A woman named Katie Vellios posted a video of herself running a Florida marathon while contending with her selfish boyfriend.
The video has garnered an outpouring of dissent for the man, with some individuals calling on her to dump him.
But Lauren Robinson from Australia claims the problem is much deeper and underscores the necessity of teaching kindness from a young age.
The boyfriend ate her bar and informed her of his selfish act mid-race
Image credits: Fellipe Ditadi/Unsplash
Vellios’ TikTok video shows her running, while being filmed, presumably, by her partner.
“When you gave your boyfriend extra snacks to give you during your marathon and he eats them all,” reads the white text overlay.
The audio starts with a man’s voice saying, “I don’t have any.”
“What the f***?” asks a clearly disappointed Vellios before accusing the man of eating her much-needed bar.
Image credits: katievellios
Well aware of what he had done, he can be heard responding, “I know.”
One journalist sees his action as communicating to his girlfriend that he does not care
Journalist Laura Robinson weighed in on the man’s behavior, writing: “You might think it’s not that deep. It is.”
“It’s about dismissing the work women put in, turning their moment into a punchline, and making themselves the main character,” she claimed.
Image credits: katievellios
“He didn’t just swipe a snack. He took from her fuel, knowingly. That’s more than careless; it’s disrespectful.”
“Caring for someone’s wellbeing is a bar so low it’s practically on the floor. He managed to stomp on it while chomping down on her protein bar.”
Some thought that the man’s behavior went beyond mere thoughtlessness
The snippet, which runs for no longer than six seconds, drew the ire of many netizens.
“She trained for a marathon. Marathon training takes months. It’s not something that’s easily done,” observed one commenter.
“Not only is he sabotaging your marathon. He genuinely doesn’t care about you,” she wrote, after calling on Vellios for an update on her ex-boyfriend.
Another netizen saw a strain of premeditated deviousness in the man’s behavior.
And that is why kids need to be brought up the right way
Image credits: katievellios
“He’s a runner himself who knows the importance of those snacks so it is MUCH deeper.”
They went on to accuse the man of being jealous and wanting her to fail.
“He was recording her reaction! He knew she’d be upset and wanted to catch it on video.”
But to Robinson, the video is just another reason for people to raise their boys correctly.
“It reminded me why teaching small acts of kindness is a priority in my parenting,” she wrote.
A study shows that Vellios’ boyfriend’s treatment of her is common among women in sport
The unknown man’s treatment of his girlfriend’s sports ambitions is not isolated. In fact, it is so common that a study has been conducted on it.
The 2021 paper titled “Patriarchy undermining women’s participation in sports: Expressions from female student athletes” honed in on West Bengal, in India.
Image credits: katievellios
There were seven female student athletes nominated, and after interviews, data collection and analyses, it was established that they were subjected to male control during their participation in sports.
“The result of the study revealed that fear of shame and stigma, peer pressure, male gaze, traditional gender role expectation, control on outdoor movements and offensive comments were the dominant patriarchal challenges/control encountered by female athletes in College sports,” the paper observed.
It is so ingrained in cultures that mothers are less inclined to support their daughters in sport
It further noted that the issue was a symptom of a broader problem, which it defined as a “system of male domination” that keeps women in subordination.
But this issue is not only driven by spouses or romantic partners; statistics show that mothers are less inclined to support or encourage their daughters in athletics.
Image credits: Getty Images/Unsplash
According to the UK-based non-profit Women in Sport, “Only 30% of parents believe playing sport is very important for their daughter, compared with 41% of parents for their sons.”
Netizens feel the woman’s pain
