Women Don't Need Other Women to Police Their Marathon Tutus
Part of the pleasure of running a marathon (or cheering for runners from the sidelines) is seeing all the folks who bring a little costume fun to the grueling proceedings. I've run eight full marathons and volunteered at countless others, so I've witnessed everything from a male runner dressed as a testicle to a woman dressed as Darth Vader.
But apparently, the folks at Self Magazine need to get out of the house a little more often. In their April issue they decided to run a picture mocking 35-year-old runner Monika Allen's 2013 Los Angeles Marathon outfit.
Allen, who lives in San Diego, raced through the streets of L.A. while dressed as Wonder Woman, complete with a supercute tutu. But instead of applauding Allen's drive to do something that less than 1 percent of Americans do (running a marathon) or giving Allen kudos for being an entrepreneur (she started a company, Glam Runner, that makes the tutus), Self described Allen's blue tulle skirt as "lame."
"A racing tutu epidemic has struck NYC's Central Park, and it's all because people think these froufrou skirts make you run faster," read Self's photo caption. "Now, if you told us they made people run from you faster, maybe we would believe it."
For Self editors, making fun of Allen's choice of running gear was totally acceptable—until Allen revealed why she was dressed that way.
"The reason we were wearing those outfits is because this was my first marathon running with brain cancer," Allen told NBC San Diego.
The backlash this week caused Self editor-in-chief Lucy Danziger to issue an apology. "I am personally mortified," Danziger told USA Today. "I had no idea that Monika had been through cancer. It was an error. It was a stupid mistake. We shouldn't have run the item."
On Friday, Danziger also reached out to Allen and posted an interview with her on Self's website, talking "about how we could work together to create a positive message as a result of this negative incident."
While it's fantastic that Danziger highlighted how Allen's business, Glam Runner, has donated $5,600 to the nonprofit 5K training program Girls on the Run and says Allen is a hero, here's the thing: Self didn't need to comment on Allen's tutu in the first place.
It shouldn't have to be said, but when someone is running 26.2 miles, she can wear whatever she likes. Seriously.
Danziger says Self is planning to discontinue its BS Meter. That's good news because at a time when women deal with being called bossy, are denied leading roles in Hollywood, and juggle plenty of responsibilities to break glass ceilings in the corporate world, the last thing we need is to tear each other down.
Related stories on TakePart:
• This Rad Country Rates Movies Based on Whether They're Sexist
• Could A Makeover For Feminism's Brand Get Women To Buy In?
• Damsels in Distress No More: Women Can Be Heroes in Comics
Original article from TakePart
