Boo, You Whoremone

by Samantha Schell

Why is it we have figured out a way to assist the male athletes as they get older, but yet nothing near as commonplace for the women?

It’s no secret that we as women face a whole plethora of hurdles that our male counterparts in this sport rarely have to encounter or otherwise never even deal with. From having very limited appropriate training partners, if any, to never being able to secure a decent match-up at a local event, to having to navigate pregnancy and Jiu-Jitsu, to dealing with hormonal fluctuations that come with the joy of being a woman. I’ll elaborate further.

Now, I would be pretty tone-deaf to not bring up the elephant in the room with active, (usually older) male Jiu-Jitsu competitors. It’s no secret that hormones fluctuate and levels drop after 30, which is why so many of the guys in your gym are on TRT, or Testosterone Replacement Therapy. I’m not here to argue whether it is an unfair advantage or not, but I will say everything I hear from the guys tells me how much it helps with mood, recovery, joint pain, inflammation, and brain fog. Which is great for them and all, but what about the women?

For men, they seem to justify it as medically necessary, especially in order to compete with the younger guys, and yeah, I do see their point. It’s hard to keep up, especially when you remember what your body was formerly able to do with ease and capability and now struggle with. But we women age and have levels decline too with estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. So why is it we have figured out a way to assist the men, but yet nothing near as commonplace for the women?

Why is it that when men seek help from their physicians, they are met with various options for treatment and blood work and have their doctors clamor at the chance to be able to tell them to get their levels checked so they can proceed with the appropriate course of action. While us women are often told we are hysterical, or that it is perfectly normal and that nothing can be done, or even that it is all in our heads. We almost have to fight for the chance to be heard and have to seek outside medical intervention from homeopathic medical specialists in order to have someone listen to us. Insane.

There is no way you can justify to me that men can easily seek help to alleviate some of the woes that come with aging and the decline of recovery and female athletes are just left out in the cold. You’re telling me after years of dealing with all the crap that comes with PMS and the symptoms associated with your uterine line shedding monthly, that we are simply supposed to accept that this is okay and nothing can be done? I refuse to cower behind the words of men living in the past.

When asked for issues women have faced when it comes to hormones, I was met with a multitude of answers. From PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) where menstrual symptoms hit the extreme, to PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) which causes an influx of symptoms including painful ovarian cysts, to perimenopause (early onset menopause and all the issues associated with it), to women who have undergone hysterectomies (removal of the uterus), to those navigating pregnancy with training and even those brave women who have dealt with hormone treatment due to battling breast cancer. And all of these women are still on the mats, training day in and day out, and some even competing and winning at the highest levels. Women are amazing.

I don’t know how many people can relate to showing up on training days when your insides are protesting in pain, dealing with hot flashes while you are supposed to be warming up, having to cut weight when your body is holding onto every modicum of water, dealing with knee on belly while an angry and inflamed growth resides on your ovary, not being able to follow what’s being taught due to the incessant brain fog, and even worry that the particular movement shown will cause bladder leakage after birthing multiple babies. Don’t even get me started on the days when your emotions are at an all-time high and it is taking every ounce of concentration to not burst into tears right then and there.

I watch these guys at the gym approaching 50 and see every definition of their chiseled back and strong biceps, and I am incredibly jealous. I know they work incredibly hard and I am not taking that away from them, but so do I, and every day that passes it is harder and harder for me to recover enough to build these muscles. All the gentlemen gather together to talk about the protocol their doctor has them on, from weekly testosterone injections to pellets placed under the skin every few months, and I can’t help but sound like a spoiled child when I proclaim, “what about me?”

You’re telling me after years of dealing with all the crap that comes with PMS and the symptoms associated with your uterine line shedding monthly, that we are simply supposed to accept that this is okay and nothing can be done? I refuse to cower behind the words of men living in the past.
Samantha Schell

Many of these guys even see the same doctor or at least share a common medical building. But the women have all discussed how it has been like pulling teeth to get the doctors to take our concerns seriously. It’s not even that we want to inject ourselves full of male hormones to be able to hulk smash buildings, we just want to feel freaking normal. Less joint pain and inflammation and hormonal fatigue and brain fog. I want to be able to keep up with my peers just like the guys do.

I guess I just can’t believe it’s 2023 and women are still having to deal with these medical hurdles. Women’s medical history has not been kind to us in the past, (fair warning if you ever do some research into it; it is pretty brutal and graphic and highly upsetting how our concerns were dismissed and our pain was ignored). It’s unfortunate how far we still have to go to be seen on equal footing and obtain fair treatment. In the meantime, we keep showing up and kicking ass and winning world titles, in spite of detrimental ovaries, a problem-causing uterus, and hormones running rampant. We are badasses and here to make waves and stand tall. Period.

Samantha Schell

The “Wolf Queen” is a BJJ black belt under team Rubao Carioca at Schell Shock BJJ in Fuquay Varina, NC. She’s a professional atomweight MMA figher and writes a weekly blog: WolfQueenMMA.com. In her spare time she enjoys cooking and baking. Reach her via DM on Instagram: @wolfqueenmma