Boy (so to speak)... I'm really hesitant to write this. I think I qualify as a "lurker," -- only became a member fairly recently but I've visited this forum for a number of years. It's been an invaluable source of information, inspiration and support for me. I've appreciated it very much. I've run across a couple other threads that focused on the male crew staff. I truly, TRULY don't want to offend or anger anyone with my different perspective here. Still, I can't help but wonder how we would feel if a bunch of men started a thread on the women in Cathe's crew (i.e. "So and so's hot but i don't know why --- gets so much camera time, I don't like this and that about her ..." and so on.)
I guess I decided to find my voice and say something here because in one of Cathe's past posts from awhile back she referred to STS as "a labor of love." I believe that and trust she was meticulous and detail-oriented in all phases of the process for creating STS. This includes the hiring process for new crew members as well as filming.
This thread is fairly new, so perhaps my response here is more directed toward an older thread where people actually expressed what semed like actual dislike (or at least annoyance) for a cast member (GREG) because of the way he moved and walked. He was interpreted as cocky or 'strutty' - I'd suggest that this was an interpretation and he might at least possibly also be interpreted as high energy, perky or enthusiastic. I don't know. I've never talked to him. Short of that, I've no reason to dwell in a negative interpretation. I can only imagine Cathe did and has spoken with him and found redeeming qualities to warrant his hiring. I choose to look at him - and all her staff - with a kind eye and to respect her judgement. In lieu of the amazing quality of STS, I think she and her staff deserve that.
One of the things I've so appreciated about Cathe's crew is their diversity in body type and personality. In some of her older DVD's she has had male crew members. Maybe they're there, but I've not run across any threads that criticized or ogled over them. Again, it's a matter of role reversal. I think many women would feel pretty intolerant of men doing just this. In fact, my boyfriend did once diss or criticize lightly, a female in Cathe's crew. It just sounded petty - judgemental - catty.
There's also been some negative feedback concerning the men's lighter weight choices and less than perfect form. It occurs to me that perhaps there lighter poundage is BECAUSE they are working on improving form. That strikes me as a suggestion Cathe herself has made. Go light while you're learning. We're all works in progress. I read a suggestion by someone else that the men may not be used to Cathe's style of training. It actually impresses me that they'd be WILLING to pick up smaller weights. A number of ego's, male in this case, might well have refused to have it on film that their weights looked small in comparison to what the women were opting to lift. That they seemed ok with this; that actually rather impressed me.
Again, I really hope my words here weren't taken as anything more than an alternative way to think about and consider what we say or assume about the men. Again, this is the second thread I've run across that dwelled on this subject in some way. This one seems pretty benign and less harsh than the other one, but it brought again to the surface some of the thoughts I've had in response to our criticism or appraisal ... moreover, our judgement of the male crew. If for me, working out is important physically, it is also an integral part of the body, mind, spirit triad. So attending to our care for how we treat others - even indirectly as commentary here - is part of that. So, I offer my thoughts here out of respect to Cathe and her "labor of love" as well as out of respect for the new crew member(s) in question. They are first and foremost, fellow human beings that might really be hurt by some of the unfounded commentary about them - which is really NOT about them at all - opinion and perception lie within the onlooker and often truly have little to do with the targeted subject.
I favor some of the male crew members as well. Just a matter of taste. Too, I've been guilty of taking a dislike to someone I don't even know. So the things that have bothered me in the past thread and potentially this one, are things I can and have been guilty of myself. But they're things I think may at least be worth considering and taking care in how we approach.
