SIX OF MY FAVES: MOVIES AND VIDEOS ABOUT FEMALE ATHLETES

I am a big fan of the Go for Your Dreams! genre of movies, especially if they feature female athletes. It is greatly inspiring to see female teens, young adults, and women take on big physical challenges in the face of sexism and racism.

Here are six of my faves (descriptions taken from the Internet).  Take a peak at each!

1. Bend It Like Beckham
"Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra), the daughter of a strict Indian couple (Anupam Kher, Shaheen Khan) in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton (Keira Knightley), who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe."



2. How She Move 
"Raya (Rutina Wesley), a gifted student and dancer at an elite academy, must return home and attend public school after her sister's drug-related death. She has a bitter rivalry with Michelle (Tré Armstrong),in which the two try to see which is the better dancer. Raya convinces Bishop to let her join his all-male dance troupe as they prepare for an upcoming competition."
 

3. Salute the Women of Team USA
"Little Mix’s 'Salute' is being used in a promo for team USA Olympics! This features some of the best female athletes in the world like Serena Williams, Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, Missy Franklin, Allyson Felix, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Kerri Walsh Jennings, and the USWNT Soccer Team!"


4. A WHIRLWIND OF A DREAM: SHANAZE READE
"A short film on BMX Olympian - Shanaze Reade. Her life in her own words and her journey to both Beijing and London Olympics."


5. GRACIE
"Gracie Bowen (Carly Schroeder) is the only girl among her parents' four children. Her brothers and father (Dermot Mulroney) eat, breathe and sleep soccer, and practice the sport every day. When her beloved older brother, Johnny, is killed in a tragic accident, Gracie attempts to come to terms with her grief by petitioning the school board to let her take Johnny's place on the boys varsity soccer team."


6. WHIP IT
"Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) lives in small-town Texas and yearns to break free of her mother's (Marcia Gay Harden) world of beauty pageants and conformity. She sees her chance when she meets the Hurl Scouts, a roller-derby team; she tries out for the team and wins a slot, lying to her parents about her new hobby. Bliss finds friendship and freedom with her teammates, but a conflict between a championship game and the Bluebonnet beauty pageant threatens to spill her secret."
 

PROMO REEL FOR T-REX, A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT LEGENDARY BOXER CLARESSA SHIELDS

T-REX from ZCDC on Vimeo.

CELEBRATING CLARESSA SHIELDS

Photo Credit: http://www.vibe.com/claressa-shields/

During this past summer, I was totally fired up about the U.S. women's Olympics gymnastics team.Loved the Final Five, as they named themselves, and in particular Simone Biles and Aly Raisman.

As much as I loved and celebrated these ladies, I was also aware that there were a lot of female Olympic athletes - including medal winners - whose accomplishments were barely, if at all, publicized in mainstream media news.  And I wanted to know more about them.

That's when I came across boxer Claressa Shields, who not only won a gold medal in this year's Olympic boxing, but also won a gold medal in women's boxing in the 2012 Olympics at the age of 17!  This makes her the only U.S. boxer of either gender to win back-to-back gold medals at the Olympics!

So why did Claressa not get the attention she deserved after winning the gold at the 2012 Olympics? I think it was due to a combination of racism, classism, and sexism.  

As a whole, our society gives more attention to female athletes who fall within what we consider to be "properly or acceptably feminine."  In other words, we are stretched by the idea that a female can be a fantastic boxer and should be fully celebrated for being a boxing champ.

Some important stuff to know about Claressa:  She is from Flint, Michigan.  She had an incredibly rough childhood, which she is open about. She has only lost a single boxing match.  She recently went pro.

If you want to learn more about Claressa, check out the documentary T-Rex.