The fantasy of the flawless ice princess has long constrained women in figure skating, writes Jasmine Wynn.

So said U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu, directly into a television camera, upon finishing her gold medal–winning routine in Milan on Thursday. The 20-year-old from Oakland, making a triumphant return ...

In both reality and fiction, the ice princess glides beautifully, and skates her way into a podium finish without struggle. Imperfection is foreign to her. But for those of us, like myself, who both ...