Myth Buster: Black Girls Don’t Swim
February 3, 2010
My mom is deathly afraid of swimming. I guess this is how I developed my fear of the pool. I remember going to the local private pool with my best childhood friend, Katherine. I think it was the first time I ever went to “the pool”. I remember that day like it was yesterday. It was the day I almost drowned. I guess every kid would remember a moment like that forever and it is probably one of the very reasons my fear of swimming has never completely left me.
I think everyone has heard the myth that black girls don’t swim. Seeing as how I can’t, I was a little more likely to believe that this is true. Is is because traditionally black communities don’t have recreational centers easily accessible or they are not up to par? Is it because as young girls we’re taught to never, ever, under any circumstance to get our hair wet? I’m not sure I have the answer. What I do know is that I hate not being able to swim.
In an effort to overcome my fear, my fiance vowed to teach me. It was a miserable failure. I’m convinced my cranium is too heavy to float. My swimming lesson ended up with me hanging on to Kris and the side of the pool for dear life. I eventually ended up in the hot tub. I must admit, I was cute in my adidas performance swimwear.
Frustrated and embarrassed, I decided that I would take private swim lessons. As I inquired at the YMCA, I blurted out “I’m so embarrassed. I’m 26 and can’t swim.” He just looked at me, laughed and said, “Please. There’s old ladies that come in here and can’t swim. You’ll be fine.” I’m not sure why I felt the need to throw myself under the bus, however knowing I wasn’t alone made me feel 100 percent better. I think of a life with me knowing how to swim. I would actually look forward to going to the pool or the beach. It would be a great low impact exercise and a chance to break up my running. Last but not least, if I was on a sail boat or ship, I’d have a pretty good chance of surviving.
I’m hoping to begin swim lessons in the next two weeks. I’m sure it will be an adventure and there’s a lot to be learned. But one thing I’ve already learned is that we should never not try anything new just because we’re embarrassed, have never done it before, or God forbid it might be hard and test our limits. We should always push ourselves to do the unthinkable and the unimaginable.
Yay!! You CAN swim and you WILL prove the stereotype wrong.
Trust me, I took a million different sets of lessons, failed, and thought I'd never learn to swim. Last year, I decided to try again, armed with a trusty board. I was terrified at first and convinced that I'd drown, but now I'm swimming laps, the board has been given away, and I look forward to hitting the water.
It's the best kind of crosstraining for runners. Now, if only they'd make a Nike+ for swimming….
That's my reason for not swimming alot in the summer time..having to wash my hair all the time. You will love swimming though. I learned how to swim when I was 5, I took lessons. I still don't like ot go in any water over 10 feet though. lol Good luck with your lessons.
I took swimming lessons at the Y last year and it was worth it. I would like to do a triathlon eventually so learning to swim was a necessary evil.
I can't say I 100% have the hang of the breaststroke yet (my breathing sucks), but I did conquer some fears. I think I'm at the point where I don't feel like I'll drown in the pool anymore. I can backstroke or doggie paddle at least!
Enjoy your lessons!
I learned to swim at the Y about a year and a half ago. Am I great swimmer? No. But I can hold my own.
I wish that someone would have enrolled me in classes when I was a kid but not one single woman in my family swims.
I agree with Nicci. Once you learn, you will absolutely love swimming.
When I'm sore but still want to work out, I take it to the pool…
You know, I was never aware of this myth. In any case, I went to the pool a lot as a kid and taught myself to swim. I really couldn't do any stroke correctly, but I swam well enough to have no fear of being in the deep end.
Just this past summer, I took lessons at the Y to learn proper strokes and technique. Swimming is now part of my training. I love it. It's both relaxing and challenging at the same time. And very humbling. I could run 10mi non-stop, but couldn't make it 25yd without stopping 2 or 3 times to catch my breath. I can swim laps now. But I'm still pretty slow.
Good luck with your lessons. You're gonna love it. Just remember to relax.
I learned to swim at age 40…took 3 years of learning, but I overcame my fears! Black girls DO EVERYTHING!!
Good luck! This is one of my goals for 2010. My baby brother almost died when he was very young – hit his head in the pool, teachers not paying attention, found him floating – and I think that really affected me. I've always been fine playing around in the water as long as I could stand up if I wanted to. Definitely going to check out the Y to start this process of getting over this fear. Thanks for the push.
GO FOR IT!
I am African not American, so sometimes when I hear the american dynamic re: what black people can't or aren't supposed to do.. I am flabbergasted.
I think, a lack of access to pools in 'urban' areas has a lot to do with it and possibly the misconceptions about black women and hair.
But you know whats funny, I heard 'black girls don't run' lol. Then I read your blog and it seems 'black girls' do run after all lol and how fabulous about it are you!.
You can do it.
Thanks everyone for your encouragement!
@Beckie: That is AWESOME!
@Tracie: Oh no! I can definitely see how that could scar you. Some things never leave you, but you can't let them hold you down! Let me know how the lessons go!
@Soul: Hahahaha! Yeah, it's pretty crazy. And we have more of those myths. You wouldn't believe some of them!
Ain't no shame! At least you're learning now. I was born and raised in Florida so by 2 years old I was swimming on my own. I literally can't wait until summer because I will be jumping in the nearest pool. I'm usually on my own in that regard because most of my friends don't look swimming. Those losers. LOL!
Maybe this is some divine post TO ME
I have been flirting with the thought of doing a mini triathlon, but the swimming part (200 yds) keeps me on the out. The last line about not doing something because its hard made me smile–in a convicting kinda way.
I learned to swim as a baby. My dad insisted that all of us learn to swim early on.
It's never to late learn! Good for you!
Tabitha: Do it! Better yet, let's do it together! And yeah, I have a way of convicting others AND myself. LOL
I grew up in a state where let's just say a lot of black people don't dwell. So luckily, I beat the stereotype on that. I don't go swimming often because I hate what the chlorine does to my hair. So don't believe the hype, soak your head in conditioner/wear a swim cap everytime you go near the pool.
You will rock at swimming. Just remember to keep your head calm and if everything else fails, you will float if you do nothing!
Good luck!!!
I have always been deathly afraid of the water.
I did a triathlon this past october and have overcome my fear. I am still a little afraid of the open water, but I can swim it!
Now my goal is to get my son swimming, so he won't grow up afraid like I did!
I'm training for a mini-triathlon and yes, this black girl's gonna swim. Like you, I had to take lessons and I'm progressing.
The comments that I've received from friends have ranged from the incredulous "You know we don't do that." to the almost-inspired "Oh, I wish I could do that."
The biggest issue has been my hair but hey, my health is more important than my 'do.
Good luck on your journey in the water!!
Hi! I just found your blog. I don't know any other like it but I kind of understand the myths, I'm african and rarely see other black women when I jog. There's some truth to it though, it's even been studied, recently wrote about it:
http://anaturaltangle.blogspot.com/2010/02/no-sweat.htm
lt's nice to know that they are there. It's encouraging and inspiring. Keep it up
I've been a swimmer since I was about 11 years old- in the community where I spent my summers, if you didn't you spent a lot of time alone. Go for it! All your friends will be so jealous!
Growing up people were always amazed that I could swim and that I loved the water. I never knew why, swimming was the norm for me. I went swimming all the time. I remember being young and my father literally throwing me in the water. From then on I was immediately attracted to the water.
My father and uncle were avid divers and as soon as my son was 2 my father would come and get him and bring him to the pool. When summer came weekly trips to the beach were the norm.
My son loves to swim but my step-son was a different story. His mom doesn't know how to swim so when he went on vacation with us the first time he was deathly afraid to go into the ocean. Now 6 yrs later…he's the first to jump in.
I say better late than never. Congrats on learning to swim.
This is my first time to visit your blog and I would say you share nice information. You definitely do research and write very well. Keep it up!
[...] issue to everything from segregation and lack of available swimming opportunities to fear passed down by modern parents to black women not wanting to damage their high-maintenance [...]
[...] this year, (February, to be exact), I did a post, “Myth Buster: Black Girls Don’t Swim” confessing my inability to tread/float/swim in the open pool. I vowed to take lessons and to dispel [...]
Good for you. I had a knee injury that required I see a doctor and one of the first things he did was recommend exercises that are easy on the joints. He got to swimming and then said, “Let me guess, you don’t swim. Because every African American woman I meet says she won’t swim because she doesn’t want to mess up her hair”. Needless to say, I was appalled at being stereotyped. I let him know that, yes, I CAN and DO swim. Unfortunately, he’s not the only one that thinks black girls/women don’t swim. Kudos to you for stepping out of your comfort zone and proving that black girls can do whatever we want to do.