Updated at 12.35
IRELAND, IF RECENT studies are to be believed, has an obesity problem. Back in April, research indicated that the issue was getting worse.
A number of measures are being suggested to curb the dilemma. ‘Wellbeing’ will be taught as a subject in the Junior Cert curriculum from 2017, while the first-ever National Fitness Day has been introduced.
Studies have shown that, in addition to childhood obesity, there is a big drop off in people participating in sport between secondary school and college. In addition, only 32% of Irish adults meet the minimum physical activity recommendations, which drops to 19% for primary school students and 12% for secondary school pupils.
Young women, in particular, often develop different priorities and their interest in sport tends to lessen as they grow up, largely owing to the harmful perception that it is ‘for boys’.
To combat this particular issue, the ‘like a girl’ campaign involving Sonia O’Sullivan is one of the initiatives aiming to encourage young women to remain active and to regard competing in a sport as a viable ambition.
In addition, Cork camogie legend and host of Ireland’s Fittest Family, Anna Geary, is an ambassador for National Fitness Day, which takes place today.
While she went on to become a top athlete regardless, retiring from inter-county duty in May of last year having won four All-Irelands with Cork, Geary believes more needs to be done to rectify the negative connotations surrounding women in sport.
Unfortunately, perceptions change as we grow up and being ‘like a girl’ is seen as a negative thing,” she tells The42. “If a guy is insulting another guy, he’ll say ‘stop acting like a girl’. When did that become a negative thing? To do something ‘like a girl’.
“We need to get there in terms of breaking down that stigma. The only way you do that is using high-profile men in the sporting world to back their female counterparts and show support for women.
A recent campaign used high-profile figures in the GAA to come out and show that they were supporting women. It shows younger girls that you are being supported, you are being recognised, so it’s not seen as a bad thing to be a girl playing sport.”
One big obstacle is the perceived lack of glamour attached to female athletes in contrast with many of their male counterparts, and Geary believes this is another issue that needs to be resolved.
Another fact we don’t often consider is that girls shouldn’t feel that they have to choose between (sport and) feeling like a woman, and getting involved in fashion, and all the things associated with being a teenager, and clothes and makeup,” explains Geary.
“They don’t have to choose, they can do both. They can feel like a young female adult growing up — going shopping, putting their tan on, putting their makeup on — and also be a fierce athlete.
There are these preconceived notions of what a sportswoman is meant to look like, what they’re meant to wear, how they’re meant to dress… Yet some of the most glamorous women I know are excelling in the sporting world, and I pride myself on that.
“When I’m not playing camogie, I love to dress up, I love to dress in my heels, I love to wear dresses. But that doesn’t mean that I’m any less of an athlete when I step on to that pitch and go across that white line. It’s getting younger girls to understand that. And this is where parents come into play.
I often speak to parents. I might say: ‘You might not necessarily have loved or been involved with sport, but you need to think — what if I have a daughter?’ Do I want her to exist in a society where she is seen as a second-class citizen, or may feel like a second-class citizen, because she wants to be good at sport?
“It’s everybody’s problem to fix — if you’re a woman in your early 20s who doesn’t really like sport, or if you’re a man.”
Geary is also involved with the WGPA (Women’s Gaelic Players Association), who are helping to provide promising young female athletes with scholarships, as well as the support and funding needed to thrive both on and off the field.
It’s important to show women that, because some of the girls that I knew that were extremely talented gave up down the line for one reason or another. They felt that they weren’t being recognised for the amount of work they put in, or the opportunities weren’t there. It’s about creating those opportunities, so that women will stay in sport.”
Geary believes this inclusive approach will consequently help in the overall fight to rectify Ireland’s obesity issues.
We need society, especially for obese people, to make sure that we have a healthy nation going forward. Otherwise, the government are going to have a hell of a lot more problems down the line, because they’re going to have a hell of a lot of people needing to use doctors and hospitals for Type 2 Diabetes.
“They need to act now and make sure that they’re doing their part to cut the problem, so it’s not going to be a crisis in the next decade.”
Growing up, Geary had first-hand experience of the negative way in which women in sport were looked upon by some, and by the unjustifiable sense of taboo that would have existed around being a sportswoman in Ireland — a taboo which continues to exist today to a degree.
“I grew up and was very proud to say that I’m a sportswoman. Predominantly when I step across the white line, I’m as fiery and as fierce as I possibly can be.
When you’re growing up as a teenager, there were times when people were like: ‘Oh, you’re a camogie player… Well, you’re wearing a dress.’ And I’m like ‘yeah’. And they say: ‘Oh well, you don’t look like a camogie player.’ I’m like: ‘Enlighten me, what is a camogie player meant to look like?’
“I was involved in a campaign where I was doing work as a camogie player. This gentleman, who happened to be involved in running it, came into the room looking for me. He looked around, went out, then came back in again. He said: ‘Are you Anna Geary?’ ‘Yeah.’ He was like ‘oh’. It was because I had a dress, high heels and had fake tan on.
Sometimes, people expect you to look a certain way. Sportspeople across the country will say that, but any sportsperson shouldn’t have to feel like you need to look a certain way.
“I’ll take Serena Williams as an example. How often do you see people on Twitter saying: ‘Oh my God, look at the size of her legs.’ It’s like: ‘Hang on a second, she’s an internationally recognised top-class athlete.’
“You wouldn’t have people saying the same things about Andy Murray or Rafa Nadal, or someone like that, yet she has to cope with that.”
On a related note, the 27-year-old Cork native, who continues to represent her club Milford with distinction, helping them secure an All-Ireland senior crown for the third time in four years last March, feels media coverage is ultimately key in influencing how young people perceive sport.
Younger girls, in particular, when you’re in your teenage years, and body image is a massive thing — for girls more so than guys — confidence and self esteem can plummet, because their bodies are changing and they can be really uncomfortable, if they feel as if they’re being scrutinised about how they look and what way their gear looks on them.
“I remember I used to go swimming and hated it — not because I hated swimming, but because I hated putting on the swimming togs. Things like that — it’s just about empowering younger girls. It doesn’t matter how you look, it’s about how you perform in sport.
You should never have to feel as if you look a certain way — that’s the message that needs to be promoted. And it needs to be promoted by women that have done it and experienced it, and women that are role models for younger girls.
“But in order for them to be role models, they need to be seen a lot more often in mainstream media. If girls can’t see these women progressing and being successful, if they can’t see it in the media, then how can they want to become it, because they don’t know it exists?”
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