Decolonizing Fitness — Affirming

I Was Featured in Men's Health Magazine and this is how I feel about it

Posted by Ilya Parker on

I grew up reading Men's Health Magazine. I remember scouring the pages of that magazine on my lunch breaks while working at a grocery store. I was so excited when finally able purchase the magazine once my employee discount kicked in. I also recall turning page after page and seeing nothing but toned, tall, white cis male physiques. I felt both admiration for their bodies and deep hurt that I would never look like that. I would often wonder what was wrong with my body that I wanted to change it to look like them? I used to follow the workouts...

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Unpacking the History of Anti-Blackness in the Fitness Industry

Posted by Ilya Parker on

During the Jim Crow era, Black people weren’t allowed access to “health clubs”. Much like country clubs and golf courses during the years after desegregation, many ‘health clubs’ implemented discriminatory rules and policies to exclude Black patrons. Dr. Antonio Williams, Associate Professor and Associate Department Chair, Indiana University School of Public Health "The fitness industry and all industries are impacted by systemic racism because all industries are managed and run by people. People come to the spaces they fill with thoughts, beliefs and behaviors that represent what they have learned, been taught and experienced from the day they were born....

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My Pain is Real

Posted by Ilya Parker on

This article was originally posted on That Fancy Life Blog  CW: mentions of weight gain, intentional weight loss, dieting   The medical community has a deep dark history regarding the pain of Black women. Black women are seen as superhuman. The reason we are given this moniker is because no one seems to believe us when we say we are in pain. I have learned this the hard way. Today I cried. I cried happy tears. I cried tears of anger. I cried tears of joy. And I cried tears of sadness. I was a whole crying mess. I was...

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Running Without Limits by Amber Morgan

Posted by Ilya Parker on

I am a disabled person. I have Cerebral Palsy. I am also a trans person. I am a trans woman. I am a disabled runner.  This means that I run races in a wheelchair pushing myself the distance of a race.  Most races I am the only athlete that is in a wheelchair.  So I compete against those on foot. I am also an activist locally in my home town in Upstate NY and on the state level for the LGBTQIA+ community, the mental health community, and my disabled community.

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Disrupting Mainstream Fitness while Practicing Radical Self Love by Lindsey Page

Posted by Ilya Parker on

Radically Fit Oakland As a queer woman of color who was adopted by a white couple in the 80’s I have grown up feeling out of place in most spaces. It’s hard to make your way through the world, as most people of color do, searching to find a space to safely take up. It took me many years to get to the point where I started demanding that space. Fitness was a huge catalyst for how I approached walking through life as a bigger bodied queer woman of color. I first fell in love with fitness ten years ago,...

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