Christian Skredsvig (Norwegian painter, 1854–1924) ‘Aften på innsjøen’ 1892

THE answer to the above question is: No, you can’t.

That’s because jogging, or “running,” is immodest and beneath the dignity of feminine women (as opposed to uppity and tiresome Internet trolls who like to brag about their marathon training).

[Image from It’s About Time]

— Comments —

Tyro writes:

Take any painting or photo of the late 19th century of a man dressed well on the lake, and you probably can’t picture him jogging, either. Recreational jogging for both sexes became popular in the 1970s. Its popularity or lack of in various eras had nothing to do with its relative masculinity or femininity of the activity.

Human are physical. We like the feeling of being in motion and the feeling of being physically “able.”

Towards the end of their lives, my grandfather talked about how he and my grandmother had climbed up to the top of a medieval fortress town. In retrospect– it made sense: they lived in the mountains, and those kind of strenuous walks were very common for everyone who lived in the area. To someone who lived in the lowlands, regular walks up hills and mountains must have seemed alien and, perhaps, unfeminine.

You may not like the modern interest in recreational jogging, but it’s just a modern recreational interest, without any kind of ideological consequence behind it. In 50 years, there may be something else, in the same way that 50-70 years after that portrait was painted, a woman would have been dressed quite differently. We cannot picture her jogging simply because recreational jogging was not something that people participated in very much at the time. Her interests in recreational activities was colored by whatever activities were available and accessible to her. It’s not a statement of how more or less feminine someone is.

Laura writes:

Firstly, the discussion was mainly about mothers jogging in immodest clothing in public. I have nothing against jogging per se, and have enjoyed it in the past myself. But even with young unmarried girls, it should be done at least much more modestly.

I don’t agree with you that the only reason we cannot imagine this woman jogging is that it was not done back then. I cannot imagine her running in tight-fitting, revealing clothing or semi-naked condition down a public street. I cannot even imagine her walking or hiking in that kind of dress. I cannot imagine her frantically rushing in general, as calm was a higher feminine value then, as we see in countless paintings of women that convey and glorify it.

Today, accomplishment and competitiveness are valued in women instead. The running trend is part of that. I know many people do honestly enjoy it, but I believe it also becomes a compulsion for some. Furthermore, as I said repeatedly, I believe no mothers would have run then because of the high value placed on maternal dignity. I think you live in a world in which maternal dignity is so absent that you probably have no idea what I am talking about.

I agree with you about the importance of exercise.

Please follow and like us: