If you're like me, you've probably been watching the Olympics every night. What else is on TV besides re-runs, anyway?
Well, as much as I'm enjoying all this sport focus, I get really tired of how sexualized female athletes are. Don't believe me? Take a look at this uniform comparison. How can anyone justify this?
I love the P.S. at the bottom, about not calling women "girls."
You have to wonder if we'll ever get to the point that we celebrate female athletes purely for the fact that they can kick-ass, and not about if they're pretty or not. Will that day ever come? I don't know, but I sure hope so. And if that day doesn't come, I hope that at least that everyone -- men especically -- can recognize how hard it is to get respect as a female athlete.
I think snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler summed it up best when she told ESPN The Magazine, "It never felt right to take my clothes off. It never felt like me. It sucks. When you're a woman in sports, people want you to show some skin."
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31 comments:
I really agree with this blog. Women in the media in sports are very sexualized. I hate that there are so many action shots in magazines and posters of men doing their sports, while women are standing in their bathing suits on a diving board, or a girl is posing with her bat and glove. I really thing that its absurd, we girls have to smile and sit there look pretty in our uniforms and poses, but men can get dirty and be aggressive and sweaty to get a photo on a magazine. I relate with the snowboarder that was not comfortable with taking her clothes off or showing some skin. There were times in my high school where there were girls that weren't comfortable with shooting a calendar for the team, or a funny sexy yearbook team picture. It is personal choice, but I think that the media has a huge influence on how people should act and behave.
I agree completely. If you have ever been to a gymnasts meet or looked at the long-distance runners. Maybe even just taking a gaze at any women’s volleyball team; and even track and field is a good example. When you really start to compare women's uniforms vs. men's uniforms in almost any sporting event the one thing that is in common is the amount of skin that a women show. It’s starting to get worse though, it’s displayed in more than just the upper division athletics; it’s starting to be shown even in middle schools, high schools, and even younger than that.
Darcy Wood
Women in sports most definitely are expected to take it off. Not only are they expected to, but also the sports that do have revealing uniforms receive more attention. For example, women’s professional basketball is notoriously ignored (I can’t think of one professional women’s basketball team name). This could be due to my ignorance of sports, or it could be because of the lack of attention it receives. It’s not that women basketball players aren’t talented; it’s simply that they are required to wear large jerseys and baggy shorts. On the contrary, the only women’s sport that received any attention at my high school was volleyball. The women’s volleyball team at my high school was not particularly great, but according to the men in school, they had great uniforms.
So I didn’t really watch the summer Olympics, even though I worked at a sporting goods store where all we watch is sports. However while the Olympics were going on we got Nike mannequins that were some of the athletes and you could definitely see that all the male mannequins were pretty much fully clothed compared to the one female that we had. Yes, we only had one female mannequin. They were in positions of their sports, like Kobe Bryant was doing a dunk and one of the runners was doing a hurtle, but the woman was just kind of standing there almost like she was just jogging. It just shows that men are more prized on their abilities and women are supposed to look sexy. It doesn’t matter if she is faster or better at her sport, she’s just eye candy. I hope also that one day women can actually be praised on their ability to do their sport and not what they looked like while doing it.
Talya Ylvisaker
So I didn’t really watch the summer Olympics, even though I worked at a sporting goods store where all we watch is sports. However while the Olympics were going on we got Nike mannequins that were some of the athletes and you could definitely see that all the male mannequins were pretty much fully clothed compared to the one female that we had. Yes, we only had one female mannequin. They were in positions of their sports, like Kobe Bryant was doing a dunk and one of the runners was doing a hurtle, but the woman was just kind of standing there almost like she was just jogging. It just shows that men are more prized on their abilities and women are supposed to look sexy. It doesn’t matter if she is faster or better at her sport, she’s just eye candy. I hope also that one day women can actually be praised on their ability to do their sport and not what they looked like while doing it.
Talya Ylvisaker
I have always had a problem with the uniform discrepancies in the Olympics. My biggest problems are with the track and volleyball uniforms. How can they get away with making the female volleyball players wear skimpy bikinis while the men wear shorts and t-shirts? And why don’t the male track athletes have to wear speedos? It seems like the only sport where men’s uniforms are more revealing than women’s is swimming and diving.
It really is amazing that they can get away with it considering they don’t have any valid excuse like aerodynamics or temperature. They must be assuming that not as many people would watch if Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh were wearing shorts and shirts instead of bikinis. So the real question is if bringing more attention to female athletics is worth the compromise of making them wear skimpy uniforms?
~Allison Gicking
I have always had a problem with the uniform discrepancies in the Olympics. My biggest problems are with the track and volleyball uniforms. How can they get away with making the female volleyball players wear skimpy bikinis while the men wear shorts and t-shirts? And why don’t the male track athletes have to wear speedos? It seems like the only sport where men’s uniforms are more revealing than women’s is swimming and diving.
It really is amazing that they can get away with it considering they don’t have any valid excuse like aerodynamics or temperature. They must be assuming that not as many people would watch if Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh were wearing shorts and shirts instead of bikinis. So the real question is if bringing more attention to female athletics is worth the compromise of making them wear skimpy uniforms?
I watched the Olympics this year every now and then but not all too often. I as well noticed the differences between the outfits of the men and women athletes. At first I did not think too much about it and figured it would be nice to be wearing that tiny outfit while playing beach volleyball in extremely hot weather. Although, when the men came out and were dressed way more appropriately and still probably felt the heat the exact same amount even with a little more clothing it makes you sure wonder why. How come the men are not the ones who are wearing these? Why do the women have to be showing off their beauty in these action shots instead of being appreciated for how hard they have worked to get where they are? It is strange that societies around the world find this to be a normal and a common thing and most people do not even question this when they are watching the Olympics at home with their family.
I agree with what you are saying. There is no reason for women to have to wear less clothing while performing in sports. Women are playing the sports just like the men are and yet their uniforms are half the clothing. Such as the basketball uniforms in the Olympic picture where the man has on a normal jersey and baggy shorts, yet the woman has on a skin tight spandex suit.
There are some instances where less clothing is a good thing though in sport, maybe in gymnastics so they have less resistance for their moves. But over all I would have to agree.
Remember the year the USA women's soccer team won and Brandi Chastain ripped her shirt off at the end? The sad thing is most people didn't know who she was before she did that, most people didn't know she was one of the best defenders in the nation. When they would show highlights after that game she was in every single one of them ripping her shirt off. Now my question is when you show highlights of a men's basketball game are they showing the men with their shirts off? Of course they're not they are showing the winning basket and the best dunk, but when they showed highlights of the women's soccer game they showed Brandi ripping her shirt of not Mia Hamm's amazing goal. The difference between men and women's sports highlights is men's are going to show the best play of the night and women's are going to show something that will draw the audience in like, the best fight, the most skin shown, or the best entertainment after a goal is scored. They look at men as talent and women as entertainment. Clothes are just the beginning of the way media portrays women's sports. Have you ever seen Michael Jordan in a magazine saying "He's a normal guy outside the court, look at him with his family taking care of his kids." Hell No! They'll show how many dunks he's had over his career, but Mia Hamm in a magazine will show her with her kids and family saying "She's a mother when she's off the field." Is this what is supposed to encourage women to play soccer, hey you can be a player and a mother congrats! To the media we're just a bunch of women who play because we have the right to like men, we're not bad ass competitors or physical players, put a swimsuit on us and we'll play vollyball and we'll be entertainment during the halftime of the football game.
I never realized the difference in uniforms between the sexes.I was a little skepticle even when I first read this, but the pictures put it all into perspective. I couldn't believe how revealing and tight some of the uniforms were. I can see how form fitting clothing is neccesary for athletes but this is a little over board.
I also liked the quote that was included at the end. It really does sum a lot up about women and sports today. It seems like the only time I can recall seeing a major article about a female athlete she was half naked. It makes me realize how far we still have to go in women's rights when I see things like this.
That is ridiculous, but true. I’ve noticed in ads that have athletes in them that men sometimes have their shirt off, depending on what they are trying to sell, but women are in bikinis or skimpy outfits. Being an athlete myself, I know that the cut of the clothes that the athletes wear are completely different for men and women. I have played soccer for the last twelve years, and our shorts and shirts were always a lot tighter, or shorter, then the guys’ uniforms. Not only were they cut differently, but we were almost expected to wear them differently. The sleeves were supposed to be tucked so that the shirt would fit more snuggly and the shorts were supposed to be rolled up so they were shorter. We were there to play soccer, not showcase our bodies, but that is what happens and what is expected in our society.
I believe this is very true and sad. Women athletes should not have to be so sexualized in the Olympics. If women are wearing these kinds of clothing then men should also have to wear these things. I don’t understand why it is alright for a woman to wear such skimpy attire and if men were to wear it they would be looked at as gay or not normal. Women should be able to wear anything they want. If they want to wear “manly” attire such as loose clothing instead of form fitting clothing and clothing that shows off their body figure they should be able to wear it. Just because you are a women does not mean you have to show your figure. The reason these women in the Olympics are beautiful physically is because they are in such good shape and I think it would be hard to find a woman who does not look like that in the Olympics. Although they do have nice bodies, do they really have to show it off to millions of women who don’t look like that who are watching the Olympics?
Trisha Lamay-McVay
Really, do women have to be half-naked to be aired on a Sports Channel? There is a HUGE difference between the male and female “sportswear”. You might as well call female “sportswear” lingerie, because that’s what it looks like. It’s interesting how male volleyball players get the full set of clothes and all female volleyball players get well, a bikini. We need to stop praising female athletes for their looks and start paying attention to them for BEING athletes. In another blog about women and sports, Candace Parker got into a fight and THAT’S what got the news’ attention. Women either need to start a fight or look sexy (well, I guess fighting fits under the “sexy” category, cause who DOESN’T want to see “chicks” fighting) to get attention. C’mon, there are really good athletes (Danica Patrick, Lisa Leslie, Mia Hamm, etc) out there!
First off, if you are complaining about there being nothing on TV besides the Olympics then my advice would be to turn off the TV. You do not need the TV for anything and as you said there really is not anything worthwhile to watch on it.
As for sexualization, well, as I'm sure you realize that's because it's all about the ratings and the best way to get ratings is through sex, which sells. We've both heard it all before but it never seems to bring us any closer to the source of the issue.
One thing to consider is that people like Gretchen Bleiler decided to put up with this crap, no matter how unfair it is. By putting up with that crap she allowed them to get away with it. No matter how much of a fuss she makes it's not going to change things until people like her start taking action. Yes, she might not be where she is now if she gave them the finger but at least she wouldn't have had to sacrifice her morals for it.
In the end it's a choice: Conform and be rewarded, or don't conform and suffer the consequences? Either way you're a winner and loser.
-Wade Cline
Seriously, women's bodies are really exploited in the Olympics. They have to wear those really skin tight suits (that don't look that comfortable anyway). If you really look close lots of sports are that way. Or, what about cheerleaders? Am I the only person that thinks it's a little strange that there are female cheerleaders for a female sports team? Keeping to what a cheerleaders actually are, shouldn’t men be cheering at a ladies game? Also why do the cheerleaders have to wear LESS clothing than the people actually playing the sport, it's not like the cheerleaders need "breezy" clothes. No offense to cheerleaders, but for the most part, the people getting all gross and sweaty are the ones that are MORE clothed. I have always wondered about that. Maybe someone can enlighten me…
-Austin Cadwell
It's so sad how true this is. Women are always subjectified like this, even when they are trying to set themselves apart as strong competative individuals. It's like society is saying "awe that's cute, those girls are trying to be tough." Then they go on to put them is some skimpy little bikini or short shorts. Why can't uniforms be uniform? Is there really any logical reason why men and women can't wear the same outfits when competing?
Most men feel threatened by the idea of women training and becoming powerful enough to actually compete with men. Therefore, they set women aside in their separate categories for events and force them to wear demeaning uniforms as a source of their own entertainment and pleasure. It's not enough that male sports get all of the advertising and spotlight, women must also submit to being objectified through their appearance to gain any sort of recognition.
The day will come when women and men can freely compete, and we see who really is the stronger force. Until then, female athletes must fight through the obstacles.
Nicole Brown
It is extremely hard to get recognition as a female athlete and this is a huge problem. It is very true that the media wants female athletes to show skin. One problem that the world has with women athletes could be the fact that women are physically not as strong or fast as men. Women and men cannot compete at the same level because we are built so differently. However, this does not make it okay to demean women athletes when they are the best at what they do. Any woman or man strives to be the best at what they do and for a person to reach this goal is a huge accomplishment that should be looked on with admiration of the physical and mental dedication that it took to reach this goal. Women should not be looked at in athletics as how cute or hot they are but how well they perform at their field.
Maya Bernadett-Peters
Women in professional sports, probably not something you will find a bunch of fraternity guys watching. However this year’s Olympics there was almost always a few guys watching the beach volleyball, gymnastics, tennis, or diving. All year round guys pretend like women’s sports don’t exist, I couldn’t tell you who won the WNBA title…well ever. We will spend all day with ESPN on learning scores and stats, but the second the total of 5 minute Women’s sports news comes on, its beer break, or time to go get food. During the Olympics however we all watched everything from Shawn Johnson (who is highly illegal) to Kerri Walsh and Misty May. Obviously something caught our attention. Maybe we were just supporting U.S.A, but most likely it was that the female athletes uniforms were quite revealing. One reason could be that people wanted to sell the Olympics or more specifically, sell female sports to men, a way of getting our attention and then showing us that the women kicked ass. While it may have worked, it also made women into objects which is really not fair or correct. Sorry for the lame ending.
Joseph Clift
This was really funny to read especially because it is so true. I never really noticed how much smaller and tighter women’s uniforms are compared to men’s. Pretty much women are running around in their bra and underwear for most sporting events some of which are, volleyball, running, and other track events. On the other hand though I think that some women feel more comfortable and it is easier and cooler for them to do sporting events in less clothing because nothing gets in the way and it is just easier to move around in. I do think though that it is weird that men have such loose clothing and women have the least clothing possible. This is deffinatly a way that women are sexualized because they are wearing so much less clothes than men are and it just makes you wonder why they are trying to make women dress in less clothes because they are just as good at doing athletics than men are.
-Heather Woodbury
I totally agree with this blog! It's sad to see that in today’s society people are more likely to pay attention to what a girl is wearing than what she really has to offer. And this is especially true with women athletes. It's not "wow look at how skilled she is", it's "wow, check out her butt in that outfit". The funny thing is though, that men are rarely judged on what type of outfits they’re wearing. It has just become the norm that women show skin, and usually when they don’t, people wonder what’s wrong with them. It’s extremely hard to be respected for how good you are at something without also being judged for how pretty you are, or what size pants you wear. People need to be proud that women have paved the way in things like competitive sports, and they should be applauded for exactly that, the amazing athletes that they are.
-Cassie Smoke
I agree with the statement that women’s sportswear in the Olympics as well as many other sports has been too sexualized. I have thought this for a long time, even before I was old enough to no better. The primary reason I noticed it was because it was what one may call "sexual." However I have noticed this and wondered at the same time why women get sexy looking uniforms and men do not. Not that I want men to have “sexy” uniforms but it always has been a curiosity of mine. It seems like it would add a lot of distraction to men and women alike, but the primary reason why women are given a sexier outfit is beyond me. Maybe because women have the pressure to look good off the field and society makes them feel like they need to look good off the field to be respected.
Nick Maslen
Okay so having been a female athlete, and having made the switch from loose running shorts and jerseys in high school cross country and track events to the college version consisting of bikini bottoms and sports bra tops, I would say that it isn’t even on that large of a scale that women are sexualized in sports more than men. I would argue, however, that to some extent it is their choice as to what to wear. I get it that they might have their agents breathing down their necks about getting more media coverage in the Olympics if they just take off the warm-up sweats – and don’t get me wrong that is completely uncalled for – but in the end, can’t they decide what to wear? Yes, they might be sponsored by Nike who just came out with the newest most revealing apparel, but do they not have any right to choose? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure you can tell I’m not very knowledgeable on how much say a sponsor has – all I know is that I had to wear my Nike shoes to OSU cross country meets so that we didn’t break our Nike deal – but to the same extent can these athletes keep anything about the sport pure? Like maybe the fact they enjoy wearing a specific kind of shoes to play in, or a long sleeve shirt and sweat pants to compete in? And I guess ultimately, maybe they enjoy baring it all for the love of the game!
I completely agree with the fact that women shouldn’t have to wear such revealing clothing in order to do their sport. I have played volleyball, basketball and ran track for 4 years in high school (basketball about 8 years). And never once in any of those sports did my uniform distract or hinder my performance. We wore spandex and sleeved jerseys with long sock for volleyball. In basketball, we wore baggy shorts, an over-sized jersey, sometimes long socks, and thick, high top shoes. Track is the only sport I did where the uniform was somewhat more revealing. For 3 years, we wore a baggy jersey, and shorts that were almost basketball shorts. I had to roll them over a thousand times in order to run decently with them on. But I managed. My senior year we finally convinced our coach to get a more form fitting uniform for the sprinters. We still wore the same jersey, but it was a little tighter, and we replaced the loose shorts with spandex. I loved the uniform! It was so much more comfortable to wear, didn’t worry about loose clothes flying everywhere when I was running, and I actually had the best track record that year! My stats went through the roof! My performance enhanced and so did my confidence. I believe it would have been a different story though if my coach would have handed us a bra and some panties to run in! The uniforms looked great, made the girls on our team feel great about their performances, and though it was revealing, the uniform didn’t make us feel less respected as athletes, or as female athletes, or even as women. I think that woman athletes should be taken more seriously simply for their athleticism, rather than what they are wearing or how good they look in it. The whole point of the Olympics is to showcase your hard work and talent in a sport, not to show how perky ones breasts are or how tight her ass is!
Brittany Garinger
Female athletes have definitely become more sexualized in recent years. The media is always pushing the fact that sex sells, and unfortunately, even events like the Olympics can’t get away from that. I hope we will someday get back to the point where we can celebrate female athletes purely for the fact that they can kick-ass, however I think it will take a long time for society to finally realize that that is what really is important. Our society is too concerned with looks, to worry about much else, and I don’t think they realize the effect that it is having on people like female athletes. These women don’t have a choice, other than to conform to what society wants, because if they don’t, they will go unnoticed.
Katie Leveille
I found this blog post very interesting. I too found myself finding the huge differences in men and women’s appearance during the Olympics this last summer. A great example is gymnastics. The men only have to simply put on a uniform, while the women have to paint themselves with make-up and have make themselves look “pretty” while performing. What’s funny is that this is a sport, not a beauty contest. It was even funny hearing others girls who were watching the Olympics make comments on the appearance of the girls were wearing and how big or small they were. Another great example of this is beach volleyball. I am a huge athlete and volleyball is one of the sports that I never participated in, but why do they have to wear skimpy swimsuits while playing their sport? Wouldn’t a fitted pair of shorts and a t-shirt be sufficient? Women are associated by appearance even in sports. I think that is why so many people take men’s sports so seriously.
Carly Norman
I found this blog post very interesting. I too found myself finding the huge differences in men and women’s appearance during the Olympics this last summer. A great example is gymnastics. The men only have to simply put on a uniform, while the women have to paint themselves with make-up and have make themselves look “pretty” while performing. What’s funny is that this is a sport, not a beauty contest. It was even funny hearing others girls who were watching the Olympics make comments on the appearance of the girls were wearing and how big or small they were. Another great example of this is beach volleyball. I am a huge athlete and volleyball is one of the sports that I never participated in, but why do they have to wear skimpy swimsuits while playing their sport? Wouldn’t a fitted pair of shorts and a t-shirt be sufficient? Women are associated by appearance even in sports. I think that is why so many people take men’s sports so seriously.
Carly Norman
I agree that the majority of the clothing in the Olympics are very showy, but at the same time we have to look at some of the clothing the men wear also. For example men on the USA Olympic swim team wear really tight swim trunks whereas the women wear full body suits. The men show more skin than the women when it comes to this sport, but this is also very rare at the same time. It is mostly the other way around. Not only is clothing in the Olympics becoming more showy and degrading to women, but so are clothes in general. My grandma never wore booty short shorts or cleavage bearing tops when she was a young woman. Nowadays though young women are definately exposing themselves in this way and I think that the media plays a huge role in this trend. The media is making women sexual objects and places value on looks rather than who the person is on the inside. The Olympics is a huge spectator sport. People all over the world are watching and supporting their country. Humans are naturally sexual beings so to draw more spectators/attention to the Olympics athletes (mostly women's) bodies are used.
I do agree that the way we tend to have female athletes is not okay since half of them look like they are twelve and they seem to be parading around in outfits that leave practically nothing to the imagination. One of my male friends says that while he loves watching women compete because they have more of a drive than most of the men he watches, he refuses to watch women’s gymnastics because he feels like a perv since they do not look like they are even close to legal age.
I totally agree with this article, because being a woman, I totally understand her concern. Being an attractive girl is even more difficult, (i.e. these athletes) because people just look at how beautiful they are, and they don't take them seriously. For athletes that have to wear leotards or swimsuits, they are always subject to people staring at every exposed body part.
However, it is not only in sports that women are expected to show skin. This is usually a way for women to get attention, and men pick up on this right away. It is inevitable that women athletes, who have fabulous bodies because of the sports they play, will always be judged, because we live in a society where sex sells. Women that play sports that are allowed to cover up, have a somewhat advantage to this idea because they are not always seen naked. However, most female athletes that are pretty and have nice bodies are often scouted by Playboy, and asked to pose nude. This is another oppportunity, but often not the publicty that these athletes want to be appreciated for.
Alison Warga
I noticed the same thing this summer while watching the Beijing Olympics. From the outfits to the hair and makeup all of the women competing were constantly done up. It is a surprising and ironic thing to see when the focus should really be on the women's athleticism, not their appearance. In the gymnastics event it almost seems that how you look is part of the whole package, if you aren’t wearing a flashy outfit, with perfect hair and tons of makeup then you might as well say goodbye to the gold medal. Even the Chinese girls who looked like they were pushing thirteen had perfect skin like porcelain dolls. In so many aspects of the media women are portrayed as sex symbols, men can get away with looking plain and boring while when a woman goes to work without makeup and in a plain paint suit, people automatically assume she is “butch,” or just doesn’t care how she looks.
Sammy Kirk, WS 223
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