Wasichana Wanahitaji Watu Wanaokula Njama

Girls need co-conspirators

KISWAHILI

[Mkimbiaji na mwandishi Lauren Fleshman anazungumza kuhusu awamu tofauti za wavulana na wasichana wanapobalehe--awamu ambazo huleta kilele cha miaka ya utendaji wa riadha kuwa baadaye kwa wale waliozaliwa wakiwa wanawake; na jinsi msisitizo wa kitamaduni wa Marekani wa wakimbaji wasomi wa juu ya uzani mdogo wa mwili na mafuta ya mwili mdogo kwa utabiri kuwaondoa wakimbiaji wanawake kutoka kwa mashindano wakati wa miaka yao ya kilele cha utendaji.]

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

[Runner and author Lauren Fleshman talks about the different timelines adolescent boys and girls follow, ones that yield much later peak athletic years for those born female at birth; and how the American elite running culture's emphasis on low body weight and body fat predictably eliminates women runners from competition during their peak performance years.]

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KISWAHILI

"…ni barabara unayotaka mwishowe, ambayo ni, bora kwako kabisa.... Nasema hivi kwa mzaha lakini...watu wanaoshinda rekodi [za wakimbiaji wasomi] ni wanawake wazima katika miili ya wanawake wazima.…

“Unahitaji kufika huko, kwa kweli [kuwa mwanawake mzima]...[na] kila mtu anahitaji kula njama katika kusaidia wasichana wa balehe wengi wafike miili yao ya wanawake kamili na madhara kidogo iwezekanavyo...

"…bila kuchukia miili yao, bila kuiona kama kushindwa, bila kujinyima wenyewe, kupoteza hedhi yao, kuvunja mifupa au chochote kile, au kuwa na vitu hivi chini ya uso, na kujiandaa kwa hilo kutokea mwaka mmoja au miwili baadaye. Hawajui hata kwamba...kizuizi chao cha chakula italeta athari mbaya baadaye...[na] kama tukikubali sote, tunaweza kufanya hivyo: Tunaweza kula njama kwa njia hiyo.

- Lauren Fleshman, wakati wa mahojiano na Des Linden na Kara Goucher kwenye podikasti yao mpya Nobody Asked Us with Des & Kara. Lauren hivi karibuni alichapisha Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man’s World.

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ENGLISH TRANSLATION

"…it is the pathway to what you really want in the end, which is, your ultimate excellence.... I say this flippantly but...the people who hold the records [of elite running] are grown-ass women in grown-ass women's bodies….

“You need to get actually there [to be a grown woman]...[and] everyone needs to be co-conspirators in helping as many adolescent girls get into their woman body with as little harm as possible...

“…without hating their body, without viewing it as a failure, without depriving themselves, losing their periods, breaking their bones or whatever it is, or having this stuff under the surface, getting ready for that to happen a year or two later. They don't even know that their...food restriction is going to have negative effect later...[and] if we all buy in, we can do that: We can co-conspire in that way.

- Lauren Fleshman, during an interview with Des Linden and Kara Goucher on their new podcast Nobody Asked Us with Des & Kara. Lauren recently released Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man’s World.

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KISWAHILI: Asante na tutaonana tena,

Mmerikani

ENGLISH TRANSLATION: Thank you and may we see each other again,

Mmerikani

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Chanzo (source): Goucher, Kara and Des Linden.  "4. A Chat with Lauren Fleshman." Interview by Des Linden and Kara Goucher. Nobody Asked Us with Des & Kara. January 31, 2023. Audio (podcast), 58:00 minutes; above excerpt is from 32:29 to 33:19. Retrieved from Spotify:

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