Banning women from running marathons...

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So_Much_Fab
So_Much_Fab Posts: 1,146 Member
in Chit-Chat
...at least this was the rule nearly 50 years ago. For the few marathons that did exist, it was men only, women were not permitted to enter.

Here is an interesting article about the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon in April of 1967 (the race was run by a woman for the first time unofficially in 1966).

The photo below shows Katherine Switzer, first woman to officially run Boston, being attacked by John Semple. John was a "big shot" in Boston's athletic circles and co-director of the marathon. He was literally trying to rip her bib off of her!

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Good luck to everyone running in Boston today! :)


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Replies

  • Lisa1971
    Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
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    Great article! Thanks for posting that!
  • Of_Monsters_and_Meat
    Of_Monsters_and_Meat Posts: 1,022 Member
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    These images contain hateful, violent imagery. People should not be attacked like that. :'(

    8. Posts Must Abide By All Legal Statutes

    ...
    c) Images containing hateful or violent imagery, depiction of illegal activities, or copyrighted material are not allowed and will be removed.
  • Laura732
    Laura732 Posts: 244 Member
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    Really? Having your bib ripped off is hardly violent. Hateful, I wouldn't go that far. Historical, yes. My look how many women are running in this years Boston Marathon!

    What I would do to somebody who ripped my bib off afterward would be violent though.
  • kamakazeekim
    kamakazeekim Posts: 1,183 Member
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    Of_Monsters_and_Meat wrote: »
    These images contain hateful, violent imagery. People should not be attacked like that. :'(

    8. Posts Must Abide By All Legal Statutes

    ...
    c) Images containing hateful or violent imagery, depiction of illegal activities, or copyrighted material are not allowed and will be removed.

    The OP was showing how far we've come and celebrating how women can now participate in marathons...you can't be blind to what happened in the past!
  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,643 Member
    edited April 2015
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    haven't we already reached the point where sperm cells can be artificially created by female cells so that men are no longer needed and can therefore be exterminated to cease causing any of the world's problems?
  • Dragn77
    Dragn77 Posts: 810 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Wow Of_Monsters... Seriously?!!!! Of all the insanity on these forums, you feel this piece of history should be censored?

    So_Much_Fab... I read about this for the first time a couple weeks ago, incredible and awesome how far things have come! I believe that #390 was her husband running with her, who pushed Semple out of the way so that Switzer could continue her run, number intact.
  • mistikal13
    mistikal13 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    I had never heard of this, thanks for posting!
  • sweetdixie92
    sweetdixie92 Posts: 655 Member
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    Of_Monsters_and_Meat wrote: »
    These images contain hateful, violent imagery. People should not be attacked like that. :'(

    8. Posts Must Abide By All Legal Statutes

    ...
    c) Images containing hateful or violent imagery, depiction of illegal activities, or copyrighted material are not allowed and will be removed.

    Please tell me you're joking.


    On topic though, it's amazing how far we've come! Thanks for sharing.
  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,643 Member
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    pics are still (real shots) of a woman getting attacked...
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    Of_Monsters_and_Meat wrote: »
    These images contain hateful, violent imagery. People should not be attacked like that. :'(

    8. Posts Must Abide By All Legal Statutes

    ...
    c) Images containing hateful or violent imagery, depiction of illegal activities, or copyrighted material are not allowed and will be removed.

    I sincerely hope this is a joke.
  • Of_Monsters_and_Meat
    Of_Monsters_and_Meat Posts: 1,022 Member
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    kamakazeekim wrote: »
    Of_Monsters_and_Meat wrote: »
    These images contain hateful, violent imagery. People should not be attacked like that. :'(

    8. Posts Must Abide By All Legal Statutes

    ...
    c) Images containing hateful or violent imagery, depiction of illegal activities, or copyrighted material are not allowed and will be removed.

    The OP was showing how far we've come and celebrating how women can now participate in marathons...you can't be blind to what happened in the past!

    Some people might find those images triggering. I would also add to @Laura732 I'm not sure where you are coming from, but ripping things off of people is considered assault.
  • Of_Monsters_and_Meat
    Of_Monsters_and_Meat Posts: 1,022 Member
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    _John_ wrote: »
    pics are still (real shots) of a woman getting attacked...

    ^^ This. I'm shocked at the amount of people defending the glamorization of attacking women like this.
  • Dragn77
    Dragn77 Posts: 810 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Holy cow... showing how far weve come is not glamorizing attack on women, its glamorizing how far we've come since that day.

    that you cannot see the intent behind this post, and consider this story and the events that happened that day as something that should be brushed away, hidden, and forgotten about is actually scary.

    Semple didnt even get a chance to touch her...he lunged but her husband got to him first and pushed the guy away from her.

    So...does that mean you are angry that her husband brutally and physically attacked Semple to defend his wife? Because thats actually what we are looking at here...
  • boyddt_mn
    boyddt_mn Posts: 1 Member
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    of_monsters, I'm surprised that you feel that historical media should be censored, as though turning a blind eye to the worlds problems will make them go away. It is because we get to re-live our past through the media, be it photos, movies or text that we hopefully learn from our forefathers mistakes. Would you censor the attacks on the civil rights protesters from the 50's & 60's? How about the pictures from Dachau or Auschwitz. Though I'm sure that Mrs. Switzer was probably upset with what was happening at the time, she is also probably really proud of what was accomplished.
    There are dirty and nasty pieces of our society which do make us uncomfortable to see and remember, that doesn't mean we should avoid them.

  • GretchenReine
    GretchenReine Posts: 1,427 Member
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    Thanks for posting the article! It's amazing how much progress has been made over the years!

    Good luck to those running in Boston today!!! :)
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    If these photos are something we should be hiding away from society because they are attacks on women, then I feel we should ban all movies and books written before the 1970's because they all portray sexism and racism.

    This isn't a modern photo with the message "this is how we should be treating people." This is a message saying "this is what it was like 50 years ago," and "this is where we are now." If you really have an issue with celebrating how far we've come, you should turn off your computer now, close your blinds and windows, and hide in your house because the world is obviously against you.
  • _incogNEATo_
    _incogNEATo_ Posts: 4,543 Member
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    boyddt_mn wrote: »
    of_monsters, I'm surprised that you feel that historical media should be censored, as though turning a blind eye to the worlds problems will make them go away. It is because we get to re-live our past through the media, be it photos, movies or text that we hopefully learn from our forefathers mistakes. Would you censor the attacks on the civil rights protesters from the 50's & 60's? How about the pictures from Dachau or Auschwitz. Though I'm sure that Mrs. Switzer was probably upset with what was happening at the time, she is also probably really proud of what was accomplished.
    There are dirty and nasty pieces of our society which do make us uncomfortable to see and remember, that doesn't mean we should avoid them.

    This is not the place for that, though. Forum rules are forum rules.
  • MissMary75044
    MissMary75044 Posts: 517 Member
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    Never knew this, thanks for sharing. I don't think is glamorizing or glorifying such actions, it's merely a lesson the vileness of inequality. I think we all need to not only see images like this, but fully understand the amount of hatred that is behind discrimination. Discrimination is rooted in fear, and the belief that one human is inferior to another and therefore deserves inferior treatment. It's not an offensive image by any means. Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.
  • Dragn77
    Dragn77 Posts: 810 Member
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    Indeed...that someone can look at this and not see the bravery of this woman to be the very first official runner in the Boston marathon, to see what she had to deal with and how it paved the way for the women after her...to see this as a negative thing to scorn and become angry about because they dont like it is beyond me.

    I dont usually get upset over stuff, but I calmed by the thought that this has to be a joke / troll not taking seriously what is obviously a salute to women and an important and interesting part of history.

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