Guest Post: The State of Men's Figure Skating

When you think of figure skating I’m sure there more than a few names that pop into your head immediately, such as Nancy Kerrigan, Tonya Harding, Oksana Baiul, Michelle Kwan, Katarina Witt, Tara Lipinski, Dorothy Hamill, and Kristi Yamaguchi. Now, try to think of famous male figure skater besides Johnny Weir... Evan Lysacek, Scott Hamilton, and Brian Boitano are the only two who would likely come to mind aside from the previously mentioned Mr. Weir, who gained his notoriety more off the ice than on. With the 2014 Winter Olympics closer than ever, it’s hard not to wonder why women’s figure skating is one of the most hotly anticipated and covered events in the games, yet many fans can hardly name any male figure skaters. The story of Tonya and Nancy is forever etched into American pop culture, but how many people know about “The Brians” from the 1988 games? Granted, their rivalry didn’t involve someone getting attacked with a club, but it was still intense, and an important part of figure skating history.

Figure skating is one of the few sports, and even fewer professions, where women are more likely than men to be recognized for their work, and as a result, claim the higher paychecks. That being said, the average women’s program isn’t any more difficult or spectacular than the men’s. Watching some of the favorites for the gold medal like Canada’s Patrick Chan or Russia’s Evgeni Plushenko will surely convince you of the validity of men’s role in this sport. Plushenko is returning for his fourth Olympic games this year after earning a gold in 2006 and silver in the 2002 and 2010 games. His skill and technique is second to none, which is what makes it so frustrating for skating fans that he is not held in the same regard as his female counterparts in the sport (just watch this and try to not get goose bumps). This is expected to be his last Olympics and he should be ready to lay it all on the line. His performance should definitely be one you make time to watch.

For such a progressive, developed country, it would appear that gender roles and the importance of masculinity plays a large factor to us, even subconsciously. This takes spotlight with a sport like figure skating. The athleticism, strength, and power that figure skaters have is on par with every single other professional athlete out there. However, because it has the added element of performance and dramatics, the sport becomes automatically discounted as less than masculine. As a culture, we have grown to love the image of a graceful woman twirling and spinning through the air. For women, the more elaborate and sparkly their costumes the better, but when a male figure skater takes a similar approach, not only is he ridiculed but his gender is publicly brought into question by
those covering the event.

The American culture has deemed it more acceptable for women to participate in such activities and heralds them as dedicated athletes, which is a result of issues we have in our culture with the idea of masculinity and what exactly it means. While the entire concept of masculinity has changed in the last century - for example, it’s now generally considered normal for men and women to put an equal amount of effort into their appearance, something that would have been mocked a few decades ago- it seems that the archaic ideas of gender roles and masculinity has yet to fully extend into the arena of figure skating.

If at all possible, be sure to take some time during the Winter Olympics and watch the men's figure skating events (you can find a schedule here or check your cable provider’s info) as well as the women’s. I can assure you that the athleticism, precision, and skill is on par with any other professional sport. If you’re a fan of figure skating, or just winter sports in general, it will be time well spent. Just observing the precision, skill, and sheer ability of the athletes will give you a whole new view on men’s figure skating.

In a profile of the notoriously bold Johnny Weir, ESPN reporter Jim Caple summed it up perfectly: “Of course, it would be a lot easier to argue that figure skating is as manly as, say, football, if it weren't for the costumes. And the sequins. And the glitter. And the makeup. And the judges. And the kiss-and-cry zones where the skaters sit nervously and wait for their scores while holding stuffed animals and flowers tossed by fans. But even all that is a matter of perspective. After all, don't football players occasionally hold hands in the huddle and wear knee-length pants in golds, silvers and ruby reds so shocking that Carrie Bradshaw would think twice about wearing them in public? Don't baseball players wear equally brightly colored socks under pajama bottoms and slap one another on the rear end? Don't basketball players wear tank tops and shorts and link their arms on the bench in dramatic moments? Golfers wear sweater vests. Cyclists wear tight Lycra shorts and, well, ride bicycles. But that's all macho, right? Not like those dainty figure skaters.”

About the Author: Spencer Blohm is a freelance entertainment, sports, lifestyle, and pop culture blogger. He has already begun his stockpile of food and supplies for the Winter Olympics since he doesn’t really plan on leaving the house while it’s going on. You can follow him on his (sadly neglected) Twitter @bspencerblohm.

So, Sochi

The Winter Olympics start this Thursday. Yeah, that's right. In a weird twist meant to keep us all on our toes and confused and a little upset judging by most people's reactions, the events start Thursday before the Opening Ceremonies. I'm...sort of okay with it, because I've been looking forward to the Olympics and this means one less day of waiting. Plus, one of the first events is Team Figure Skating...it's the first time this event will be included in the Olympics and I'm really curious to see how it all goes down!

These particular Olympics have been met with some controversy. Apparently, there was lots of corruption in the planning. There are numerous terrorist threats causing concern for athletes and their families. They have to stockpile snow because Sochi is not actually that cold. And of course Russia's anti-LGBT laws that have led to many an unfortunate athlete interview as reporters eagerly rush to put them on the spot.

I feel like the press has been so negative about the Games that I wanted to highlight a few exciting things!

*These are the first gender equal Winter Olympics. There's a short documentary on Netflix right now about Lindsay Vann and how she and several other women fought to get ski jumping for women included as an Olympic sport. It's an interesting watch and worth your time if you are interested! (it's called Ready to Fly)

*2002 was the first time there was a black Winter Olympic gold medalist (!!!) and it was in bobsled. This year, five African American women are on our bobsled team! So the diversity continues there.

So there's that. Anyway, I will be watching as much of the Olympics as I can, but this is a crazy busy month for me. This week is sort of the calm before the storm!

I have some posts about figure skating lined up for the week, but as a sort of intro I thought I'd share some links. There's a lot being written about it right now in the run up to the Games. Also, this year marked the 20th anniversary of the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan incident which led to some of my favorite sports writing ever being produced (but more on that later in the week). So.

Last week there were two posts about figure skating and how everyone is still in the closet...I'm not a huge fan of either piece to be honest, and I'm not sure the timing is right for the sport...it's definitely right for the journalist, though, lol.

Anyway, they do both bring up some interesting points and I'm not about to say it's NOT a problem or anything like that. They are throught provoking reads in that regard. Both seem to especially focus on men, cheerfully ignoring any issues women might face with regards to rigid gender roles in the sport.
*Newsweek--The Frozen Closet
*Buzzfeed--Why is the World's Gayest Sport Stuck in the Closet?

The Washington Post had this delightful piece, I'm Black, I'm a guy. And I'm obsessed with figure skating. Which I loooooved. I have a huge soft spot for anyone who became a fan when I did and in the same way. Basically, Kristi Yamaguchi. And lol, I totally "skated in the house" on socks when I was little and also tried to do pretend jumps and stuff with my actual skates which argh. Anyway, a delight to read!

Like figure skating costumes? There are a ton of round ups of costumes through the years being posted right about now.
*NBC--Olympic Figure Skating Fashions
*Yahoo--Best and Worst
*And for a nice breakdown of costumes throughout the season, check out Nick Verreos's blog! (the tagging is inconsistent--basically a man after my own heart, but do a little digging) (h/t to my friend Caitie for this and a few other things here!)

Figure skating blogs you say? Well I really only read a few.
*Kelli Lawrence's State of the Skate --she mostly recaps competitions and makes predictions for them. She's also the author of Skating on Air!
*Is that a Skate Guard in Your Pocket or are You Happy to See Me? (lol the name, I know)--this blog has a lot of interviews, info about skating history, and thoughtful commentary on the loss of artistry in skating.
*The Skating Lesson--they also make vlogs (which they call podcasts? Am I like...just totally out of internet lingo these days? Are video blogs now also podcasts?) They have a few vids about the IJS and take a fun, gossipy, slightly conspiratorial angle on all things. But they are pretty fun to watch, though it seems Jenny may have disappeared for now.

Other Quick Hits!
*The USFSA has a headquarters page where you can find all the skaters Twitter handles and the latest news and such.
*I also often check out Blazing Blades for figure skating news.

So...if you want to brush up before the Games, I hope there's some helpful info here. It's all a bit daunting as I recently went through this during the Fall myself!

Okay, I do want to have a chat, so! Question of the day--what is your favorite figure skating discipline and who is/was your favorite skater?

For me, it's really hard to choose between dance and pairs. I think there's something so romantic about them both and some of the elements in pairs are just jaw dropping. Also, I'm really kind of fascinated by the idea of those working relationships and how if the other person messes up your Olympic dreams could be down the toilet. There's an intense kind of intimacy involved that's a little bit different from being on like a team as in baseball or football. It's fascinating, okay?

And for a favorite skater, probably Kristi Yamaguchi always and forever because you never forget your first love? Or Michelle Kwan, of course, :)

How about you?

Also, JUST BECAUSE:

TV Stuff: The CW Continues to Perplex and These Weird Olympics

The Television Critic's Association Press tour has been the last couple of weeks which..would have felt like a much bigger deal if not for the distraction of the Olympics and some other stuff like my Harry Potter reread. But I did catch a little bit of news from the CW which is basically the network that I wish was something different than it is. Two things stood out to me from the coverage I read: their very weird ideas about Battle Royale and a perhaps offhand statement about the failure of The Secret Circle that made me think a lot.

The CW had a show based on the new YA series The Selection in development, I mean it got as far as a filmed pilot but didn't get picked up. It was all kind of weird for me because I was so turned off by the early option I wanted to shun the book, ended up reading it and being excited by the possibilities for a show only to have it not get ordered! Anyway, they are still trying to rework it and see if they can salvage a show, but in the meantime they mentioned the possibility of Battle Royale I've never seen the Battle Royale movie but I do love the book and I cannot conceive how it could be a TV show. Even more than that, critics pressed the CW president on the wisdom of the subject matter as a TV show right now (high school kids killing high school kids) and I kid you not, this was his response: "So the answer to that question is, no, we’re not going to go in that direction." What direction? Kids killing kids?? CW please leave Battle Royale alone.

In another article, I read that Mark Pedowitz (the president of the CW) said the failure of The Secret Circle was due to the lack of "enough good looking men or humor." This really gave me pause, because even before the show started I saw a lot of people express discontent with the lack of boys on the show. It was actually one of the things I liked about the show, that they planned to have the female cast really carry it, but I do understand that the landscape of a teen soap is really different....people want to have couples to watch and root for and cute boys to..admire. But...if the target audience is girls and you're looking for great female characters on TV it's just SAD that we still need to have males to make the show appealing. For what it's worth, I think this is a simplistic diagnosis...the show lacked depth of characterization and a gripping plot. The central triangle--one boy and two girls COULD have been really great, but they rushed it and handled it all weirdly. (TVD is also ruining their triangle, sigh) Anyway, this little tidbit was mentioned in a discussion of trying to get more men on the network, which just...makes me sad, lol.

I've been enjoying the Olympics, surprisingly watching sports like volleyball and soccer feel like they've had the most payoff (like we BARELY saw any of the gymnasts besides the US ones on the NBC coverage which was just reallllly irritating to me. I think we saw THREE performances from the bronze medalists!) but it's been really weird the way NBC has chosen to cover it. It's like...they are pretending social media is something completely different than what it is. The social experience of watching these games should be...I don't know an advantage, but instead I feel like I can't really talk about the Olympics or engage on my social networks at all because I get spoiled for what happens. Also, I get like...beyond stressed watching sports, I nearly had a nervous breakdown during the World Series last year and so the temptation to spoil myself is MIGHTY. And yet...I feel like I'm cheating myself if I do. Life is hard, okay? Anyway, it's just weird the way they pretend that everything is actually happening now when by the time I see it it's like 12 hours old, ugh.

Also, the US women's gymnasts were so cute and so good but Gabby Douglas deserves heaps of credit and I really needed them to stop talking about Jordyn Weiber being lifted by her team. And that song they chose as the theme song or whatever, "Home" (isn't that like the American Idol song or something?) just seemed bizarre. BUT despite my grumbling about this stuff, they really were so cute and good! Yay for them!

Okay in slightly happy-making news...Caroline Dhavernas has been cast in Hannibal! Hopefully it's better than that doctor show was, because I loooove her and she deserves a good show. Also, you all should watch Wonderfalls.

Also are any of you watching Political Animals? I really feel the need to talk about the last episode from a feminist perspective...like I need someone to tell me what the heck the show is saying about women. I liked this last episode the most though in that it made me actually want to discuss this stuff.

Thanks for indulging this post of TV talk!

Watching the Olympics is Not Good for My Christianity

For whatever reason, those remnants of patriotism within me surface fiercely during the Olympics. I love cheering Team USA.

I also cheer Team Japan. But mostly Team USA.

I do enjoy a good human interest story. Paint a good sorrowful picture for me or hope against all odds and I will cheer the underdog. But I still cheer Team USA, too.

So tonight when Katie Hoff came so close to getting the gold and barely missed and got the silver, I was bummed. (and sort of wanted to slap the smile off the winner--told you NOT GOOD I really am a nice person)

But I was thrilled when the men's relay team pulled through at the last second to win. So yeah. I bet the French wanted to slap the smiles off the Americans faces.

Ha. This is why I don't watch sports. I get a little too into it. ;)