You are asking SUCH good questions! As I read through the responses, I kept thinking, “Yes, exactly!” So I went through all of the answers and copied and pasted those comments that I thought were precisely on point (see below). There are three key themes: 1) The conversation and/or message you send with the aim of encouraging a woman to try triathlon is far different than the conversation you have with that woman, if she gets hooked on the sport and has a desire to improve her times. 2) Women tend to react poorly when men (and other women) try to tell them what body weight or type they should seek. If a woman wants your advice on how much she should weigh or how to achieve a certain body shape, she will ask you for it. If she doesn’t, keep your mouth shut, because you could do longlasting damage with your well-intentioned but potentially very hurtful comment. 3) There is a wide range in perspectives among women who do triathlons, and you’re never going to be able to reach all of them with the same message. Some women want a TON of encouragement and positive affirmations and want to feel a sense of community with those around them before they’ll put themselves out there and try something they find intimidating as hell. Other women just want to be able to get some tips and ask some questions without being belittled by “know-it-alls.” Figure out which group you want to reach and target your message accordingly. Candidly, the Women's Forum is a great place for those of us who want to be able to ask questions without facing the snark of the main forum, so you've already help create a welcoming environment for female triathletes.
The comments I thought were most on point are copied and pasted below from other posts.
In response to the last part of your post concerning "filling up the pool swim, women only..." the goal should be creating a safe and supportive environment that lets these participants be competitive, have fun, spend a few hours away from being a "mom," "wife," "caregiver" or whatever hat they wear. I do not see the purpose or need of addressing weight/morphology with this level of athlete. As someone who has had many friends and relatives compete in such races, the joy and pride they get from completing these events is just as much, if not more, than when I do well in a competitive event. I think if someone were to address body size at any point leading up to their race, they would've had a negative experience, and perhaps seen it as just another person/organization trying to make them feel bad because they're not whomever's "ideal" size.
I think just the act of getting women to move more and to challenge themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally is a blueprint for empowerment. And at some point, if women enjoy the challenge of triathlon and want to better themselves, they will start looking for ways to do that, in/out of the pool, on/off the bike, and out/back for their runs. They will do the research and ask questions for how to become more sucessful, and part of that is eating better and conditioning more.
women who are overweight KNOW they are overweight. Please don't presume that you are the first person to "mansplain" this to them and that you have the magical cure that heretofore was unknown to them. The vast majority of women who either listen to or read your thoughts are also aware of what it takes to lose the weight, but don't do it for whatever their reasons are. They might be interested in triathlon as part of the "move more" side of the equation to help balance out the "eat less" that many women find so difficult to overcome.
First timers? Don't mention weight; talk about nutrition habits that support training and performance.
I agree that the atmosphere needs to be focused on being safe and supportive, not competitive, not focused on body type. If someone told me to my face that I would be faster if I lost 10 pounds, I'd first think "no sh*t, Sherlock" and then probably be turned off by the club or race or whomever that comment came from. I didn't start triathlon to lose weight, I did it for the challenge. It turns out that I liked it and continued with it, and only THEN did I worry about getting faster, buying new toys, etc. Dipping that first toe in the water (pun not intended) is going to be the hardest step, so let's worry about how we can get more women to give triathlon a try first before we start telling them how they need to lose weight to improve. To me it's putting the cart before the horse, and it's something that would come naturally as you grow in the sport, anyway.
The comments I thought were most on point are copied and pasted below from other posts.
In response to the last part of your post concerning "filling up the pool swim, women only..." the goal should be creating a safe and supportive environment that lets these participants be competitive, have fun, spend a few hours away from being a "mom," "wife," "caregiver" or whatever hat they wear. I do not see the purpose or need of addressing weight/morphology with this level of athlete. As someone who has had many friends and relatives compete in such races, the joy and pride they get from completing these events is just as much, if not more, than when I do well in a competitive event. I think if someone were to address body size at any point leading up to their race, they would've had a negative experience, and perhaps seen it as just another person/organization trying to make them feel bad because they're not whomever's "ideal" size.
I think just the act of getting women to move more and to challenge themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally is a blueprint for empowerment. And at some point, if women enjoy the challenge of triathlon and want to better themselves, they will start looking for ways to do that, in/out of the pool, on/off the bike, and out/back for their runs. They will do the research and ask questions for how to become more sucessful, and part of that is eating better and conditioning more.
women who are overweight KNOW they are overweight. Please don't presume that you are the first person to "mansplain" this to them and that you have the magical cure that heretofore was unknown to them. The vast majority of women who either listen to or read your thoughts are also aware of what it takes to lose the weight, but don't do it for whatever their reasons are. They might be interested in triathlon as part of the "move more" side of the equation to help balance out the "eat less" that many women find so difficult to overcome.
First timers? Don't mention weight; talk about nutrition habits that support training and performance.
I agree that the atmosphere needs to be focused on being safe and supportive, not competitive, not focused on body type. If someone told me to my face that I would be faster if I lost 10 pounds, I'd first think "no sh*t, Sherlock" and then probably be turned off by the club or race or whomever that comment came from. I didn't start triathlon to lose weight, I did it for the challenge. It turns out that I liked it and continued with it, and only THEN did I worry about getting faster, buying new toys, etc. Dipping that first toe in the water (pun not intended) is going to be the hardest step, so let's worry about how we can get more women to give triathlon a try first before we start telling them how they need to lose weight to improve. To me it's putting the cart before the horse, and it's something that would come naturally as you grow in the sport, anyway.