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BJJ, Women and Feminisms

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When BJJ bloggers offer critiques of what they view as sexism in our beloved BJJ – bloggers such Jiu Jiu, Georgette Oden, Megan Williams and Can Sönmez – responses range from applause to threats of violence to indifference. One theme that I have encountered when challenging sexist representations of women in BJJ, especially when discussing Manto’s now infamous nipple + grappling photos, and which has resurfaced in discussions of Kyra Gracie’s gi-and-arse photograph, is the idea that non-Western cultures have set a different bar of acceptability for sexual representations of women.

This idea bugs me for a variety of reasons:

  • The idea that women in the West have a ‘more evolved’ status in society has been used by Western leaders from Disreali to Bush to justify imperialist or quasi-imperialist action to ‘save’ women, coincidentally while bombing, enslaving, and otherwise economically and socially oppressing those women and their families.
  • The suggestion that women in the West are ‘more equal’ than elsewhere minimises and dismisses the real challenges to gender equality that persist in Western cultures.
  • The notion that Western women enjoy higher status than elsewhere demonstrates a distasteful paternalism that pats itself on the back for ‘allowing’ Western women such status while subjugating non-Western women.

During discussions of the Manto photoshoot, there were suggestions that the shoot was done in Eastern Europe where pictures of boobs aren’t a big deal; that it was somehow not problematic to sexualise women in Eastern Europe. Similarly, for the Kyra-butt shot, this comment appeared on Reddit:

I have the overwhelming feeling reading the Megjitsu blog that it’s a very Anglo-centric view of feminism. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but I think Brazilians (and Latin Americans as a whole) have a very different view of all of this. These sorts of images are celebrated there not just amongst the men, but the women as well. I guess I look at carnivale as examples of this.

I don’t like mixing the ideas of sex and jiu-jitsu, but Brazilians think about things very different than the Anglo world.

I think that this comment comes from a good place – one that is seeking to empathise and to understand – and it does make some valid points. Of course, there are broad cultural differences between Western Anglo-American culture and other world cultures. Sure, every individual Brazilian has a different perspective on, for the purposes of this post, gender issues. Absolutely, Brazilian feminisms can and do have distinct agendas. Most definitely, my feminism is informed by my culture, my class, my ethnicity – all the things that are jumbled up to make my personal subjectivity. Similarly, there certainly are tensions between the agendas of feminisms in different parts of the world and a certain complacency around the sexualisation of women in emerging economies, camouflaged as cultural-sensitivity, can be apparent in the writings of Western feminists; check out Megan’s honest introspection into her own views of the sexualisation of Brazilian women. I think apologies for the sexualisation of women in non-Western cultures mistakenly conflate a societal tolerance for the sexualisation of women and (local) feminist tolerance for the sexualisation of women.

The reputation Colombia has for ‘its women’ is notorious and stereotypically sexist…What many fail to notice, however, is that this ‘hotness’ comes from a sad place, from a deeply patriarchal Catholic society that cannot see women outside the virgin/whore dichotomy. (Jaramillo)

Rather than seeing the sexualisation of Latin American women as unproblematic, isn’t it possible that Latin American cultures may be more subject to expressing the priorities and desires of a dominant masculinity? While I have no expertise in Latin American feminisms, Brazilian culture or other salient subject areas, I set out to see what I could see.

Permeated by a patriarchal political culture, they [the political elites] have remained notoriously resistant to the inclusion of women. This has resulted in a major paradox for Brazilian feminists: on the one hand, the presence of a wide and well articulated women’s movement, and on the other, a notorious absence of women in decision making positions. (Alcântara and Sardenberg)

I’ve tried to educate myself with some online research into Latin American feminisms. What are the issues central to Latin American feminisms and, in particular, what are the perspectives of Latin American feminists on sexualised representations of women? Clearly, this research is limited to easily accessible online material which is published in English. Though very cursory and narrow, I do think my reading has given me a feeling for the issues that excite Latin American feminists, such as significant activism around reproductive rights, and it seems reasonable to suggest that the sexualisation of women is an issue for feminists in Brazil and neighbouring countries.

…western feminists aim for sexual liberation, while in other parts of the world women want freedom from sexualization (Kimball)

Discussions of feminism in Brazil confirm that there is a vibrant women’s movement extant in Brazil and that Brazilian feminists struggle with a complicated intermingling of class, race and religion: ‘…it is the most marked form of a post-slave society, which despite the myth of its racial democracy, still has an internal social and economic division with strong ethnic distinctions, and of class and gender as well’ (Maluf). It is clear that Brazilian feminists work through a variety of channels for women’s reproductive and sexual rights and to encourage and demand women’s role in decision-making processes. The Brazilian women’s movement is making advances and Dilma Rousseff, a self-identified feminist, seeks to use her position a Brazil’s president to advance the country’s women’s movement. However, as women increasingly enter previously male-dominated spaces, such as the Rio police force, sexualisation continues to undermine and cheapen Brazilian women’s achievements:

Every day I hear [jokes about being a woman]. Today they said, go and put on your bikini for your interview. (Phillips)

While Brazilian feminists agitate for greater access to power, for the rights of all Brazilian women including Afro-Brazilian and indigenous women, sexualised and objectified portrayals of women’s bodies persist. For instance, the ad campaigns of the Devassa bear brand, devassa meaning ‘slut’, elide women’s bodies and beer, offering both for sale to male consumers (Britto). Where they encounter objectified representations of women, it seems that Latina feminists deride rather than celebrate these depictions.

Brazil 'Slut Walk' 2011
Brazil SlutWalk 2011

So, what the heck am I getting at? I find the implication that because Brazil (or any other country) has a ‘sexier’ culture, sexualised representations of women aren’t really sexualised at all – ie sexiness is a ‘norm’ so there’s nothing problematic or demeaning about these sorts of images – to be incorrect. On the one hand, I believe there is confusion between ‘sexy’ images of women (or men), and sexualised or objectified images of women (or men). I tried to unpack this difference here, and JiuJiu has recently published a useful discussion of sexy versus sexualised. On the other hand, I believe this point of view is rooted in a post-imperial Western smugness which claims the relative equality of women in one nation versus another as, essentially, a badge of patriarchal honour and tolerance rather than a reflection of feminists’ own struggles and achievements.

The argument that in cultures where sexualised portrayals of women are more mainstream those images are insignificant in the undermining of gender equality was also employed during ‘Manto-gate’, with the insistence that East Europeans just see sex differently so we can’t use our Anglo-American values to judge their representations of women. I say, this response to feminist – Western or otherwise – condemnations of sexualised representations of women is fallacious and based on an acceptance of how patriarchy may operate in any given culture. While certainly my feminism is informed by my own white, middle-class, American background and there are certainly important differences between feminisms informed by different ethnic, cultural and geographical factors, it is clear from even a narrow reading of Brazilian feminisms that women in Brazil (and Latin America more widely) struggle for sexual equality and against the stereotype of the sexy Latina. Thus, sexualised representations of women in Brazil are indeed problematic and can be seen as representing the dominance of a patriarchal masculinity. Of course, I am not a Brazilian feminist and I don’t wish to layer my subjectivity onto a cultural milieu I have very little understanding of. Nevertheless, I have enjoyed trying to broaden my perspective and understand issues in contemporary Brazilian feminism and I hope this post has showcased some of the views of Latin American feminists, themselves.

References and Further Reading

Alcântara, Ana Alice and Cecilia Sardenberg. ‘Brazil: “State Feminism” at Work’. OpenDemocracy.net, 18 Apr 2012. Web. 10 Oct 2013.

Frayssinet, Fabiana. ‘New Feminism Tears Down Walls in Brazil’. GlobalIssues.org, 4 Jan 2013. Web. 10 Oct 2013.

Jaramillo, Juliana Jiménez. ‘The Secret Service Prostitution Scandal in Colombia Proves Sexism Alive and Well’. Slate.com, 17 Apr 2012. Web. 10 Oct 2013.

Johansen, Julia. ‘BJJ Ads: Sexy vs Sexual’. JiuJiuBJJ.com, 28 Sep 2013. Web. 10 Oct 2013.

Kimball, Gayle. ‘How Third World Feminism Differs from First World Feminism’. Fem2ptO.com, 4 Mar 2012. Web. 10 Oct 2013.

Britto, Juliana. ‘Devassa’. LatinaFeminista.com, 29 Mar 2012. Web. 10 Oct 2013.

Maluf, Sônia Weidner. ‘Brazilian Feminisms: Central and Peripheral Issues’. Palgrave-Journals.com, 2011. Web. 10 Oct 2013.

Phillips, Tom. ‘Feminism and M-16s: Transforming Macho Policing in Rio’. TheGuardian.com, 28 Jul 2009. Web. 10 Oct 2013.

Sardenberg, Cecilia. ‘Brazilian Feminists On Alert’. OpenDemocracy.net, 28 Feb 2010. Web. 10 Oct 2013.

Schmidt, Rite Terezinha. ‘Refuting Feminism: Brazilian Lettered Culture’s Complacency/Complicity’. Estudos Feministas, 2007. Web. 10 Oct 2013.

Tarlau, Rebecca. ‘Experiencing Feminism in Brazil’. The Journal of the International Institute, Winter 2006. Web. 10 Oct 2013.

Williams, Megan. ‘My Mistake in the Kyra Gracie Hullabaloo..’. BJiuJitsu.blogspot.co.uk, 20 Aug 2013. Web. 11 Oct 2013.

BJJ and Motherhood: 12 Months In

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Women in BJJ may also be mothers in BJJ. While parenthood has implications for both mothers and fathers in BJJ, the processes of pregnancy, birth and recovery in the first year have particular implications for mothers. You can see the different ways motherhood can impact a woman’s training by checking out the Facebook Group, BJJ Mums, where mothers in BJJ share stories, challenges and insights into training pre- and post-natal. It is clear from threads here and lived experience among other new moms that – unsurprisingly – recovery after birth varies from one individual to the next. Some women seem to drop the weight immediately, some hold on to it for dear life, some integrate core-boosting exercise into their routines, such as yoga and Pilates, while others hit the weights, power walk with their prams, some are straight back to training with the baby sleeping on the sidelines, some are slower to get back on the mats. So, my journey is just that, my own, and it may or may not reflect the experiences of others, but I do hope that chronicaling some aspects of my experience will be helpful to other athletic women contemplating their first pregnancy, or wondering how to get back to feeling good.

Hmm, well after 12 months I’m not there – back to feeling good that is – we’ve had a very exciting year and the little guy is a pleasure to have around, to adapt to, and to nurture. However, as any parent can tell you, he is the focus, and with primary responsibility for childcare there’s limited bandwidth left for running our business, much less for self care. That said, as little man grows there’s more and more opportunity to make space for what I need to do beyond mommy-duties.

Me and my bud

There’s been a lot of changes in my life, including when and where I train. When possible, I hit my long-time instructor, Dave Birkett’s, Friday class which is a short commute to Ilford. My attendance is sporadic as it requires my hubby’s work from home day to land on a Friday, which isn’t always possible. Other than Fridays, there’s no chance, at the moment, for me to make the commute to Kent in time for classes with the club I grew up with, Dartford BJJ. This is a serious bummer, as I miss training with those guys and working with Dave. One must solutionise, however, and happily my training partner, Jon Hegan, is a Royce Gracie BJJ affiliate and runs a Wednesday class in easier reach, in Upminster, which starts at a time more practical for me in terms of handing off childcare to my hubs. I never imagined I would train with anyone but Dave and the guys, but I’m really grateful to Jon and his crew for taking me in on a part-time basis and it is brilliant training with them. From the time little dude was 9 months old, I’ve been reintegrating (sort of) regular weekly training back into my routine, hitting Wednesdays and or Fridays whenever practical.

Integrating activity into my lifestyle – beyond daily walks with the buggy – has gotten a lot easier more recently for three reasons: 1) little person sleeps pretty reliably; 2) little boy weaned himself at 11.5 months; 3) I’m investing in personal training. Though little mister had only been enjoying a light morning feed since about 10.5 months, having dropped all others of his own volition, it wasn’t until the complete end of breastfeeding that I realised how fatiguing the creation of breast milk is, even just a wee bit! Though my energy levels are still lower than I’d like, within the context of reasonable sleep, I felt immediately that there was more in the tank once we were done with that chapter.

Personal training was really important to my ante-natal fitness and it is proving to be a big help, post-partum. With my schedule and my poor energy levels and just feeling so heavy and weak – working out is so much more fun when you’re fit! – I’ve found that having an appointment with a trainer helps me get to the gym and get the most out of it. Twice weekly I get together with my trainer and we work the kettlebells and a selection of core exercises. She’s reasonably merciless, which is great, and I’m definitely getting stronger and our work together is helping to improve my movement when I’m able to get to BJJ.

Finally, it turns out I’m not one of those ladies that seems to magically shrink back down to size during breastfeeding. The baby weight hasn’t really gone anywhere, in spite of gym work, watching my diet, and daily activity. I’d hoped to be much closer to pre-baby fitness by this stage and am at the start of a 12 week sprint of exercise and mega clean eating, undertaken in concert with my husband. Hoping that as the hormones have worked their way out of my system and my cycle is back online, with a little more sleep, and a little more conviction that I can be more tolerably fit this calendar year, I’ll have made some good progress on the fat stores by the end of this 12 week phase and then a new set of goals will be appropriate.

So, what’s the point? What have I learned about BJJ and motherhood since the little lord’s arrival. Um, that it is tremendously difficult to make time for anything aside from mothering when operating outside of a substantial support system. That it is more than a little disheartening to have skills hard won since 2004 appear to evaporate in a relative instant. That there is only one way to regain those skills. That patience is a virtue. That 2 hours of BJJ a week is better than zero. And that I’d pay handsomely for a BJJ club with morning classes and a creche 😉

Q4 London BJJ Women’s Open Mat: 1 December 2013 at Roger Gracie Academy

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group of BJJ women
The women of RGA

Date: 1 December 2013
Time: 13:00-16:00
Location: Roger Gracie Academy, 149 Freston Road, London, W10 6TH (nearest Tube Latimer Road)
Tel: 020 3220 0095
Cost: Free

Our Q4 2013 London BJJ Women’s Open Mat will be held on Sunday 1 Dec 2013 and will be hosted by Nina Nilofar, Rebecca Birtwistle and the good people at Roger Gracie Academy. We are pleased to invite women, aged 18 and over, to join our informal session of drilling and sparring. We’re please to note that Yas Wilson, current IBJJF Brown belt Feather-weight World Champion and RGA women’s class instructor, will be on had to guide the session and offer her technical insight and expertise.

No grappling experience is required and the Open Mat is a great opportunity for seasoned players to train with other women and for women new to BJJ to try out the art in a friendly environment. The Open Mat is free of charge.

Email RGA.ladies@hotmail.com for more info.

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SubmissionFC ‘Hemp Ectasy’ Women’s BJJ Gi Review

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Submission FC has brought to market the first hemp BJJ gi for women, the ‘Hemp Ectasy’. Submission FC kindly sent me a pre-production model for pre-review, and I’ve enjoyed ‘test-driving’ the gi over the past 2 weeks. The gi is available in white with green and pink embroidery and is listed at $159.99USD. This review is based on the F3 top and bottoms, which weigh-in at 1.4kgs on my scales.(1)

The Look


The Hemp Ectasy sits at the more minimal end of the styling-spectrum with touches of embroidery on the epaulettes, overlap, skirt and trousers. Branded embroidery in forest green and bubblegum pink arch from the collar over each shoulder, while the name of the gi in a cursive font adornes the overlap and rear skirt of the jacket, again in green and pink. A matching bubblegum pink stitching is used throughout. The strong pink is also used with the double belt loops and the cord drawstring.

The colour scheme is an interesting choice and I’m not aware of any other women’s gi with green in the palette. I like this idea, and think that the particular shades of green and pink – a kelly green and buff pink – on the logo work really well together. We’ve had this discussion before, dear reader, about the use of pink with women’s gi and I’m keenly aware that some of you love it and some of you less-than-love it. So, what are your thoughts on this combo?

Fit and Performance

modelling Hemp Ectasy BJJ gi
The Hemp Ectasy

The Hemp Ectasy is a comfortable, loose-fitting gi with a conventional tailoring that has the potential to work with a variety of body types. The trousers are roomy throughout, similar to a wide leg jean, and though generously cut, they avoid the somewhat disproportionate width to length ratio of some women’s kimono such as the Black Eagle Predadora or the OTM Supa Star. The jacket too, has a good ratio of width to length and has a more conventional length and cut, rather than the shorter cropped styles of the Predadora and Supa Star. As my review specimen is a pre-production model, I can’t comment on the final fit however I can suggest that the Hemp Ectasy’s fit is similar to the Fuji Victory, though the Hemp Ectasy has a wider trouser leg.

The Hemp Ectasy performs well on the mat and in the wash. A great feature of the Hemp Ectasy is the cord drawstring and double belt loops, which keep the trousers secure and in place; with a knot in the cord, it does not loosen. The cord supplied with the trousers is very long and can be trimmed to a suitable length for you. The jacket was a good length on me and wasn’t so long as to restrict my hips or too short to ride up. As I have a pre-production model, I can’t offer measurements as these are still in development, but I can confirm that the Hemp Ectasy is true to its preshrunk credentials and shows no significant change after several warm 60° washes.

Hemp v Cotton

Pundits of hemp laud the frabic’s environmentally-friendly features and suggest it is a sustainable material at industrial levels of production. Submission FC makes the following claims about hemp fabric:

  • Strength: Hemp is natures [sic] strongest fiber & is 4 times stronger than cotton
  • Antimicrobial: Hemp is naturally antimicrobial so it protects you from any bacteria, fungus or mold
  • Green: Hemp is natural and good for the environment
  • Breathable: Hemp is much softer and breathable compared to cotton & helps air flow
  • Comfort: Hemp fabric is smooth, 4 times softer than cotton & the most powerful humidity absorbing and ventilating natural fiber

There are no citations for these claims and while I’m not suggesting an intent to mislead, it would be fair to say that these are enthusiastic readings of the evidence. There is some controversy surrounding hemp’s credentials, green and otherwise, and, as it is often marketed as an ‘ethical’ choice for consumers, it is worth delving into them.

Hemp has been renowned as a strong and flexible fabric since its historical use as rope and canvas material. So while there is evidence of hemp’s toughness, my own research – limited and non-exhaustive as it was – could not find reliable confirmation of the 4x stronger than cotton claim. I did run across a Master’s thesis which investigated and compared hemp and cotton for use with furnishings, which suggested a slightly higher tear and abrasion rate for hemp over cotton, though it is unclear to me how these results may, or may not be applicable to hemp for use with clothing.

While hemp fibres may well have great antimicrobial properties, it is difficult to find quantified discussion of this from reliable online sources. There has been some work on the antimicrobial properties of hemp’s essential oils, but it is unclear if these properties are present in all hemp cloths. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note Georgette Oden’s review of the Datsusara Hemp Gi includes an non-scientific though intriguing experiment of ‘baking’ a wet post-training gi in the truck of a car in the Texas heat, a basic wash and voila, clean, fresh smelling gi.

Claims of hemp’s comfort, breathability and absorption are also hard to substantiate. While it may well be the case that hemp is more breathable and softer than cotton, quantified supporting evidence is hard to come by. Certainly, the gi behaves very much like a conventional cotton gi, as both hemp and cotton are natural fibres, and it breathes and absorbs well. Though it wouldn’t be possible for me to verify if this is to a greater degree than a 100% cotton gi (versus the 70/30 hemp/cotton blend of the ‘Hemp Ectasy’). Interestingly, there is some anecdotal evidence online to say that hemp diapers are more absorbant than cotton, so perhaps this fabric has better sweat-soaking potential than cotton, though it is unclear to what extent this can be proved and if it applies to blends.

The green credentials of hemp have been most thoroughly investigated and there is some evidence to suggest that industrial hemp production can be less harmful to the environment than industrial cotton growing, though to suggest that industrial hemp farming is actively beneficial to the environment is probably a bit out of step with the evidence. Hemp out-performs cotton on water consumption, acreage, and – when compared with non-organic cotton – pesticides and herbicides. So, if you’re looking for a more sustainable fabric for your gi, hemp is a good choice, though its advantages are largely negated when blended with conventionally produced silk or cotton; most hemp fabrics are a blend as 100% hemp tends to be rather rough on the skin. In the case of the Hemp Ectasy, which uses a bleached hemp/cotton blend, therefore, the environmental advantages of choosing hemp may be rather minimal.

By questioning some of the advantages of choosing hemp, I don’t wish to suggest that the gi isn’t a great serviceable piece of kit. The fabric of the Hemp Ectasy is comfortable, breathable, absorptive and in the short time I’ve been wearing it, performs well on the mats and handles washing well. My only point, and it is not specific only to this product, is that if your main interest as a consumer is sustainability, it is right to question the hyperbole around hemp and important to recognise that not all ‘hemp’ is equally sustainable or equally advantageous over all ‘cotton’. If you’re also interested in sourcing gi with guaranteed ethical labour practices, you’ve got a whole other set of concerns and barriers. In the final analysis, to me, Submission FC has used one of the new family of potentially more sustainable fabrics – such as bamboo, organic cotton and similar – to offer a unique product to the women’s BJJ gi marketplace, so even if the advantages of hemp are not fully recognised in this particular item, this is a positive step in the right direction and Submission FC should be recognised for that.

References

Cherrett, Nia et al. ‘Ecological Footprint and Water Analysis of
Cotton, Hemp and Polyester’. BioRegional Development Group
and World Wide Fund for Nature – Cymru, Stockholm Environmental Institute, 2005. PDF. 22 May 2013.

Miranda, DeeDee De. ‘An Evaluation of Hemp Fibre for Furnishing Applications’. Digital Collections of Colorado, Colorado State University, 2011. PDF. 22 May 2013.

Palmer, Brian. ‘High on Environmentalism: Can hemp clothing save the planet?’. Slate.Com, 12 Apr 2011. Web. 22 May 2013.

Style, Ruth. ‘Ask the Ecologist: cotton, hemp and bamboo – which is the green choice?’. The Ecologist.Org, 22 Jun 2011. Web. 22 May 2013.

Disclaimer

All reviews are based on my independent observations. I have no formal qualifications, I am not sponsored by any company and I do not endorse any one brand. If you chose a gi based on my review, please let the manufacturer know that MegJitsu persuaded you. This will not benefit me financially, but can help me to get more gi to review.

Credits

Thanks to Submission FC for offering me a gi to test and review.

(1) For reference, I am 166cm/5’4.5″, 70kgs/150lbs and have bust, waist and hip measurements of 96cm/37″, 86cm/34″ and 100cm/39″; this review is of the F3.

Q3 London BJJ Women’s Open Mat: 21 July 2013 at Carlson Gracie Essex

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Jolie Versatile
Jolie Versatile

Date: 21 July 2013
Time: 13:00-16:00
Location: Carlson Gracie Essex, 9th Legion Training Centre, Unit A2, Colchester Seedbed Centre, Wyncolls Road, Severalls Industrial Park, Highwoods, Colchester, CO4 4HT
Cost: Free

Our Q3 2013 London BJJ Women’s Open Mat will be held on Sunday 21 July 2013 and will be hosted by Jolie Versatile and the good people at Carlson Gracie BJJ Essex, Colchester HQ. We are pleased to invite women, aged 18 and over, to join our informal session of drilling and sparring. No grappling experience is required and the Open Mat is a great opportunity for seasoned players to train with other women and for women new to BJJ to try out the art in a friendly environment. The Open Mat is free of charge.

Email Jolie on joliedj@btinternet.com for more info.

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