Lolo Jones hangs her
medals on a silver deer’s head hanging in her kitchen. There are two gold medals, both
from the World Indoor Championships (one from 2008 and the other from 2010);
and one silver from the World Athletics Final in 2008. When asked if she would
hang an Olympic medal with the others; her reply was “I don't know, it'd
probably have, you know, have lights and a little shrine, and a bodyguard
standing next to it.”
However, most interestingly,
Lolo is gaining support—and opposition—for her very public choice to remain a
virgin until after marriage. She said in
an interview with Real Sports:[1]
"It's just
something, a gift that I want to give to my husband. But please understand this
journey has been hard. If there's virgins [sic] out there, I just
want to let them know, it's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Harder
than training for the Olympics, harder than graduating from college, has been
to stay a virgin before marriage [sic]."
While some have lauded her for this difficult
choice, many have decided to barrage her with hate mail. One particularly scathing article came from the
New York Times, saying that
“Essentially,
Jones has decided she will be whatever anyone wants her to be — vixen, virgin,
victim — to draw attention to herself and the many products she endorses.”[2]
While
the point the author, Jeré Longman, is trying to make is that Jones
“has played into the persistent, demeaning notion that women are worthy as
athletes only if they have sex appeal” he demeans her himself. For some reason, making her personal choice
to abstain a public choice relegates her to the ranks of those who use their
sexuality as a marketing ploy. She may be using her choice as a marketing ploy,
or it may be Lolo merely showing herself to the world. In other words, she may be choosing to
exploit people’s reaction to her choice, or she may be publicizing it in order
to encourage other girls who are waiting until after marriage. However, Longman’s logic is flawed:
publicizing her virginity and her choice to retain it does not make her the sum
of her sexual appeal. She knows how
hard it is, and she should be considered courageous for remaining a virgin, not
self-promoting or attention-seeking. She said on her Twitter account, “Yes I'm a
virgin. #1 reason why I'm single bc guys deuce out when I won't put out. I do
so to honor God & future husband”[3] She has also admitted that she has no problem
getting dates; the problem is finding guys who want to wait until after
marriage with her.
Lolo Jones
is an inspiration to those of us that are dedicated to something, whether it be
something as arduous as racing as an Olympic athlete, as time-consuming as
writing that novel that’s been dancing around in your head, as challenging as
knitting a complex lace shawl, or as simple—yes, simple—as saving your
sexuality for your future spouse. We all
do difficult things in our lives, and we all strive for something. Our goals
are all different, and we all walk down different paths. However, we all stick
to the things we believe in and work toward the things we want. Lolo has publicly vowed to remain a
virgin. She is publicly religious. Both of these things are incredibly difficult
in today’s society. She has made it to
the Olympics twice. Despite her lack of
Olympic medals as of yet, she is not disappointed: she will never pray for God
to give her a gold medal, instead praying “May His will be done.”[4]
So, whatever it is that each of us works towards in our life, we can take her
words to heart when she says: “I have been defeated in races but I've
never been defeated in life. fight. work. push. pray.hustle [sic] and DONT EVER
GIVE UP.”[5]
Elizabeth Lewis: "I started writing when I was nine. I wrote and self-published a novel in 2009 called Spellbound. I'm a Girl Scout Gold Award and Congressional Gold Award recipient. I am currently a freshman enrolled at California State University, Bakersfield. My favorite books are The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, and the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. I am a proud Catholic. I want every young girl to accept herself, because I believe that society should not dictate what is beautiful."
[1] Gumbel,
Bryant. Real Sports #182 — Lolo Jones – Until Marriage. May 2012.
[2] Longman,
Jeré. "For Lolo Jones, Everything is Image" New York Times 4 August 2012: SP1. Print
[3] Jones,
Lolo (lolojones). http://twitter.com/lolojones/status/184348822389002241
26 Mar 2012, 10:39 AM. Tweet.
[4]Jones,
Lolo (lolojones). http://twitter.com/lolojones/status/227091938522832896
22Jul 2012, 10:25 am. Tweet.
[5] Jones,
Lolo (lolojones). http://twitter.com/lolojones/status/204721970191925250
21 May 2012, 4:54 PM. Tweet.
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