"Playing sport is a privilege"

© Doerte Fitschen-Rath

The International Women's Day has been celebrated on 8 March for 111 years. The day is dedicated to equal rights and against discrimination. Whether at work or in everyday life – there are still many inequalities based on gender today. Many things happen in this way every single day so they almost seem normal. This is also the case in sport. We talked to Maren Schiller, a fitfluencer, about the International Women's Day. In the interview you can read how she deals with experiences of sexism, why it can be enriching to talk about it and what she would advise her 15-year-old self today. 

FIBO: Maren, you do a lot of sport, taking part in marathons and weight training is one of your passions. Are you often confronted with prejudices or discrimination during your training? 

Maren Schiller: Yes, unfortunately I often experience that, especially as a woman, the focus is directly on body image. If you are a runner, you are too thin, if you are a strength athlete, you are too muscular. But sport is about much more than just your body! 

How do you deal with this objectification?

Maren: Personally, I keep in mind that sport is about much more than the body. Social media sets trends and people follow those trends, I try to remember that. Sport is a luxury good that demands time, health and also financial aspects. Doing sport is a privilege that you should constantly keep in mind, without constantly focusing on the "perfect body". Sport should be fun, promote health and always be for yourself, never for others!

In your posts you often talk about the everyday discrimination, sexual harassment and prejudice you face as a woman and as a person. Do you think it is important to raise awareness about experiences of discrimination?  

Maren: I decided to make my experiences of sexual harassment and discrimination public because I want to create awareness with my outreach. I want to help women network and not feel alone with their experiences. It is incredibly empowering when you exchange experiences. Through this, you gather strength as a community and can discuss measures that can be used against such harassment online. This harassment also happens in real life and here, too, greater countermeasures are needed.

On Instagram, 214,000 people follow you. With this large reach, you are able to set trends. Are you enriched to know that you can contribute to a world free of discrimination?

Maren: Yes! It gives me a lot when I notice that women are sharing and networking under my posts. It has also happened that I have received messages from women in which they write to me that they have reported an "unwanted picture" - and that because they were able to exchange information under my posts.

You're a very successful entrepreneur, podcaster, YouTuber and content creator – did you always know where you wanted your path to lead?

Maren: I had a very different picture of my future 15 years ago. I never really considered self-employment for myself. However, I always found publicity interesting! However, I underestimated the "side effects" of a public life, but I'm learning to deal with them all the time.

What would you recommend to your 15-year-old self today?

Maren: I would clearly advise my younger self to get more support! It takes strength to ask for help. I would also recommend myself to discuss problems more openly with those closest to me and to exchange ideas. I would also definitely give myself a little more confidence and always keep in mind that in the end, no matter how stressful some phases are, everything somehow works out!