Flat Mat Radio Episode 30: Punchy O’Guts

Episode 30: Punchy O’Guts
Air date: February 27, 2017

In Episode 30 of Flat Mat Radio, Punchy O’Guts chats with Kickit about sexism, gender bias, and toxic masculinity in roller derby. She started this conversation in a 2016 Northeast Derby Convention Seminar, and it’s awesome to be able to continue that on this show.

Punchy O’Guts is a skater and coach, who is currently on injury + relocation leave. She’s been active in roller derby since 2006, and shares her derby and coaching knowledge through 4Eyes Coaching and Publishing.

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What Happened When

  • 1:00 Kickit offers some errata to update the ep since it was recorded in October. Updates on Punchy and more intersectional statistics than were provided in the recording.
  • 3:10 How Punchy got involved in derby.
  • 4:40 Patriarchy in derby? Why are we talking about this? Why aren’t we talking about this?! In my mind, everyone in the whole convention was gonna be there for this talk.
  • 5:40 Definition: Patriarchy. It becomes like ‘you hate men!’ and it’s not that at all. – Kickit
  • 6:45 Punchy addresses the systemic nature of these systems.
  • 7:35 How does toxic masculinity play out in derby? If I didn’t approach things with smiles or compliments or a sweet attitude, people didn’t want to hear it.
  • 10:35 Wait, we’re being too aggressive? We’re taught to use our bodies forcefully and powerfully… We shouldn’t be shamed for doing that thing.
  • 11:25 How are we perceiving women leaders in this sport, compared to men, and other thoughts on internalized oppression. (Is this when we start calling some skaters robots?) It’s not just about men putting women in a certain position, but women who have taken in those ideas about how we as women are supposed to be.
  • 14:00 Sorry not sorry, this is the part where we talk about apologies.
  • 17:35 Definition: Toxic/Masculinity. It’s how a man or a boy is “supposed to be.”
  • 19:40 How toxic masculinity hurts men. Playing through an injury is fucking stupid… There might be men who feel like they need to do that, or else they’re gonna be seen as [insert whatever word used to describe women].
  • 20:35 Hit Like a Girl and age/gender trickiness. I don’t wanna be referred to as a girl, I’m a 35-year-old woman. -Kickit
  • 21:45 Linguistic inclusivity. If we want to be revolutionary, we have to be considering this stuff. -Kickit
  • 23:25 “Co-ed Derby” and the two men per jam rule. Oof.
  • 26:35 Who’s having these conversations? (Um, not many folks. But let’s talk together.)
  • 28:00 What conversations should we be having on the league level, and how do we have them? How can we make things less about body parts? My immediate reaction was “Oh my god that’s so fucking sexist!” and that was not a compassionate way to deal with that situation, at all. Also: It can make you really angry when you’re dealing with this shit, over and over and over.
  • 30:50 Punchy’s tips on how to talk about these issues, in derby and in the rest of life. You have to determine if the person you’re talking to actually wants to learn. Also: You’ve gotta read about shit!
  • 34:30 Just, please, talk to your league about this. Learn stuff. Join the Sexism and Gender Bias in Roller Derby Facebook group. Ask questions. Please.

More About… Punchy O’Guts

Punchy O’Guts is Amy Martin is a skater with Rat City who has been involved in derby since 2006.  She writes and coaches through 4EYES Coaching + Publications. Punchy has a list of honors longer than her tattooed arm (which we wouldn’t mention but that POW tattoo is amazing) and was WFTDA Skater of the Month back in June of 2011. She is sponsored by Roller Derby Elite and was part of the first ever Flat Mat Radio live interview!

More About… Lemony Kickit

Kickit is Kat Selvocki, an ex-Gotham skater and the owner and sole yoga teacher at Flat Mat Yoga. She likes butts, anatomy, and helping people get out of pain. (Well, in yoga classes, anyway.) In addition to teaching and practicing yoga, you’ll often find her skating, running, and snuggling with her pitbull.

Much Derby Love to: