#109: "Good for a Girl": Lauren Fleshman on Building a Better Future for Female Athletes

This week we are joined by the incredible Lauren Fleshman, New York Times bestselling author of "Good for a Girl", to discuss the systemic ways that our sports culture fails women and girls, and how we can create a better future for the next generation of female athletes. 

We dive into how the natural and expected changes in a young women’s body during adolescence are met with misunderstanding and pathology, and how the sports systems that girls and women find themselves in are built by men, for men and boys. They don’t currently account for or support the experience of the female athlete.

Even if you aren’t a female-bodied human or an athlete, I hope you’ll tune into this episode. This is such an important conversation about challenging the patriarchy and policing of women’s bodies, far beyond athletics and running. As always, please listen with compassion and empathy for yourself and any past (or current) experiences this may bring up for you.

Tune in to hear more about…

• The inspiration behind Lauren's book, Good for a Girl

• How prevalent disordered eating is when girls in adolescence, even into their college years

• The objectification of female bodies during adolescence

• How the US sports systems are built for around a default male body

• The significant differences between young girls and boys when training for sports

• The lack of normalization and support that girls and young women receive in sports during adolescence

• What happens when girls fight against natural body changes

• The rate that young girls drop out of sports

• What is viewed as "essential equipment" for boys in sports versus girls

• The financial pressure of athlete scholarships and ensuring performance at the expense of health

• If weight loss and losing a menstrual cycle is "normal" during sports training

• The extended time period to truly recover from undereating and overtraining in a women's body

• Redefining excellence for women in sports beyond race times and body-focused numbers

• How high risk women athletes are funneled into college sports

• Performative health and how food choices are policed in athlete spaces

• What's next for Lauren in her career 

About Lauren:

Lauren Fleshman is an award winning author and one of the most decorated American distance runners of all time, having won five NCAA championships at Stanford and two national championships as a professional. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Time and Runner’s World. Her debut book was an instant New York Times Bestseller, and won the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. She is the brand strategy advisor for Oiselle, a fitness apparel company for women, and the co-founder of Picky Bars, a natural food company. She lives in Bend, OR.

Find Lauren on IG: @fleshmanflyer

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Podcast Cover Photography by Anya McInroy

Podcast Editing by Brian Walters

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