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Every year hundreds of thousands of women participate in women’s-only exercise races, such as Tjejmilen, Tjejvasan, Tjejvättern, and Vårruset. And just because sport only with women is a great advantage, according to many of the participants
– Many people feel that they can focus on sports rather than how they look. They also like that it is a woman who goes first in goal and they experience the girls’ career as a friendly race. It’s just nice to get rid of men and their elbows.
This is stated by Annie Woube, ethnologist and researcher at the Center for Gender Studies at Uppsala University, who, together with her research colleague Karin S. Lindelöf, collected stories from 600 participating girls over eight years through a collaboration with the Nordic Museum.
When the girls’ race began to take place in the 1980s, it was not very common for women to participate in the races. Emphasizing community and desire rather than achievement was one way to attract women to the race. This smooth concept lives on, but for many participants today, performance is paramount, research by Woubes and Lindelöfs shows.
– Although community means a lot, most people focus on the sport itself, and for many, the girls’ career becomes a step towards longer and more mixed races. There are also those who feel ambivalent about the concept of girl, not all identify with it.
The softer concept of women’s running has also affected men’s sports to some extent. The bloodstream and the midnight race are two examples of mixed races where community and the joy of movement are emphasized.
“This more permissive form of exercise also gives men a chance to compete for health rather than feel the taste of blood in their mouths,” says Annie Woube.
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