New Zealand Tosses Sexist Gymnastics Uniform Requirements
It's about time!
Think about it. You’re a professional gymnast. You’ve been training for this your entire life — often literally, as there are “gymnastics” classes that start at three months (though these obviously do not include any activity on the parallel bars) — you do a killer floor exercise, but get points deducted because your bra strap was showing or because your underwear poked out from underneath your leotard while you were doing a series of round-offs and handsprings. Whoops!
Well, that’s what was happening in New Zealand gymnastics, but thanks to a newly revised dress code, it won’t be anymore. Not only will female gymnasts not get penalized for those things, but they will be allowed to wear shorts or leggings over their uniforms, just like male gymnasts are.
This is something that has been coming for a while — with women in women’s sports across the globe getting in trouble for defying ridiculous dress codes designed to make their sports more aesthetically pleasing for men.
Dress code pushbacks from female athletes led to worldwide outrage in July 2021, when Norway’s beach handball team was fined €1,500 (A$2,407) for wearing shorts instead of regulation bikini bottoms at a European Championship match. […]
A few months later in October, the IHF quietly modified its beach handball regulations, advising “female athletes must wear short tight pants with a close fit”. Meanwhile, men’s shorts must be “not too baggy” and they can be longer than the women’s shorts as long as they “remain 10 centimetres above the kneecap”.
In 2021, there were also dress code protests by female performers at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Switzerland. German gymnasts donned full-body suits, in response to the ongoing objectification and sexualisation of women in sport.
It’s worth noting that, in censuring the Norwegian handball team, the previous dress code required that "Athletes' uniforms and accessories contribute to helping athletes increase their performance as well as remain coherent with the sportive and attractive image of the sport,” adding that "Female athletes must wear bikini bottoms … with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg."
As you might imagine, men were not required to wear bikini bottoms with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg.
The article in The Conversation brings up another good point, which is that these kinds of uniform policies can have the effect of discouraging girls from participating in sports and other physical activities:
Recent research involving more than 3,000 girls across eight countries confirmed sports uniforms are an important influence on girls’ engagement in physical activity. If girls experience flexible uniform policies, it is possible to keep them active for longer. […]
Low self-esteem and appearance anxiety can be seeded early on in a girl’s life, especially when puberty kicks in and body satisfaction is already in decline. This can lead to teenage girls developing a body image or eating disorder, and dropping out of physical activity altogether.
This hit hard for me, largely because of how much going to ballet class made me want to die in my face throughout seventh grade. I still physically reel just thinking about it. Granted, there is a reason why leotards are necessary in ballet class, and part of my abject horror was related to being a full foot taller than everyone else there, but I get it!
There have always been issues with regard to women’s sports uniforms and outfits, many of which are frequently designed less with performance in mind and more with the male gaze and aesthetics in mind. To this day, in many schools across our own country, girls are playing field hockey and lacrosse in skirts. High school cheerleaders are expected to wear teeny-tiny skirts and outfits that we know, for a fact, are frequently a fetish for men a whole lot older than they are.
The discrepancies become increasingly clear when you look at the difference between sports uniforms for women versus those for men. In women’s volleyball, we see bikinis, while the men get to wear loose shirts and shorts. Surely if the bikini were necessary in some capacity, the men would be required to wear them as well. Women who play tennis are expected to wear skirts, and you may recall the outrage when Serena Williams, because of certain health issues she was dealing with at the time, chose to wear a Nike Catsuit during the 2018 French Open. While it didn’t break any official rules, French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli said soon after that "It will no longer be accepted. One must respect the game and the place."
The LPGA still requires female golfers to wear skirts or golf skorts, though they are now allowed to wear leggings under said skirt.
There’s also the fact that, in many cases, the uniforms/costumes for women’s sports and other athletic activities are more expensive. It’s unclear what $1,000 to $5,000 rhinestone studded leotards contribute to figure-skating, other than locking those who cannot afford such luxuries out of it. Poor Tonya Harding had to make her own costumes early in her career and was frequently penalized by the judges for that, despite her obviously incredible athletic ability.
It is the year 2024, and I’m sorry, but male boners can no longer be a consideration when it comes to women’s sports, especially when the majority of those participating in the sport — as in gymnastics — are under the age of 18.
PREVIOUSLY:
I told my wife her underwear was too tight and far too revealing, and she said, "Fine! Wear your own underwear from now on."
On this day, in 1865 Robert E Lee surrendered his army to Union general Ulysses S. Grant, precipitating the capitulation of other Confederate forces and leading to the end of the bloodiest conflict in American history.
So that's over with, and the South saw the error of its ways. cough