Unintended Truth

"It's not about you!"

Those were the most chilling words from the CITYnews report that has gone viral this week.

Two of the twerps who were harassing Shauna Hunt as she reported on the Toronto FC game told her, even while they were preparing to shout into her microphone a particularly vulgar phrase about things to do to a woman, it wasn't about her, particularly.

They may have revealed more than they intended, since their shout-out is yet more proof that men and women live in different countries, even in this great country of ours.

The goal of the shout is to take away the woman's power, all women's power, to take away the woman's, all women's, right to be in public, doing her job, any job.

And yes, I've heard that the yells of, "f her right in the p" are also aimed at male reporters sometimes, in a 'bubba boey' kind of frat boy stupidity, but I bet the male reporters take it vastly differently than the female ones do.

If you sat these guys down at a nice dining table to have a real conversation about what they mean when they shout such things in their drunken post-game frenzy, the probably couldn't articulate the fact that deep down, they just really hate women. But in those shouts, they say it loud and clear for all women to hear, live on TV. Unchecked, they tell men it's OK to feel the same way, to put women 'in their place', which is not in the public realm.

It's not just guys being funny. If it were, they wouldn't make reference to the female anatomy.

I'm proud of Hydro One for firing this lout from his 106-thousand dollar job, and I'm proud of Shauna Hunt for finally speaking up to the abusers who harass her as she works even while denying her right to be upset about it.

It's gonna stick

I took a chance on myself this week and it felt really, really good.

I finally got rid of about forty pounds of clothes that no longer fit. And yes, I'm bragging a little when I say, they're all too big.

When I took up running a few years ago, it wasn't very long at all long before most of my clothes started to hang and sag. I'll never forget slipping off what my husband called my, 'good ass pants' without undoing the buttons or zipper, just a few months after buying my first pair of running shoes.

I have now run through two pairs of shoes, and have settled and stayed at about 30 pounds lighter than when I started. However, instead of getting rid of the the clothes, I stored my too-big items in one of those big bins, in a back corner of our jam-packed basement.

Yesterday, finally, prompted by the search for spring sheets and jammies, I sorted through the bin and bags with a girlfriend and what she didn't want was delivered to the Sally Anns.

I don't know that I can accurately describe the feeling of driving away, leaving behind those clothes. I sort of felt like I was leaving behind a version of myself, one that didn't know the joy of such solid legs, a jutting collarbone or donning a bikini without feeling bad.

There was a lightness, a sense of accomplishment and a satisfaction in knowing that not only had I taken control of my weight and health, I have managed to stay where I want to be for all this time, which means I feel capable of staying here as long as I choose to.

For me, getting closer to having the body I want came down to deciding I wanted it more than I wanted certain other things, then deciding to take the steps (for me, strides) to get there.

If you're not happy with your body, it might be that you aren't willing to make the necessary trades to get it. In our busy, connected world, you might not want to trade a few extra minutes playing with your kids or a precious few minutes sleeping in, for exercise. With so many fabulous food choices available to us, you may not want to trade in those tasty tasty burgers or beer for salads or smaller portions. That's perfectly OK; get on with what you would rather do, but do yourself a favour and admit that you have made this trade-off. You'll be happier for it.