in response to all the hubbub around the blogosphere the past couple of days regarding larry summers' remarks about women and science, and whether nor not women and men have different talents and inclinations due to genetics and gender, etc, i'm taking on a challenge that i've thought about doing for a good, long while. one that i was always told at which i would never succeed. one that i've never thought i'd be able to do, most likely because my mother dressed me in pink and the social constructs of my environments have been keeping me down. man.

i am going to do a fucking pull up.

i still remember clearly the last time i was able to do a pull up - three of them, in fact. i was a 4th grader at wolftrap elementary school, and we were going through the motions for the presidential physical fitness awards. i got up in front of a huge crowd of fellow nine year-olds, boys and girls, and gave it my best shot.

i ended up getting more pull ups than any girl in my class, and more than many of the flabby, underdeveloped munchkin boys that were my friends. it was a triumphant moment. in fact, i performed well on all the other fitness challenges - the mile, that terrible back-and-forth-shuffle-run, sit ups, etc.

but then as the years went on, probably because my series of lesbian gym teachers were misogynists, i lost interest in physical fitness. i couldn't run as fast, i couldn't throw balls as far, and i could never again do a single pull up. this might also have something to do with the fact that i gained like 120 pounds, but i'd rather blame it on the unconscious discriminations of society.

anyway, in general i'd consider myself to be fairly in shape, but the arm strength thing has always eluded me. i mean, lately i'm even having trouble lifting bottles of wine to my lips. so i decided that something had to change.

tommy and i joined the Y a couple of weeks ago, and i've made it my mission to a) start running again and b) be able to do at least one dead-hang pull up. so far i can do several sets on the assisted pull up machine-thingy, but i haven't yet attempted the holy grail. but soon, grasshopper, soon enough. i will be strong. i will have unholy shoulders a la jennifer garner's. and then i can go kick larry summers' ass.