: 574 Member
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    I never really played sports in school, but I was a tomboy and spent my after school time running around the neighborhood with my brother and his friends. When puberty hit, they would poke fun at me (one would call me "mosquito bites" in reference to my small chest). Turns out, I ended up just being a late bloomer, I got over my once-small chest, started dressing more feminine and started getting other kinds of attention from my brothers friends :bigsmile:. I still had that tomboy side to me though and wasn't afraid to run, ride my bike, etc (with the boys). Once I got past the boob-growing/period starting phase I feel like I had a good balance throughout my teen years.
  • DNEWMAN8891
    DNEWMAN8891 Posts: 5 Member
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    For me it started with being ridiculed for being taller and more muscular than all the boys. That was okay, because I was still a thin muscular build. Then I hit puberty, or it hit me; like a ton of bricks. I went from a training bra one week to a full B cup two weeks later...I am not exaggerating. While this was happening my parents had been divorced but this new freedom of coming home from middle school on a bus instead of being picked-up and my mom having to work at night to support myself and her I was pigging out on junk food. These elements contributed to a more voluptuous (still wasn't quite fat) figure. The boys made me feel very subconscious of my body and girls ridiculed me for being big chested. So yeah, PE moved to the back of the burner for me; feigning illness or hiding in the back, even cut class and everything else. It's too bad because I was a talented dancer and was accepted to a performing arts school, but my self-consciousness caused too much self doubt and co-dependency.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,708 Member
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    What about girls who continued to play sports throughout middle and high school? Any opinions?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    My nine year old daughter and I were just talking about this yesterday.
    She asked me what my favorite sport was and I told her I really didn't like sports when I was in middle/high school.
    (So I guess I'm addressing the converse side of this particular question).
    I remember not feeling very about my athletic abilities and wanting to avoid being made fun of by the boys in middle school.
    I went to an all girls high school, and my perception of the girls who played sports was that the were "jocks" and maybe a bit less feminine? I know I couldn't stand that "guy" female gym teacher who made us run the mile.:grumble:
    I was a baton twirler and in the color guard for marching band, so I guess I considered those my "sports".
    I enjoyed both immensely, but not sure if it was because I was good at them or if they were considered more "girly".

    A couple additional thoughts:
    Girls are beginning puberty younger and younger along with the hormonal changes.
    I remember feeling like I was losing my mind when I went thru puberty and I'm seeing some of that in my daughter too.
    However, she remains athletic and this may finally answer your 2nd question here.
    I believe how well a girl navigates sports, middle and high school, hormonal changes, boys etc. is due in large part to the self esteem she gains from a positive, highly interactive relationship with her father.
    I didn't have that, so I didn't believe in myself or my athletic abilities.
    My husband is an amazing father and our daughter is an intelligent, funny, adventurous girl who loves to try new things.
    I sometimes wish I could have been more like her and I'm so glad she has some of her father's personality. :smile:
    Funny you mention that. So a lot of the girls I see who do sports usually have dad in their corner at events. Does it correlate with these same girls continuing physically into middle and high school? I'll keep inquiring.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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