Blog You Should Read: Feminist Figure Girl

So last week there was an article in the National Post (Canada’s version of the New York Times) discussing a figure competitor named Lianne McTavish who decided to do the show as part of a discussion on political feminism. Sure this is a new twist, but considering the figure competitor in question is a University of Alberta professor of art history and feminist culture, it was something that kinda made me sit up and say “Wha??”

This was a pretty interesting story, I mean beside the fact that someone wanted to get themselves into rip-snortin awesome shape, but the fact that they did it as a part of a cultural study just added some intrigue. Color me attentive!!

Add to the fact that I just started teaching a new course of trainers looking to get certification, and lo and behold who happens to be taking the course?? Pure awesome!! When I asked her why she wanted to take the course to become a trainer, seeing as how she had a full course load as an academic professor in a well-regarded university, she said she wanted to use it to volunteer in women’s shelters to help improve the self-esteem and health habits of the people using the services.

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I don’t think I could explain how truly awesome this is. Not only is she in it for the end goal of helping others, but she’s in it to help out those who need the most and have the least. She’s doing it not for the money, but for the positive impact on society and the female position in society as a whole.

After meeting her and chatting for a few minutes, the topic of her blog came up, and I thought hey, let’s check this out. Of course, it’s very well written (duh! She’s an academic who publishes research on art and sociopsychological aspects) and remarkably funny, while still being very self-assure and non-confrontational. Considering her tag line is “From dowdy ass-kicking feminist to Hot Ass-Kicking Feminist,” you know it’s fantastic. It’s a breath of fresh air in fitness blogging, so you should check out her site Feminist Figure Girl and show her some love.