Uniform/costumes/kit etc challenges, about time, rant.

[dessiato]

Finally various female sports are challenging the requirements for revealing kit. I don’t see why it has taken so long to do so, nor why it is taking so long for things to be changed. I can only assume that very old men have too much say in what the women wear, even allowing for the woman who challenged the Paralympic long jumper whose name I’ve forgotten.

I assume the idea is that barely dressed women draw attention and viewers.

Unless there is a specific health and safety issue let all the participants wear what they are comfortable wearing. No sport should be a perv fest, no athlete should have to be concerned about how they look while participating.

Besides which the rules on, eg, women’s beach volleyball kit must automatically stop a lot of athletes from competing. Body image issues, religious modesty issues.

Anyway, rant over.

 

[existentialist]

I'm really not much bothered about sport - not even ladies' beach volleyball - but this caught my attention.



Good on Pink for standing up and being counted - I think her support counts for a lot more than her paying their fines.

But this feels like something out of the 1980s - how can ANY governing body really justify the glaring disparity between the fairly conventional men's uniform, and the blatantly sexualised one the women have to wear?

In fact, I think this is why I am not much bothered about sport - from child sexual abuse in football to antediluvian attitudes like this around gender, sport seems to be in the hands of pervy old men whose attitudes towards gender and sexuality appear to owe nothing to the progress (such as it is) that has been made more generally in society outside sport.

Well, that and the corruption.

 

[Pickman's model]

I'm really not much bothered about sport - not even ladies' beach volleyball - but this caught my attention.



Good on Pink for standing up and being counted - I think her support counts for a lot more than her paying their fines.

But this feels like something out of the 1980s - how can ANY governing body really justify the glaring disparity between the fairly conventional men's uniform, and the blatantly sexualised one the women have to wear?

In fact, I think this is why I am not much bothered about sport - from child sexual abuse in football to antediluvian attitudes like this around gender, sport seems to be in the hands of pervy old men whose attitudes towards gender and sexuality appear to owe nothing to the progress (such as it is) that has been made more generally in society outside sport.

Well, that and the corruption.

the other thing is that the olympics are very clearly not all about sport - they're about money and power, with i suggest sport coming a poor third. power to get soviet-style lanes for the olympic officials to speed through cities during the games. power over women athletes in cases like this. with all the product placement and sponsorships it's very clearly not a simple festival of sport.

 

[existentialist]

Here's another one - German women gymnasts wearing full-body suits. It doesn't appear that any committees are making a fuss or fining people for this one.

Tokyo Olympics: German women's gymnastics team wears full-body suits

Germany's gymnasts wear full-body suits in women's qualification at the Olympics as they continue their stand against the sexualisation of their sport.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[platinumsage]

Here's another one - German women gymnasts wearing full-body suits. It doesn't appear that any committees are making a fuss or fining people for this one.

Tokyo Olympics: German women's gymnastics team wears full-body suits

Germany's gymnasts wear full-body suits in women's qualification at the Olympics as they continue their stand against the sexualisation of their sport.

www.bbc.co.uk

That's because it's allowed by the rules, just that most teams choose not to wear the full body suits. Perhaps there's a performance element?

 

[platinumsage]

OK, not quite the intended topic but it comes under this thread's title.

Really annoyed by the loose helmet straps in the park skating. Vincent Matheron (France) has fallen onto the concrete twice so far and both times his helmet has dropped off to hang around his neck. Other skaters have loose straps too, it's obviously a "cool" thing. This sets a really bad example to any kids watching and I can't understand why they aren't penalised. Twats.

 

[existentialist]

That's because it's allowed by the rules, just that most teams choose not to wear the full body suits. Perhaps there's a performance element?

What do you mean by "performance element"?

 

[platinumsage]

What do you mean by "performance element"?

Maybe full body suits affect performance, make it very slightly harder to do certain things. If I was doing a back-flip on a 10cm wide beam and I had the option of not wearing lycra trousers I'd probably go for it.

 

[existentialist]

Maybe full body suits affect performance, make it very slightly harder to do certain things. If I was doing a back-flip on a 10cm wide beam and I had the option of not wearing lycra trousers I'd probably go for it.

I imagine that any significant effect on performance has probably been taken into account...

I think the organisers jumped the shark with the very wide disparity in uniforms between men and women in the beach volleyball - it's put the (apparent) sexualisation of female competitors into the spotlight, so I'm not surprised that other disciplines are starting to give the default kit for their athletes a bit of a Hard Look.

 

[platinumsage]

I imagine that any significant effect on performance has probably been taken into account...

I think the organisers jumped the shark with the very wide disparity in uniforms between men and women in the beach volleyball - it's put the (apparent) sexualisation of female competitors into the spotlight, so I'm not surprised that other disciplines are starting to give the default kit for their athletes a bit of a Hard Look.

Taken into account by whom? At the moment, female gymnasts have a choice of kit and are able to wear full body suits yet few do. I suppose you could argue that each individual team is pressurizing their athletes to wear leotards for sexualisation reasons, but I think it's more likely that there's a performance element. This doesn't mean that athletes enjoy wearing leotards of course, and perhaps they'd love it if full body suits were mandatory and this performance-related choice was taken away from them and their teams. On the other hand maybe some would find full body suits restricting - it would be good to hear what they have to say about the matter though, instead of assuming that they'd all prefer to perform covered head-to-toe. Would also be interested in what permutations the gymnastics regulations permit for men.

 

[existentialist]

Taken into account by whom? At the moment, female gymnasts have a choice of kit and are able to wear full body suits yet few do. I suppose you could argue that each individual team is pressurizing their athletes to wear leotards for sexualisation reasons, but I think it's more likely that there's a performance element. This doesn't mean that athletes enjoy wearing leotards of course, and perhaps they'd love it if full body suits were mandatory and this performance-related choice was taken away from them and their teams. On the other hand maybe some would find full body suits restricting - it would be good to hear what they have to say about the matter though, instead of assuming that they'd all prefer to perform covered head-to-toe. Would also be interested in what permutations the gymnastics regulations permit for men.

Well, in regard to the beach volleyball, it was clearly an official requirement, hence the team being fined for not wearing regulation kit. It is that which seems to have brought the issue into public debate.

 

[platinumsage]

Well, in regard to the beach volleyball, it was clearly an official requirement, hence the team being fined for not wearing regulation kit. It is that which seems to have brought the issue into public debate.

Sure, but you moved the conversation on to gymnastics, which is a clearly a different situation.

 

[existentialist]

Sure, but you moved the conversation on to gymnastics, which is a clearly a different situation.

I drew a connection between the gymnastics issue and the beach volleyball one. That is all.

 

[dessiato]

OK, not quite the intended topic but it comes under this thread's title.

Really annoyed by the loose helmet straps in the park skating. Vincent Matheron (France) has fallen onto the concrete twice so far and both times his helmet has dropped off to hang around his neck. Other skaters have loose straps too, it's obviously a "cool" thing. This sets a really bad example to any kids watching and I can't understand why they aren't penalised. Twats.

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It was interesting to hear the bronze winner talking about how she had previously suffered some very serious injuries, multiple skull fractures among them. Despite this skateboarders are still choosing to not wear proper protection, and not wearing it properly when they do. If the various Olympic committees are going to dictate what can and can’t be worn, isn’t this the area they should be dictatorial?