Hello Boulder,

Fifty four thousand folks ran and walked the Bolder Boulder 10k Monday– what a sight. No longer running roads I chose to watch. It was a profound human experience watching a sea of unique beings each with their own stories, reasons, purpose, grief, happiness, hopes, wishes, body image etc. I found myself crying in big tears Why? Humanity’s potential and abilities. Then I thought, wow, taking to the streets. What would happen if we all got together and did this and other taking to the street events for great causes to support, heal and love our planet? But what would these causes be? How can we work together? How can we agree on what is really best for our planet? How do we know what really helps and doesn’t help? I have no answers but I do know that taking to the streets is so powerful and useful and we all stopped doing it when Kennedy and Martin Luther King got shot– too scary for most. At least around important causes. Then as I biked home I watched 54 thousand folks disperse in the Boulder streets that are usually filled with cars and traffic still filled yet it was amazing to see everyone walking and being outside on an incredible day together. Then I had an image of us all across America really getting out of our cars and using our feet to take over the streets together so it is safer for all. What a concept, what a project. For me to give up my comfort of driving it feels like it needs to be a law. I fool myself as I continually make plans to ride my bike more and walk more. I get so caught up using my car. All this incredible amazing energy and incredible training that folks did for this wonderful event. How do we use this energy and make it useful? Am I asking us for too much?

Another thought totally off the subject is about mail solicitations for contributions. What if somehow organizations that give were combined? Every day like all of you, I see the needs around the world and it is so overwhelming. I do my bit, I try to Tithe a lot of what I make but how cool would it be if we could contribute to a global fund that was able to do what was needed? As I write this I see how challenging this is. To all of you love to you all. Take to your streets and let’s see what we can create to support our world especially for future generations.

With Thought and Questions

Diane

I read that Time Magazine has named Boulder, ‘America’s Most Active City’. This may sound like a great honor yet I have found that there is an aggressive and obsessive quality in all this.

In last week’s editorial section of the Daily Camera an old training buddy of mine wrote a very sad editorial about ‘an uncaring nature in Boulder.’ Richard Craft was injured on the trail and so many of these very ‘active Boulderites’ ran right by him moving fast and trying to get in their workout. Somehow Richard was left to crawl out of the woods on a bloody stump of a leg since his prosthesis had failed. It is a busy time in our lives and we can get caught up in our own worlds. In my experience it is often difficult to face things we are uncomfortable with particularly when we are preoccupied with ourselves. But why didn’t anyone stop to help him?

Truly, there are so many wonderful benefits of being active in our incredible city where Chief Niwot lost his life protecting this profound and sacred land. Yet today with our frenetically busy lives many of us bring neurotic energy patterns to the trails and this is potentially harmful and hurtful to others and ourselves. Let’s use our full expression of breath that many of us learn in yoga class to slow down and to experience the gifts of nature. And most importantly, let’s use these gifts to help others that need it along the way.

Please take it from a former maniac in Boulder. I have learned that if I train or exercise less there is more energy freed up to help others and work. Truthfully, genuine happiness can shine through in the precious, still moments. Let’s team up and help one another with this activity of kindness. Thank you Boulder for an incredible landscape in which we all get to live and play.

Next time let Boulder be voted the most ‘active’ in service and compassion.

Diane Israel

By Diane Israel, Filmmaker, Beauty Mark

When I think about the challenges around being an LGBTQ-identified (Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Transgender, Queer) person, the word that best describes my experience is confusion. Life is confusing anyway, and being Queer – the term that I personally use – in our culture can add to that confusion, as well as create a great deal of stress, anxiety, and overwhelming emotions. The myriad of unique struggles related to sexuality and gender expression, such as coming out and harassment in schools or the workplace, can impact experiences of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, trauma and developing unhealthy coping mechanisms such as substance abuse – all of which are common co-occurring conditions or contributing factors in the development of an eating disorder.

Eating disorders are often associated with straight, young, white females, but in reality, they affect people from all demographics and they are not caused by any single factor.  They arise from a combination of long-standing behavioral, biological, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, and social factors. Research suggests that eating disorders disproportionately impact some segments of LGBTQ populations, though there is much research still to be done on the relationship between sexuality, gender expression, body image and eating disorders. There is a strong genetic predisposition to the development of an eating disorder, but it interacts with the many contributing factors that can trigger onset. LGBTQ people my experience unique contributing factors such as trauma in the form of gay-bashing or harassment, losing social support, family, and potentially their home as a result of coming out (up to 42 % of homeless youth are LGBTQ), and extreme anxiety or depression associated with their sexuality or gender expression. In one study, gay and bisexual boys reported being significantly more likely to have fasted, vomited or taken laxatives or diet pills to control their weight in the last 30 days. While research indicates that lesbian women experience less body dissatisfaction overall, recent research found that beginning as early as 12, gay, lesbian and bisexual teens may be at higher risk of binge-eating and purging than heterosexual peers, with those identified as lesbian, bisexual or mostly heterosexual being about twice as likely to report binge-eating at least once per month in the last year.

LGBTQ people, in addition to experiencing unique contributing factors, they may also face challenges for accessing treatment and support. In my own personal development, growing up I always felt confused because like so many of us, I did not fit into the stereotypes of what it is to be a girl. I was a tomboy and lived this out through my dress, play, actions and behaviors. Eventually I became a champion athlete, and I believed that if I was to be a great athlete, I had to be a boy. In my day as a professional runner, women only got trophies if men did not show up for their awards. I tried to be a boy by trying really hard not to grow up as a girl. In other words I tried not to develop a female body and was terrified to get my menstrual cycle. For years I struggled with anorexia and exercise bulimia, which kept me frail, underdeveloped, confused and very androgynous. I thought that these behaviors would somehow keep me from being a woman, but who I was born to be was always fighting to come through. In order for me to get the treatment I needed, addressing these complex issues of sexuality and gender would be crucial. LGBTQ people who struggle with body image issues and eating disorders need culturally competent care.

It took me a long time to learn to be myself in a culture that devalues those who challenge narrow beauty standards and transgress gender norms. Now at 50, I don’t think of myself around the confines of being a woman or a man, being male or female. I feel my authentic self beyond the limiting ideals our culture has created and imposes upon us. I have learned that the incredible variety that exists among people is what is truly beautiful. If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder or body image issues, I encourage you to seek treatment and support. For treatment referrals and more information about eating disorders, visit the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) online at www.NationalEatingDisorders.org or call NEDA’s toll-free Helpline: 800 931-2237.

It’s Time to Talk About It. NEDAwareness Week 2011 is February 20-26! Visit the NEDAwareness Week homepage under Programs & Events at www.NationalEatingDisorders.org to register today and learn more about how you can do just one thing to help raise awareness about eating disorders and become part of the solution.

References

Austin, S. Bryn, Sc.D.. 2004. Sexual Orientation, Weight Concerns, and Eating-    Disordered Behaviors in Adolescent Girls and Boys. Journal of the American            Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, V43.

Center for Disease Control and Massachusetts Department of Education. 1999.     Massachusetts State Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

Matthews, Travis. 2005. NEDA Handout: Gay Men and Eating Disorders.

Ray, Nicholas. 2007. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth: An Epidemic of        Homelessness. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and National Coalition for       the Homeless.

Norton, Amy. 2009. Gay, Bisexual Teens at Risk for Eating Disorders. Reuters Health,      Sept 17, 2009. www.queeryouthmentalhealth.wordpress.com.

Waldron, Jennifer J., Semerjian, Tamar Z., Kauer, Kerrie. 2009. Doing ‘Drag’:       Applying Queer-Feminist Theory to the Body Image and Eating Disorders across         Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. In The Hidden Faces of Eating Disorders, Edited by Justine J. Reel & Katherine A. Beals, (63-81).