Behind every successful Woman...there are men who think women are just like them.

When you see this picture its obvious that your attention goes to the woman running in between, being shoved and on her way to making history.

To me this picture also gives me an insight to what could have really happened at that time and how some men behaved and what they thought of women.

The woman is Kathrine Virginia "Kathy" Switzer the first lady to run the boston Marathon. Women were not allowed to run the Boston Marathon until 1972. In 1967, she became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered entrant(an oversight at the registration). During her run, race official Jock Semple attempted to stop Switzer and grab her official bib. The word is “Grab”. I believe his actual words were "Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!"

You see they could have just let her run the race. She wouldn’t have won because her registration was invalid. But then they thought, what if she wins, that would be a kick to our chauvinistic masculinity and to save the last shred of it, let’s just shove a woman and put their race into their place so that she doesn’t dare change or make history.

The acceptance of women in sports has take over 100 years, fighting generations of ugly stereotypes.

Now for the other aspect of this picture, Sadly for Semple he was shoved to the ground by Switzer's boyfriend, Thomas Miller, who was running with her and she completed the race.

We still live with that generation of men who think the same way they did 4 decades ago and then there are men like Tom miller who aid that movement for women to have the same rights as them.

 As a feminist ..the one who believes in equal opportunities, I want to thank  men who have made  our lives a little easier, made our struggle a little lesser. To the fathers who support and love their daughters, to the husband that is a partner and a friend, to the bosses who don’t see gender but abilities and capabilities. In general men whose best quality  include the absence of  chauvinism.

To all the 20 year olds there. ( You may be an ageist and not know it)

You are going to be 30 soon and before you know it , you will be 40 and then I would like to ask you, how you like it when people call you “So old” especially when you are made to feel like a  person who has lost  all abilities to survive by themselves.  Next time you are in a conversation and find out that someone is in their 30s or late 30’s, don’t go “oh my god he or she is sooooo old yaar”.

One may have missed out on being a millennial by a couple of months and One may be a decade or two older than you but they have the same amount of energy as you. Haven’t lost their senses yet and will do their job with the same amount of enthusiasm, may be more if required.

Being older means you could learn a thing or two from me. My experience could be your lesson and may inspire you.  I can beat you at a dance off and though I am yet to have wrinkles I could easily hide that with an expensive haircut if I wish to.

Don’t talk to me like my life is over.