This episode has been commissioned by Club Gym Nerd member Taylor, Princess of Sexy Data, who requested a deep dive into the infamous CNN Parkettes documentary, Achieving the Perfect 10, that we can all quote by heart. We discuss
- Background
- What's the deal with Parkettes?
- The legacy of this piece
- Jessica's experience going to the Parkettes camp as a youth (!)
- Why we think Parkettes agreed to this
- Part 1: A 7-year-old with a broken ankle
- TOPs testing gives Spencer a panic attack
- How NOT to sound like a creeper when talking about a 7-year-old
- Everyone says "suck it up" 100,000 times because healthy
- We root for everyone to quit and go to a pool party
- Part 2: Get confident, stupid
- Demeaning people definitely makes them more confident
- The Mrs hates everyone, especially gymnasts, and teenagers, and you
- Jessica is still fawning over Nicole Harris to this day
- Part 3: Annie, are you OK?
- "Do you just think it's more important to have bobbles so people will give you attentions?"
- Why we're obsessed with deadpan comedy genius Annie Fogerty
- OH GOOD THE WEIGHT PORTION, THIS WILL GO WELL
- "Way to give up, Annie, way to give up"
- "Was that a try, what you just did? What kind of a try? Is there such a thing as a quitter's try, like lackadaisical?"
- What exactly is a quitter's try?
- The Kristie Phillips cautionary tale
- Part 4: Aftermath
- Where are they now?
- What this says about elite gymnastics, and why USAG learned all the wrong lessons from how horrified we are by it
- The problem with typical American parents' view of sports
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