FITNESS IS A FEMINIST ISSUE

Growing Up in the 80s: Justine Blainey’s Fight for Hockey

As a preteen girl in the 1980s, I was captivated by Justine Blainey’s legal battle to play hockey on a boys’ team. The girls’ league wasn’t competitive enough for her—the boys’ league offered more games, more practice, and a longer season. Plus, she loved body checking – and the girls weren’t allowed to do that.

Justine disguised herself as a boy to play. But when she wanted to compete openly as a girl, the league said no. This led to an epic and widely publicized legal battle between a 12-year-old and the Ontario Hockey Association. Her fight wasn’t just about hockey—it was about challenging deeply ingrained societal norms that dictated what was “appropriate” for girls.

Blainey’s case exposed systemic discrimination in sports. She argued her exclusion violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which prohibits sex discrimination. In 1987, after years of legal battles, the Ontario Human Rights Commission ruled in her favor, making sex discrimination in sports unlawful. This landmark decision opened doors for countless girls to compete in arenas once closed to them.

Though her teammates were supportive, her victory came at a heavy cost. Blainey endured relentless media attention, bullying, prank calls, hate mail, and even death threats. Watching her struggle was an early lesson in feminist activism, showing me how fiercely society resists change when traditional gender roles are challenged.

Fitness as Feminism: A Historical Context

Women’s participation in sports and fitness has always been political. For much of the 20th century, physical exertion was deemed unladylike, and myths persisted that exercise would make women infertile, masculine, or undesirable. These fears reinforced outdated notions of femininity as softness, smallness, and dependence.

The bicycle revolutionized women’s mobility in the late 19th century. Before bicycles, the women’s movement was severely restricted. Social norms and restrictive fashions confined them to domestic spaces or made them reliant on male assistance, such as hitching horses. The emergence of the “safety bicycle” changed everything. Bicycles gave women unprecedented freedom to travel on their own power, transforming the way they engaged with public life.
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Suffragist leader Susan B. Anthony famously said, “Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel … the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.” Indeed, the bicycle became a potent symbol of the first wave of feminism, embodying progress and independence.

However, this newfound freedom didn’t come without backlash. Doctors and moralists warned women against cycling, claiming it was physically and morally dangerous. They coined absurd medical conditions like “bicycle face,” described as a flushed or pale complexion, drawn lips, dark shadows under the eyes, and a perpetually anxious expression from the “unconscious effort” of maintaining balance. In other words, it supposedly made women… unpretty. Some even suggested that riding a bicycle could lead to sterility or improper sexual arousal due to the design of the saddle.

Fashion also became a battleground. Victorian clothing, with its long skirts and corsets, made cycling impractical. This led to the rise of “rational dress”—divided skirts, bloomers, and looser garments designed to enable physical activity. Though practical, these outfits were often ridiculed as unfeminine or shameful, reflecting broader anxieties about women encroaching on male-dominated spaces.

Despite the resistance, women embraced cycling, not just for its physical benefits but for its role in social change. Bicycles allowed women to participate more fully in public life and bolstered the suffrage movement. They also provided a new sense of agency over their bodies, challenging the prevailing narrative of female fragility. For women, cycling was a path to health, empowerment, and freedom.

The bicycle’s history reminds us that every movement forward, whether physical or social, has the power to redefine freedom and equality.  Despite opposition, women embraced cycling for its physical and social benefits. It bolstered the suffrage movement and challenged narratives of female fragility. Even today, in places like Saudi Arabia and Iran, cycling remains a feminist issue, reminding us that movement—both physical and social—redefines freedom.

From Movement to Movement: A Personal Journey
Growing up, I wasn’t great at sports, but I loved movement—biking, swimming, running, dancing, rollerskating. 

As a teenager, the discovery of aerobics changed my life and led me to where I am today. The music, synchronized routines, and collective energy left me exhilarated. In school, my experience with movement was that it was about grades and competition. But in aerobics class, we moved for the pure joy of movement. At the YMCA, women of every age, size, and shape cheered each other on, celebrating strength in a non-competitive way. It brought me freedom, friendship, and joy. I was hooked.  

In a world that tries to control women’s bodies, reclaiming strength and physical autonomy is a revolutionary act. Today, as a kinesiologist and group fitness instructor, I help women tap into their power and embody their bodies with acceptance, joy, peace, and compassion.  

Fitness and Safety: The Cost of Participation

For women, fitness comes with an added concern: safety. Running, going to the gym, or even walking to a car after a workout can sometimes feel dangerous.

Earlier this year, I experienced this firsthand. After a brief hello to a stranger in passing on my lunch break, they waited for me until the end of my shift at the yoga studio.   When I left work for the day, they followed me to my car and got angry when I rejected their advances.  It was a chilling reminder of the vigilance women must maintain.
When I trail run, I text my route and a check-in time to a friend. I wonder: would my trail running experience be better if I didn’t have to strategize for safety?

This isn’t just my story.  A 2023 Adidas study, “The Ridiculous Run,” found 92% of women worry about safety while running, with over half fearing physical attack. Many take precautions—wearing loose clothes, running in groups, carrying safety devices—but 38% still report harassment. The toll is profound: anxiety, diminished enjoyment, and sometimes quitting running entirely.

Gyms aren’t always safe either. A 2021 RunRepeat survey found 56% of women experience harassment at the gym—nearly three times the rate for men. Many rely on filming interactions or women-only spaces. But why should the burden of safety fall on women?

Fitness should empower, yet women navigate a minefield of precautions just to be able to exercise. To create inclusive fitness spaces, we need systemic change: allyship education for men, better safety measures, and cultural shifts recognizing women’s right to move freely.

Fitness and Bodily Autonomy

Women’s bodily autonomy is being threatened across North America. What does it mean to be strong and fit in a world seeking to control our bodies? Claiming physical strength is a collective act of resistance against forces that seek to diminish us.  It’s inseparable from broader feminist struggles like reproductive rights, equal pay, and freedom from gender-based violence.

The Feminist Future of Fitness

Opportunities for women in sports have expanded since Justine Blainey’s fight in the 1980s. Today, professional women’s leagues thrive, and more girls compete. Yet disparities in resources, recognition, and respect persist.  And then there’s the issue of trans women in sports.  Every body deserves the right to live peacefully, powerfully and playfully in their body.  We have lots of work ahead of us on this front. 

Meanwhile, women-led fitness movements are redefining strength on their own terms. From basketball to pilates to weightlifting, women are claiming their physical power. This women’s day, let’s celebrate what our bodies can do and support each other in movement so we can all be strong and free.