By now you’ve probably seen the This Girl Can film. If not watch it. It has been made by Sport England to celebrate active women up and down the country who are doing their thing no matter how well they do it, how they look or even how red their face gets. One of the sports in the video is a Zumba class, shown to be exciting, energetic, and most of all, fun. It has taken the internet by storm and celebrated for its realism and positive message.

However, I have a tale of the other side, the reality of this, and one that we all really should be getting to the heart of.

Last week I did a Zumba class. Now I’ve done Zumba before, and had a little dance experience, but it had been two years since I’d followed a teacher (or watched myself in the mirror doing it!) so I was basically a beginner. I’d been looking forward to dancing again and spent the first 30 minutes of the hour class loving it. Yes I was uncoordinated, yes I kept messing up, but I was doing it with a massive grin on my face. I was one of the girls on the video.

Then something changed. At the water break the instructor made a beeline directly to me and in front of a class of about 15 women singled me out in front of everyone to tell me that it was ‘ok if I wasn’t getting it, at least I was moving’.

Lets repeat what I just said above, yes I was uncoordinated, yes I kept messing up, but I was doing it with a massive grin on my face. Thanks to some clumsy language from the instructor – that massive grin – was gone. For the next 30 minutes any co-ordination I did have totally disappeared, along any enjoyment of the class I’d been having. There were others in the class just as uncoordinated as me – maybe she thought I could take it as the smile I had on my face looked like confidence. It wasn’t.

So to the ‘This Girl Can’ film – whilst i’ll say well done to them for a highly commendable stance and a fantastic campaign and video – the video does not show how (although it is on the website) that “the fear of judgement is stopping many of us from taking part in exercise. But as thousands of women up and down the country are proving, it really doesn’t have to”.

Yes judgement. Judgement and the confidence to be judged. That’s what really stops people. Not the jiggly bits, not the red face, not the hard work. In any sport, as a beginner, you will be uncoordinated and hopeless at it. To get to the point that the girls are at in the video you have to have confidence in the beginning to show that you are hopeless, and more importantly confidence to be able to expect that the people around you – especially the instructor – will not judge you whilst you try and try and try again. If this happens, then this girl really can.

Mrs S x

EDIT: I just want to point out that despite this incident I am going back to Zumba, as despite one person’s comments, I do really enjoy it – and I deserve to #thisgirlcan