Originally Posted by
BabySue
Very helpful and interesting sticky note--thanks.
I want to propose clarity on an upcoming matter. This is not a correction of anyone in particular; it's more in anticipation of what will be said at the end of Jennifer Pharr Davis's hike. If she does achieve the fastest AT completion, then we can say, "JPD has the fastest AT completion time" or "JPD has the unsupported AT record." We will also still be able to say, "JPD has the women's unsupported AT record." But we will not be able to say, "JPD has the women's and the men's record." She is a woman, and therefore any record she holds is a woman's record. We could, of course, say, "JPD has the women's record, which is faster than the men's," or more simply, "JPD has the overall record." I'm pointing out, and tryint to dispel, the assumption that a men's record is always better than a women's. This is so ingrained in us that we sometimes speak of a woman setting a man's record without noticing the absurdity of that. If, for example, a man were currently attempting an AT unsupported record, and he finished today (July 13) with a time faster than any woman has done it, but not faster than any man, we wouldn't think of saying that he holds the women's record. Why? Because he's not a woman.