Representation Matters: Role Modelling to Increase Physical Activity
Join us to continue the conversation at our Innovating a Healthier Future Summit on May 2-4, 2018.
Post by Toni Carey, PHA Senior Manager and Co-Founder of Black Girls Run (@toni_carey)
Moms have a way with words. I was 24, and I bought my first pair of running shoes in anticipation of training for a half marathon. Without missing a beat, she said, “Your uterus is going to fall out.”
For decades, myths like this have prevented women from competing in marathons and subsequently created a perception that running is only a sport where white men were welcome.
Our bodies were designed to move, and as we work to course-correct the lack of physical activity in our daily lives, there’s a piece of the puzzle that is often ignored: representation.
When I co-founded an organization dedicated to galvanizing African-American women to live a healthy lifestyle through running, we were on a mission to “dispel the myth” – the myth that black women didn’t run and, subsequently change the narrative that the running community was not a place they belonged. The 6.4% increase in minority participation of African-American women and men over the course of five short years is just a snapshot of what happens when there’s focused efforts around education and role modelling.
The significance of role-modeling was clear to me when a Race Director commented, “What you’ve done is given these women permission to be a part of this sport. They see you running and it gives them permission to run this distance too.”
What happened next was even more eye opening. I noticed daughters of those women showing up to early morning races to cheer on the sidelines or even participate themselves. The permission that we gave those women was being passed from generation to generation right before my eyes.
While we may forget the subtleties and nuanced messages that are often presented when there’s a lack of representation in sports and marketing, I’m encouraged by role-modelling’s transformative nature that has not only made the running community a place where everyone feels welcomed, but has given many minorities a path forward in changing their health and the health of their communities.
To learn more about the impact of physical activity on our nation’s youth, consider joining PHA at our Innovating a Healthier Future Summit on May 2-4, 2018. View all physical activity Summit sessions.