FEMINISM - Female boxers are a rarity. Female athletes in general seems to be a rarity.So when I heard a female boxer has been banned from fighting - because of her breast implants - I thought, well, what should we make of that?
Sarah Blewden, 25, has been told that repeated blows to her false breasts could knock them out of shape and damage her breast tissue. She was stunned when she was told she wasn’t allowed to fight under Queensbury rules due to her implants.
A medical expert from the association said Sarah’s chest was at risk of ‘capsular contracture’ or distortion if they were repeatedly hit. Blood cells in the breast tissue pushed forward by the implants could also be harmed, the medical expert ruled. Sarah said: ‘I think it is just ridiculous. My surgeon said they make me no more vulnerable than any other woman. They are not enormous ones - they are in proportion.'
These are not 'huge' breast implants as you can see from the photos. She got them because her breasts looked deformed and she wanted a more natural look (that's right, breast implants that look normal).Technically speaking breast implants are very difficult to break or get dislodged, and as it stands many female boxers wear protective gear over their breasts to prevent regular injury.
INTERESTING POINT: There are a lot of male boxers with pec implants to make them look more buff, but none of them have been banned for the same reason that Sarah Blewden is being banned for.
So is this really a worry about injury? Sarah Blewden evidently is confident enough that her breasts won't be injured and is willing to take that risk that she's wrong. And even they did somehow get damaged, she could easily have surgery to fix the problem.
Male boxers with pec implants are also confident their implants won't be damaged either.
So why the double standard?
Its because women are supposed to be beautiful, and female athletes are often discriminated against in sports because they're worried about the marring of female beauty.
The sentiment is nice, but its not necessary. We girls can take care of ourselves.
Sarah Blewden still hopes to box in the 2012 Olympics in London.
See Also:
Sport in a Masculinist World
Gender Biases in School Sports
Weightlifting for Women
The Often Misunderstood She-Hulk
You throw like a girl!
Women's Fitness
No comments:
Post a Comment