My comrades and friends know that I have become something of a fitness enthusiast. I am maintaining a significant weight loss, but more important than numbers on a scale or dress sizes, I have become much stronger and healthier than I was before.
The importance of being fit was reinforced for me in 2013 when I was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer and underwent treatment for about 6 months, starting with surgery and going on to chemotherapy. Since coming out of that particular unpleasantness, I have rededicated myself to surpassing my previous levels of fitness. I am both celebrating the fact that I am still alive and healthy, and trying to lessen my odds of a recurrence of the cancer. I want to be around fighting the good fight for as long as possible.
My latest fitness fascination is running. I hadn’t run seriously since 9th grade, and here I am, a middle aged woman, running down the street. I have found it motivating to sign up for races even though I have no chance of placing. Since I am built for endurance not speed, I have been working my way up to running longer distances.
Now, if you have never run, you might think that running is an inexpensive sport. You don’t need to join a gym or get any fancy equipment; you just strap on your sneakers and start running. Well, starting right there, running shoes are not cheap whether you go for the traditional high profile shoe or the new minimalist/barefoot shoes. There is a bundle of other stuff that you find out you probably need which for women may include a quality sports bra. Even a woman with only one breast needs a sports bra!
None of these things are cheap. Registering for races is also not free, there are fees, whether the race is a fundraiser for a worthy cause (my first 5K after starting running again raised money for the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence), is run by a for-profit corporation, or is a community effort that may support local charities or simply brings money and excitement into a small town.
OK, I have accepted that these are some of the contradictions of trying to be fit while living in a capitalist society. Instead of seeing access to health and fitness services or products as a human right and as part of a public health strategy to reduce chronic and stress related illnesses, fitness is an industry and some capitalists make a lot of profit. Running shoes, sports bras, gym memberships, reflective vests for running and biking safely at night, race registrations, even anti-chafing cream—all these are commodities, things that people are willing to buy, and that capitalists can make a profit from selling. I am fortunate to have a living-wage job (and a partner with a living-wage job) so that I can afford to buy running shoes and pay the electricity bill.
When you think about the price of a pair of running shoes (often at least $100) or a quality sports bra ($50 or more) you also have to ask yourself about the pay of the workers who make these products. In many cases, these commodities are made by super-exploited factory workers in overseas manufacturing zones. Even if the products were made by relatively well-paid workers, the capitalist system works by not paying these workers the full value of what they produce, so the owner, who has not contributed any labor to the commodity, can take the surplus value, or profit.
So—what does this have to do with porta-potties, also known as Sani-cans, porta-johns or HoneyBuckets (eww)? Anyone who has ever run in a largish race (or organized a large demonstration) knows that when you get a large group of folks together outdoors with the goal being that they will hang out for a while listening to music and speeches or pep talks and then run or march some distance—it is only common sense that some of these people will need to use a restroom. Most parks and other places where races (or demonstrations) start lack adequate restroom facilities to accommodate hundreds or thousands of participants, so organizers bring in porta-potties to meet the need. It is an unpleasant but necessary aspect of organizing a large public event.
Some aspects of the contradictions of capitalism (i.e: the cost of running shoes) end up becoming part of the background noise of everyday life. It takes conscious effort on my part to take them out of the background and deconstruct them.
And then there are absurdities like VIP porta-potties. At a half-marathon I plan to run this coming weekend, organizers along with corporate sponsors (a running shoe company and a sports bra company) are “hosting” a VIP Porta-Potty. To get access to this more luxurious accommodation, you must purchase between $100-$150 of merchandise from the sponsors.
Now, if I want to run, I pretty much have to wear a pair of running shoes and a sports bra. Whether I run or not, I have to use the bathroom several times each day. It’s a good thing though, that other options exist on race day and I will not be forced to pay $100 plus to use a fancy porta-potty.
All this adds up to more reasons to fight for a more just society in which health and fitness and even clean public restrooms are a right, not a privilege.
