The following are articles taken from our bimonthly newsletter, The Buzz. If you would like to subscribe to the electronic or hard copy version, please let us know.

VOLUNTEER TRAINING - SATURDAY, APRIL 24!

Have you got a special skill or talent that you'd like to share?

Are you passionate about gender equity and want to support a worthy cause?

Do you want to make some new friends?

Body Electric's volunteers provide a valuable service to the community, including planning and running educational programs such as the Women's FitFest and fundraising events like our High Five! Celebrity Waiter Dinner; planning and leading Adventure Club activities; writing for The Buzz; maintaining our website; providing accounting assistance and more!

Call or e-mail us for more details, to get a volunteer application and to sign up for the April training.

** Sunday, February 29: Body Electric's Annual Women's FitFest will feature sports clinics and demonstrations, information/exhibit tables from local businesses and nonprofit organizations, a scavenger hunt, a prize raffle, and other fun and educational activities for women and girls.

BODY ELECTRIC AWARDS SEVENTH ANNUAL ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP

As part of the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table's National Girls and Women in Sports Day luncheon on February 2, Body Electric awarded its annual Athletic Scholarship to Kasey Gentry, a senior at Carpinteria High School. The $1,000 scholarship is administered by the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.

Ms. Gentry has played volleyball for four years, also serving as captain. She is a high jumper on the track and field team, and she played basketball for two years. Ms. Gentry has a 4.0 GPA and is considering attending one of the Claremont Colleges, UCLA, or San Francisco State University to pursue a career as a teacher or counselor.

In addition to her athletic commitments, Ms. Gentry was elected Associated Student Body President this year and organized many successful fundraising events at the high school, including the blood drive, canned food drive, and holiday gift drive. A counselor states: "Kasey is energetic, motivated, and intelligent. She commands a lot of respect because she is always a respectful person."

Congratulations to Kasey Gentry!

TRET FURE PLAYS BENEFIT CONCERT FOR BODY ELECTRIC

On a stormy Wednesday night, Tret Fure, with Debra Farris opening, rocked SOhO for an appreciative crowd who braved the pouring rain to support Body Electric. Tret and her partner, Jane Weldon, generously donated their time and the concert proceeds, traveling up to Santa Barbara between gigs in Los Angeles and San Diego. Our grateful thanks to Tret, Jane, Debra and SOhO for providing a spontaneous and joyful fundraiser for Body Electric!

WOMEN'S FITFEST 2004 ROUNDUP

Body Electric's Women's FitFest, held on Sunday, February 29 and bracketed by rainstorms, turned out to be a sunny, fun and informative occasion at Earl Warren Showgrounds.

Exhibitors shared literature and snacks with community members who watched and participated in demonstrations of Australian Rules Football, martial arts, self defense, gymnastics, resistance training, belly dancing and golf.

Attendees could get a massage, have their golf swing and/or body fat analyzed, dribble a soccer ball, have their face painted, handle a hockey stick, toss a football, and partake in many more exciting activities.

Thank you to the following people for making this an outstanding event:

FITFEST EXHIBITORS/DEMOS

Bellydance Rocks
CALM
Cancer Detection Partnership
Diabetes Resource Center
Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara County
Echelon Cycling Club
Face Painting
Fitness Gallery
Girls Incorporated of Greater Santa Barbara Gymnastics
Goleta Valley Athletic Club
Kind Heart Institute
Mental Health Association in Santa Barbara
One Legacy
Pharmanex
Saenz Enterprises
Sansum Diabetes Research Institute
Santa Barbara Center for Natural Medicine
Santa Barbara Hockey Association
Santa Barbara Outrigger Canoe Club
Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center
Santa Barbara Running
Santa Barbara Sailing Center
Santa Barbara Women's Soccer Organization
Special Olympics of Santa Barbara
Trader Joe's
Twin Lakes Golf and Learning Center
UCSB Women's Soccer
United Studios of Self Defense
Women's Footy USA

FITFEST DONORS/SUPPORTERS

Bob Dolan
Catherine Dee
DeWild Pilates Studio
Diabetes Resource Center
Fitness Gallery/Alice Huang
Flag Factory
Girls Incorporated of Greater Santa Barbara
Kind Heart Institute
Lori Guynes, L.Ac.
Nicole Clancy
Saenz Enterprises
Santa Barbara Sailing Center
Sea Landing
Skydive Santa Barbara
Soccer Central
Special Olympics
Stephanie Durfor
Women's Sports Foundation

FITFEST VOLUNTEERS

Deana Blackwood
Rudy Chavez
Charles Dolan
Sam Dolan
Colette Hadley
Judy Hawkins
Jana Johnston
Arthur Kennedy
Dawn Luke
Judy Pirkowitsch
Liz Rodriguez
Jane Russell
Samantha Sanders


FITFEST PLANNING COMMITTEE

Lisa Braithwaite
Jennie Buckingham
Christine Borrayo
Stephanie Durfor
Kendra Ford
Kathleen Horton

BODY ELECTRIC WELCOMES JANE RUSSELL TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS!

Body Electric is proud to introduce our newest board member, Jane E. Russell, who was elected in January and is serving as Treasurer.

Jane received her B.S. in Business Administration from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. She participated in high school and collegiate basketball and softball as team statistician.

Jane is a partner and the firm administrator at MacFarlane, Faletti & Co. LLP, certified public accountants. She specializes in small business and restaurant accounting. She is a member of the American Society of Women Accountants and MENSA. She has served on the board of the Gay and Lesbian Business Association since 1999.

Jane's dogs keep her active hiking around her home in Mission Canyon and walking on the beaches of Santa Barbara.

Welcome, Jane!

KIRA'S JOURNAL

When I last left you I was feeling pretty groovy. My routine had left me five pounds lighter and a guy at the gym flirted with me. Well... the holidays came and I allowed myself to enjoy the bounties of the season. The guy at the gym brought his girlfriend in the following week.

My problem was that I allowed the holiday to continue through the month of January. The five pounds I lost found me and brought a couple of extra friends for a short visit. I gained back seven pounds!

This led me to sadness. It's hard enough to feel the pressures of society about being overweight, but as you may all agree, we are our own worst enemy at these tender moments.

Here are some excerpts from my workout diary.

January 5th - I'm back to working out. Sleep will come easier now that I'm working the body. I haven't been sleeping well for the past several weeks.

I ran into Lisa at the Farmer's Market last week. I was eating a buttered roll. Lisa didn't say anything. But why would she? She didn't know I was having a guilty indulgence.

January 7th - The gym is really crowded in the morning. I'm sure it has to do with everyone recently dedicating more exercise to their New Year's resolutions.

I can really feel my upper body workout from Monday. I may be chubby, but I am a strong chubby person.

January 18th - I tried a new lower leg workout today. A couple was using my usual favorite equipment; I was too impatient to wait for them to finish. I liked the new machine. I usually like to alter and change my workouts on a regular basis, usually every six weeks. If not, I can get easily bored.

January 22nd - Gee, I haven't worked out in four days. I've been working long hours at work and by the end of the day the last thing I want to do is go to the gym. Unfortunately, I also wake up in the morning and bypass the alarm for an extra hour of sleep.

February 7th - Weight is now at the original starting point. I am still eating basically anything I want. That feeling of sadness reappeared again.

I noticed I was not expressing myself thoroughly in my personal and professional lives. Employees at the job are feeling the pressure of cut back hours. I am no longer looked as "Cool Kira," because I was the one who cut back their hours. I tell myself this time will pass and lessons will be gained.

Exercise and good nutrition are very important. But I now notice that personal down time is just as important.

Television has been my best roommate for the past several months. I love my dog, Honey, but at night, I put the TV on right away. This does nothing for my mental and spiritual growth.

February 12th - I signed up for an adult education course through my local community college. The class is based on a book entitled "The Artist's Way." Over the next 12 weeks, I'll be forced to do homework that will include spending time by myself to discover creative avenues to express myself through art.

My field is working with the frail and elderly. The people I serve have been my best teachers for showing me how a lifestyle choice can affect my future.

February 16th - New cardio workout - I did speed walking on the treadmill for 22 minutes then I did a "speed circuit" for 15 minutes. FUN! I like change. And I like the fact that I'm back at five pounds lighter as I left you last time.

MEDIA IMAGES OF FEMALE ATHLETES:
UNDERREPRESENTED AND OVEREXPOSED

"Since the advent of Title IX in 1972 and the fitness boom of the 1980s, the number of girls and women participating in competitive and recreation sports has dramatically increased. Subsequently, more female athletes and women's sports have been in the international and national spotlights through television, newspapers, and magazines.

The seeming optimism generated from such an increase in media attention given to women's sports, however, is offset by the fact that men's sports continue to receive more coverage than women's sports, and minority women are practically non-existent in sports coverage. When female athletes are the focus of media attention, the images often sexualize and trivialize their efforts.

This lack of representation combined with stereotypical depictions may lead many to believe that few women are interested in sports and those who do participate are successful only when they "fit" traditional standards of appropriate female behavior." Excerpt from "(Dis)Empowering Images? Media Representations of Women in Sport" By "Beez" Lea Ann Schell: www.womenssportsfoundation.org

During the second quarter of the Super Bowl, an ad aired that featured two female athletes who are Olympic hopefuls. However, the ad, created by BBDO New York for Visa, fell a bit short of the ideal spot highlighting the accomplishments and athleticism of these athletes, and may not have portrayed the athletes as intelligent adults.

The commercial features two beach volleyball players, Kerri Walsh and Misty May, so anxious to train for their sport that they trudge through miles of arctic tundra for a match. Courtside, they remove their layers of winter clothing and begin competing. When a wayward ball rolls off into the iceberg-infested waters, they resort to a child's game to pick the one to retrieve it.

Amidst the beer commercials and halftime show shenanigans, this ad was certainly a step up. Yet the ad falls short in a few areas, according to the Guidelines for Female Athletes and the Media, Public Relations, Advertising and Marketing Communications developed by the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) in 1994.

The WSF advocates that female athletes not be shown undressing, so the shedding of the bulky winter expedition clothes doesn't meet this standard.

Another recommendation is that the athlete's body not be shown with significant parts missing, like the head. Certain shots in this ad don't seem to meet this guideline.

Furthermore, the athletes are identified only by their first name in the ad. Without proper identification, many viewers may have assumed that these were simply actresses portraying Olympic hopefuls.

Finally, the resort to a child's game at the end of the ad doesn't reflect the maturity that these two athletes undoubtedly possess.

The ad does meet the guidelines in a few areas. The women look like athletes and they are dressed as athletes, since beach volleyball players compete in two-piece bathing suits.

The movements of the athletes in the competition scenes were realistic. The words in the ad don't undermine the athleticism of the athletes. The athletes look their age; they don't look like little girls dressed up to play beach volleyball players.

In terms of the WSF's guideline that asks, "Is this an image any girl could look at and feel proud of as a current or future athlete?" - that's a difficult question. The athletes look like they could beat anyone out there at volleyball. On the other hand, the image of running around a glacier in a two-piece bathing suit may not inspire pride in future athletes.

These are two terrific athletes. In 2002, they were the FIVB (Fédération Internationale de Volleyball Tour) Champions after winning tournaments in Spain, Switzerland, Canada, Austria, and China. May earned the NCAA Championship Co-MVP as part of the 1998 NCAA Champions from Long Beach State. From 1996-1999 while at Stanford, Walsh became only the second player in NCAA history to receive First-Team All-American honors all four seasons.

Their prospects look good for the next Olympics, and if the Super Bowl commercial had met a few more of the WSF guidelines we'd know more about them and their quest for gold.

Resources:

www.kerriwalsh.com
www.bvbinfo.com
www.womenssportsfoundation.org

By K.C. Hoffman