Name: Kate Borows-Lai

Social Justice Group: Sports and Equality

Date of Fieldwork: December 6, 2017

Name of Organization: Olympics and 80’s Aerobics

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Kate Grace (Olympic runner) and Kathy Smith (80’s fitness coach)

Type of Fieldwork: Interview

What I did:

We interviewed Mz. Smith and her daughter Mz. Grace. We talked to them about their experiences as female athletes.

What I learned:

It was interesting to Mz. Smith’s opinions on such things such as the glass ceiling because her experience as a female athlete was a while ago. She said that she and trainers like her were the start of a new age of female empowerment in sports. She was an inspiration to women and made many realize that they could be athletic, too. However, she said that she still faced some opposition and a lot of people didn’t take her seriously because they said she wasn’t a “real athlete.” The definition of an athlete (According to Merriam-Webster) is “a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.” Both Mz. Smith and Mz. Grace fall into that category. However, a common stereotype about athletes is that they are all masculine, tough, aggressive, violent, etc.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

I learned that fighting for social justice is a lot easier once you get people to believe in you. Kathy Grace wanted women to be more involved in sports, so she took a stand and began instructing women on how to do aerobics. Through hard work, she became increasingly popular until millions of women and men supported her. It can take a long time for one to get the word out about what they believe in, but publicity is a very important part of social justice. Kate Grace, being a more modern athlete than her mom, taught us that as well.