Paradigm-Shifting person wins TV's most physically demanding competition

[Apulu]

If you don't want to know the result of the UK show : Special Forces, Ultimate Hell Week, please look away now.

I could not have guessed that I'd be starting a thread today about an averagely ridiculous BBC TV programme, but it has happened.

You'd have to have a bizarre level of ignorance to imagine that women are somehow, on average, not as mentally strong as men.

I've no doubt there's still a long way to go before this is taken for granted by the vast majority, and certainly there's a way to go before general inequalities between the sexes, in terms of opportunity, become things of the past.

These kinds of issues matter to me, not as a woman who sees and feels the weirdness of our male-dominated humanity, but as a man who sees it, and feels it.

Generally speaking, this seems to be quite widely accepted: that there is no genetic or any other reason that women and men should be expected to differ, at all, in terms of mental toughness.

And how about physically? Can women be expected to match men in what they are 'capable' of? I don't remember the last time I had this kind of debate: it seems quite trite to me: men, on average, have 1/3 more muscle mass than women.

So, how on earth, can women ever be expected to compete with men, on average, in strength and physical endurance?

The premise of this show is to find out, who can get through something like 20, mostly physically-demanding, challenges, designed by special forces trainers from around the world. Men and women were competing together, and there were no male vs female concessions.

I'd watched a couple of episodes of this, very silly seeming, programme, laughing at it frequently, but last night I welled up with joy when I watched the result of the final. It seemed like something really profound had happened. This may seem stupid, but it seemed to me like this one result could make a huge difference to how women are perceived, for whoever sees it, or hears about it.

29 of 'Britains fittest civilians' started out, and 4 made it to the final. The last test of this truly gruelling contest was a 'long run' carrying a backpack of 20 kilos, and a rifle of nearly 5 kilos. Americans: that's 55 pounds.

I'm quite athletically built, and I think I'm quite strong, and for me carrying 25 kilos any further than not-very-far is horrible, never mind running and quick-marching it for over 4 hours.

So to see this wee woman beat her 2 male counterparts in this feat, and to win the competition overall, was, to me, absolutely, eye-poppingly, amazing.

Mental Strength + Determination X Small Muscle Mass = Anything you damn well want!

Highly Reccommended (and very silly):

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[idiit]

I worked in a freezer warehouse for a few months before my body gave out at 45 yrs. old. the strongest one in there was a female who could go full speed the entire shift. we had to sticker tag and load 40# (that's 40 pounds) boxes onto carts and then wheel the carts to the staging area. that was the job. truly backbreaking after a while. 100's ppl came and went while I was there.

I suspect a lot of older stereotypes are dissipating.

I enjoy popping the stereotypes that women libbers have against men.

if you only knew the crap I went through from my women libber mom and sister. the stereotype game works both ways.

[Apulu]

Great story. Yeah I think I here you - easy to why, perhaps, this happens, but it's definitely tricky to be seen negatively by women, seemingly just for being male

[Ewan]

Watched the video from 50m onwards, I particularly liked the way the two first finished did the last 50m with the guy coming in last (time penalties). Don't know who's idea that might have been, scripted or not. I suspect it might have been either of first two finished though. I was proud for the girl. I might have watched this if I still had TV and had known it was on, I have not watched TV for about 3 years now.

Cetainly puts that utterly horrible Apprentice show to shame where nearly all the contestants have demonstrated a willingness to stab their competitors at the earliest opportunity.

[Ewan]

And how about physically? Can women be expected to match men in what they are 'capable' of? I don't remember the last time I had this kind of debate: it seems quite trite to me: men, on average, have 1/3 more muscle mass than women.

So, how on earth, can women ever be expected to compete with men, on average, in strength and physical endurance?



I apparently have a differing opinion to you. I don't think muscle mass has much to do with anything compared to mental fortitude.

I can offer a 5' 1" slender old man (62) compared to my then 45 yr old 6' 0" used to manual labour and the former could out perform me in every physical endeavour we took part in. (It is my Thai father-in-law). Then mention chimpanzees who are at least half our size, and ergo must have demonstrably less muscle mass, completely put us to shame. I think, off the top of my head, they have around twice our strength using less than half our weight.