What is it that you misunderstand about these hips?

my hips?

These are my hips-

these fifty – two inch hips

attached to this thirty-six inch waist

are my hips and they tell herstory

perhaps you question the size of my hips-

the second largest continent in the world sired these hips

of course they would be as large-

the oldest civilization on earth gave birth to these hips

of course they would be as wide-

Writer Stephanie Kuehnert Overcame Gym Class PTSD and So Can You!

As the child of two nurses, I was an active, healthy kid outside of school. I took swimming classes since before my first birthday and the pool was my favorite place to be all summer long. I was always enrolled in either dance or gymnastics. My primary forms of transportation were biking or rollerblading (well, as a child of the ’80s, I started with roller skates.) I even played baseball and basketball with my brother and boy cousins.  All of these activities were for fun. No one cared how well I did. It was never a competition.

Gym class, however, was a different experience. There the boys taunted, “oh my God, you suck!” at any missed swing, throw, or catch. I was always among the last to be picked and the first to be blamed for any losses.

But the worst thing about gym class wasn’t the bullying or the sexism or even that universal childhood trauma known as dodge ball. It was that goddamn yearly Presidential Physical Fitness Test (now known as the President’s Challenge.

Racing Phenom Tatyana MsFadden Wins London Marathon

Tatyana McFadden
Photo: Guardian UK

On April 21, less than a week after claiming the same title in Boston, University of Illinois student Tatyana McFadden took first place in the London Marathon wheelchair race, with a record-setting course time of 1:46:02. MsFadden’s goal is to go on to win the Chicago and New York races this year, before heading to Sochi, Russia for the 2014 Winter Olympics. McFadden dedicated her London win to the victims of the Boston Marathon bomb attack.

In the foot race, Kenya’s Priscah Jeptoo came in first with a time of 2:20:15, after Olympic champion and last year’s London winner Tiki Gelana collided with a wheelchair racer, effectively taking her out of the race. Priscah Jeptoo trains with, but is otherwise unrelated to, Boston elite winner Rita Jeptoo.