Dara just one the national title in the 100M Freestyle in 54.4 at the ripe old age of 40. Simply Incredible. :applaud: :woot:
If that's not inspiring I don't know what is.
No, that's not what I said. I believe I said what I meant. How many women in the 50's had a college scholarship for athletics? How many women in the 50's had real musclar definition without disapproval from society? How many women took an hour or two each day to work-out? Not many.
I guess you don't appreciate the freedom and diversity of life allowed women compared to back then that I do. That's alright. I'm just glad for the changes, myself. I'll "swim my own stroke" and let you swim yours.
gobears - I apologize as I may have read a litte too much into your opinion on this matter. Everything you said is true. It is a little disturbing though when one sees bright gals that want to be teachers and are discouraged from doing so because they have the choices to be docs, lawyers, etc. It is as if because they have this choice, they are sometimes viewed as living short of their potential if they don't go the route of being a CEO, accountant, etc. We don't have enough good teachers now and I can't help but wonder if that is a bad thing.
Like many, I probably take the choices and opportunities for granted. Despite the opportunities available to women, I'm just not sure that life is any easier for women than it was in the fifties. It certainly is if one has the desire to pursue an education or be athletic, but for some women, this is not a priority in their life.
Choice is wonderful no doubt. Listening to today's songs, watching t.v., and reading various things, I'm just not certain that women are more respected than they were in the 1950s.
The interesting thing is, since we didn't know about things like BALCO and doping problems in the Tour de France in the 1950s, I actually think Dara's accomplishments would not have been questioned. Sure people might have disapproved of her lifestyle, but this is not as bad as people thinking one is on PEDs. I imagine that there were some women out there in the 1950s that were athletic and an inspiration to women.
Sorry, but what mother would like it if her son's wife left him with their child for a month? :rolleyes:
Maybe a woman who feels proud that her son is just as capable a parent as his wife?
quote=SwimStud;142118
Sorry for the seeming lecture but what I wrote before didn't deserve one either, I said wrote the words "societal influence" to show that I was talking about the "social" set up for mental issues.
;)
Swimstud - I owe you an apology as well. After I had already posted my thing about you being in the dark ages :argue:, I realized I misread your post. I think the points we both made, however, led to a good discussion. I agree with you on all of your points.
I'm not aging as well as Dara.
and women who are just wives and mothers are viewed as women who have "morphed" into having no life of their own and put pounds on as the years go by.
I was just talking to a fellow forumite about this last week, but I'll go ahead and put it out there for public scrutiny. :)
Why are people so caught up on what others think of them, or how others might label them? Live your own life. If you want to be a stay at home mom, or dad, that's great. You want to go out and pursue a career? Hey, that's fine too. Either way, somebody is bound to disagree with your decision and chances are, you're going to hear about it.
There has been a lot in this "Dara" thread....
I agree that many public figures such as fashion models present unrealistically (and unhealthy) thin images of women. But obesity is a far larger and deadlier problem. Recent data says 30+% of Americans are obese. I found data that says there may be 10M women dealing with various eating disorders. That is a lot of women but far more are overweight. I don't suggest any less attention on eating disorders and healthy body images for girls and women.
I am concerned about the growing number of "it's ok to be fat" messages and movements today. Rosie O'Donnell and Cameon Mannheim are not good body images for young girls. A teenage girl shouldn't over-react if she's 5'5 and 140 - but she absolutely must act if she is 200 lbs.
And for Elise526 - I am almost 50. I do not believe for a second that women are less respected today than they were in the 50s. I don't think it means that people expect women to be like Dara or Oprah. There are many parts of the feminist community I disagree with but I am glad that women have the freedoms and choices that they do. I am far more interested in educated, active women like my wife. That doesn't mean they can't be stay at home moms, or schoolteachers. I don't think the Mayberry RFD lifestyle is something many Americans want. My mother, at 79 years old, is thrilled with what she can do today.
The Mayberry days sure were much simpler! We didn't have a mortgage foreclosure crisis going on, obesity problems, identity theft, terrorist problems in our country, or shootings in the schools.
Having grown up in the Washington, D.C. area, and having moved to take a job in the land of Mayberry, life sure does seem much easier whatever one chooses to do.
QUIET! GET BACK IN THE KITCHEN!
:p
:D
I'm too busy drinking beer and belching.
Elise: Mayberry is alive and well in the Washington DC suburbs, though perhaps not as prevalent in the 1950s. I'm hard pressed to believe there weren't just as many problems then, although perhaps different in nature.
So are you saying there were no athletic women in the fifties? Is there any shame in being a teacher or a secretary? Gee, with the attitude that being an education major is a "lesser than" profession, wonder why our schools have gone to pot.
Um, I don't think anyone said anything of the kind.
I'm too busy drinking beer and belching.
Elise: Mayberry is alive and well in the Washington DC suburbs, though perhaps not as prevalent in the 1950s. I'm hard pressed to believe there weren't just as many problems then, although perhaps different in nature.
You've got to drive pretty far out to get to Mayberry. In Mayberry you don't have to worry about rush hour traffic. Also, you know all the judges well enough so that they always take your side when the big city lawyers come into town.
Also, people are more worried about who is going to win the Little League game than what Dara is doing. The best thing is that since we all know each other, a terrorist would stand out like a sore thumb. I suppose a local could get paid off here to carry out a bomb threat, but there is no glory for the terrorists in letting off a bomb in Mayberry.
And finally, to top it all off, when you are unconventional and are the only woman crazy enough to ride a bicycle with your bathing suit on, you become somewhat of a celebrity.
