This Olympics has seen a lot of departures from the norm. Firstly the 2020 games are being held in 2021. Players are all wearing masks. Russia was banned for doping, so something called ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) is participating in place of the country's official contingent. And then there has been significant controversy around the women’s beach handball team from Norway and the German women’s outfits in gymnastics.
The image on the right is what the women’s team is supposed to wear – something resembling a sports bra and a very skimpy set of bikini bottoms. The Norwegian women’s beach handball team chose not to wear this and instead wore what is on the left: a sports bra top and close-fitting mid-thigh-length shorts.
This issue has been debated for many years. Those skimpy bottoms are seen as revealing and degrading and also, quite simply impractical and uncomfortable (anyone who’s gone to the beach knows that sand gets simply everywhere). A fine was imposed on the women for their stand. Many all over the world including celebs offered to pay the fine for them.
German women gymnasts also took a similar stand. They decided to appear in full-body suits rather than the bikini cut leotards that they were required to wear. Here as well, the women made this decision because the regulation gear made them feel uncomfortable. This is particularly an issue in gymnastics, where competitors are often very young and maybe undergoing bodily changes that make them self-conscious and awkward.
When an athlete is afraid about a possible wardrobe malfunction, she is always going to be stressed and worried about this. This is particularly true now with constant TV coverage in full high definition technology that shows up every supposed imperfection as well. This is likely to be a factor playing at the back of an athlete’s mind and could even impact her performance – another reason women have been asking for changes to be made to current regulations.
Women athletes are protesting against something that is essentially sexualising them and their bodies. While women are required to wear revealing clothing, men are not. The comparison between male and female requirements is quite remarkable. While men have their entire torso covered, women wear bras. While men wear shorts that should end 10 cm above the knee, women are required to wear bottoms that are no longer than 10 cm at any point. So clearly there is a double standard here.
And one of the reasons offered for this double standard is rather outrageous. Apparently, there aren't enough viewers for women’s events, so skimpy uniforms are supposed to attract more viewers and greater interest. So, actually, they aren't even pretending; this is an admission that this is about sexualising women’s bodies; about creating visuals for the consumption of (typically) male spectators. It becomes even more problematic when we factor in the fact that most competitors in gymnastics events are really young children.
In the end, it all comes down to others – read men - regulating and policing women’s bodies: telling them how to dress and how not to dress. Women have to suffer the unwanted gaze and tolerate the discomfort of this. The impracticality of the outfit adds to the problem. The demand from women athletes is not unreasonable. They don’t want to be objectified and they want to be dressed in a way that makes them comfortable and gives them the confidence to give their best performance. Why should they be told that they must be uncomfortable just so that their bodies grab eyeballs? So that networks earn a little more? If the Norwegian women want not to expose their bottoms and the German women would rather cover their legs, why is this a problem?
After all, German women beach volleyball players had also protested against the requirement to wear shirts and trousers while in Qatar for a competition. That is also impractical. Basically, it’s about wanting to be comfortable in one’s own skin and what one wears; and being able to do the best possible job while doing so. It’s about not being told by others what to wear – it’s about having a choice and having one’s own agency.
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