Its a Mans World...Celebrating being feminine and beating the bias
Im going to start this blog with a disclaimer in order to set the scene... I am a bit of a girly girl.
By that I mean I like to have nice hair, nails, dress feminine and have a man hold the door open for me and treat me like the female I am.
I am NOT however, one of those girls that is SOOO girly, that I start to scream and wave my hands wildly, and slightly dementedly, along with my female friends whenever we meet...or dance around my handbag like it holds a million quid and Idris Elbas mobile phone number, rather than a tissue, my taxi fare and half a kit kat for the journey home. In fact I socialise with the sort of girly girls who also appreciate a pint of real ale and a pasty at the rugby on a Saturday afternoon, fish and chips in newspaper.... So picture, girly, pretty dress, high heels, slightly potty mouth ( ok maybe more than slightly), and a glass of Jim Beam...I have also been prone to crawling round a grubby field with a bunch of Royal Marines and a camera, but that's another post....
I am feminine but not a massive feminist, I agree with equality in work and pay, relationships, and just in general. But lets face it, like it or not, men and women are different creatures, neither one better or worse overall, women will always find they lack in some areas that men excel in, and vice versa....we may be becoming stronger as time evolves, but will a woman ever be as strong as a man? Maybe the odd few of us
I like the feeling that a man is instinctively protective towards a woman, but does that mean I am then seen as weak or submissive in some way...those that know me will assure you that is far from the case!
I do not understand the need for women to continually try and beat down doors to anything that is exclusively male. For instance, what do they think is so exciting about a good old fashioned gentlemans' club? If you are a female who enjoys talking cricket, stocks and shares, drinking expensive whisky and smoking over priced cigars then I guess that answers the question! Although maybe that's me being equally biased and stereo-typying.
Why do we women want to partake in all male activities, be seen as one of the boys, do we really want to be on a stag night, loud, spitting, dribbling in our beer and peeing up a wall? Again, maybe that's stereo-typing, but you have to admit to thinking these things when you are considering the typical boys only environment that historically, and somewhat hysterically, excludes females.
Tuesday 8th March 2022 is International Womens' Day - a day to honour and celebrate all things female, to praise and uplift our sisters out there fighting their way through and proving themselves at every opportunity, showing we are indeed a strong and able sex at pretty much everything we turn our hands to, be it male dominated or not.....but what do you think of when you hear that there is a day dedicated to just women? Is it all about recognising the big wins and those powerful successful women hitting headlines within their specific fields? Chasing down the myths and fantasy of a male world...or maybe its about the 'average' woman going about her day and life and making ripples in her own small pond ( although define average?? Is there such a thing as an average woman?)
so the question is, can a female still be seen as feminine and make her way in a massively male dominated arena?
We all hear about the big gals, celebrities splashed across the media and online social pages, making waves, challenging power and authority, moving into arenas strongly regarded to be male only. They are fortunate enough to have the worlds spotlight to amplify thier voices, hilight their successes, and fans who admire and idolise from their phone screens and swoon over an instagram account. But have you thought where those professional women may have started trying to beat the bias of the long held belief that the world out there only rewards the male species?
How old are these girls who are coming through and questioning such dated ways, when did they start to take a step up and decide to do something classed as outside the allocated box marked 'girls only?....well for Lauryn Hitchcock it was as a young schoolgirl.
The first time I saw Lauryn, she was 14, dressed in boxing shorts, a white vest and donning some rather large menacing blue boxing gloves, stern faced and staring down her opponent across the ring. I was the photographer for the event and I can honestly say its the first girls boxing I had witnessed up close.
{Yes, so this girly girl likes nothing more than watching a good old slugging match, whisky in hand, between 2 big burly heavyweights, growling and snarling across the canvas before attempting to pulverize each other with skills, speed and menace...Mohamed Ali you are my hero! But that is my point, 2 large brutish men, trained, muscled and pumped up on testosterone, not 2 young, slight, blonde teenage girls as were standing in front of me.... and do these girls make me want to get in the ring and have a go too? Absolutely bloody not!!}
Lauryn easily won her fight, slightly dispelled my 'women don't belong in a boxing ring' misogynistic views and, fast forward 2 years, is still very dedicated to her chosen craft. Instead of swapping make up and high heels on a girly Saturday night out, this petite young lady is not only training hard and competing at weekend tournaments, but she is also studying for her exams.
I have got to know a bit more about Lauryn and her family and have discovered the 'normal' girl the other side of the gloves, not the stern fighter I watch in the ring.
With International Womens Day here, I wanted to find the best example of a (non celeb) female in this hugely male sport, and get her outlook on the reality of females in a boxing gym and who better than the girl on my doorstep. I asked Lauryn a bit about what made her want to be a boxer and how she is beating that biased attitude that you have to be a burly tom boy to compete in this male dominated environment.
Lauryn Hitchcock - Lympstone ABC
How did you get into boxing, what was the appeal, was it always your number one goal?
LH - It wasn’t always my number 1 goal, I didn’t realise it was becoming a goal. I started actually doing martial arts with my mum and sister when I was about 8 but it wasn’t really my thing, and I didn’t want to be left out so I kept asking my dad to take me to my local boxing club, Lympstone ABC. I started boxing at age 10. It wasn’t something that actually came easy to me but I really wanted to do it and really enjoyed it but it wasn’t until I had my first skills bout that I realised I wanted it to be something more.
It’s obviously a very male dominated world, so did you find that at all daunting? And how would you assure other girls that it is a place to be?
LH - No I didn’t find it daunting at all, I don’t think it was ever something that came into my head as I think I was a little too young to realise about bias or stereotypes in general. I was always encouraged to do whatever I wanted to do by my parents and didn’t understand the male / female divide that is within sports, which I now realise exists. I think the first time I realised that boxing was viewed as a predominately male sport was when people would ask my parents if they had forced me to do it, which shocked me and didn’t feel right because for anyone who has ever boxed knows you can’t force someone to get in the ring and be hit in the face, it is something you have to want to do! Ha! For me I want all young girls to know that you can do whatever you want to do and if you want to box you should have the right. The more girls that are in boxing the more accessible and normalised the sport will become and I like the fact that I am a part of that. I am lucky to have a very sportive coach and club which makes a massive difference – Paul Silk, Lympstone ABC.
What’s the biggest stigma / myth about the boxing world and women that you would like to dispel in order to encourage more women to get involved?
LH - I think the biggest stereotype is that girls aren’t strong enough or good enough to do the sport and those who do do the sport must not be feminine or girly and are butch and scary, which is totally not the case. I have had people tell me that before they got to know me they thought I was scary because I was a girl who wanted to box, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable at the time but now I just laugh about it. I am lucky I suppose as I don’t let people’s opinions of me bother me too much but what I would say to other young girls wanting to enter stereotypical sports is to be encouraged by these comments and use them to be more powerful and confident in themselves.
LH - Truthfully it can be a struggle. At the moment with my GCSE exams coming up I am training about 3 times a week, but sometimes can be more if there are training camps or competitions. I try to vary my training from skill and technical work, fitness and stamina both in the club with my coach but also in my own time as you have to do training by yourself in order to maintain the level that you at. I have to be organised for both boxing and school and in fact life in general – everything is scheduled within a timetable. I actually think that the discipline and focus of the sport for the last 5 years is now helping me with my exams.
What do your family think of you boxing and do you all have a proudest moment so far?
LH - My family are very supportive of me. They are extremely proud and tell me that they are impressed by my determination. My proudest moment so far was the first time I went all three rounds and won with the judges voting unanimously in my favour. It was such an adrenaline rush and it made me want to do it again. For my parents, their proudest moment was when I won the Devon Boxing Award for Best School Girl.
If you were selling boxing as a sport or interest to other girls what 3 words would be your key selling points?
LH - Character building – it has given me confidence and had an impact on who I am today. It gives me a sense of security and gives me an extra bit of confidence when I go out that I will be able look after myself.
Fitness – it has helped me to become fit as well as doing something I really enjoy in the process.
Satisfaction – when you have done all of your training for that one moment when it all pays off it is just the best feeling.
If you could possess any super power what would it be an why?
LH - My super power would be to be able to change people’s perceptions and closed minded opinions of women in sport. I am extremely proud to be a female boxer and other girls should be proud too and we should all work together to #BreakTheBias.
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