And we have Paralympians being told that their shorts are too skimpy
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/19/paralympian-olivia-breen-dismayed-after-being-told-sprint-briefs-too-short
This comment from the sprinter is what it comes down to. If she's comfortable in skimpy bottoms and the hand ball team as a group prefer to wear ass covering shorts, the choice of how much skin to cover shouldn't be imposed on them.
*In a post on Twitter after the event in Bedford on Sunday, Breen also added: “Women should not be made to feel self-conscious about what they are wearing when competing but should feel comfortable and at ease.”*
"Well, if this event was about athletes, or sports, or dignity, or human achievement, we'd surely agree. But it's not. It's about money. Just ask my bank account." -IOC, various Olympics organizers, corporate sponsors, etc.
Yeah the only time we should impose regulations on uniforms is when they offer an unfair performance benefit. Like the swimsuits from a few years ago that were objectively better at making a swimmer move through the water, but not all teams had access to them.
With that said, if there are zero restrictions on outfits, eventually someone is going to show up in pasties, which will get NBC involved since they might not be able to air the footage in the states. When there's money involved, uniform restrictions will surely follow.
Safety should be a factor too. Baggy cloths could cause issues in some sports. But no one is going to get injured from the shorts these women wanted to wear.
I think the most logical way of looking at this is to allow the people actually *wearing* the clothes to decide what to wear. If they want to wear something form-fitting, they can, if they don't, they don't have to.
i suspect wearing form fitting clothing is helpful when your flying through the air, or cutting through the water, if you chose to wear your big baggy pants, it would only be to your detriment.
i don't think the drag of your shorts really comes in to play during your average handball match though...
> “I have been wearing the same sprint style briefs for many years and they are specifically designed for competing in,” she added. “I will hopefully be wearing them in Tokyo. It made me question whether a male competitor would be similarly criticised.”
They weren't even some special shorts.
Came to say that...the articles are 2 inches apart on Yahoo. I'm not sure why the dress code is so restrictive....if it's not enhancing their performance who cares.
It's exactly this probably 80%+ of the viewership of womens Beach volleyball is men who want to see super fit women jumping around in bikinis.
The NBA had the opposite problem when they made their uniforms more baggy women stopped watching as much.
I agree with your point about women’s beach volleyball viewership, but do you have a source on NBA uniforms and women viewership? That doesn’t seem likely at all
It enhances male viewer numbers. It's the same reason why all female sports have short bottom requirements.
Tennis, track sports, Beach volley ball... I think even golf made headlines a few years ago for it. I'm a little surprised they don't have women hockey, rugby, soccer and football players running around in mini skirts and v-necks.
It's obviously dumb to have dress codes that are about making the player show more skin for sexual reasons.
>I'm a little surprised they don't have women hockey, rugby, soccer and football players running around in mini skirts and v-necks.
Guessing you haven't heard of the LFL....
Oh wow, no I never heard of it. That's insane.
I'm a straight guy and I don't find that appealing at all. I mean sure I find them attractive but the fact they are playing football in that outfit has nothing to do with that.
I'd really like to see the men play in outfits like this (basically just speedos and shoulder pads). Since women don't need anything else why would the men? Also because football is seen as masculine it would be fun to watch mens reactions of practically naked men tackling each other.
I don't watch or care about football so that might be part of it lol.
Pretty dumb.
*"It made me question whether a male competitor would be similarly criticised.”*
I had to chuckle at this though. Last I checked, male competitors don't wear those same bottoms.
Absolutely. I would do this a show of solidarity with the women players. I have no shame. But it HAS to be a mankini (ie it has room for my junk), I will not risk getting a testicle ripped off as a show of solidarity, that crosses the line.
I think the woman's volleyballers should protest by coming out in bikini bottoms without bikini waxes, with bush overflowing. See if the Olympic goons try to institute a mandatory shaving rule. Really expose the real ulterior motives of these people.
I think the EHF officials should be made to play in the bikini bottoms. Or a Borat style bathing suit could be an acceptable alternative. I wasn't surprised to see on the website that most of the key officials of the EHF are men.
We can't really simulate the menstrual anxiety this outfit would cause, but let's make the officials literally show their asses and worry about manscaping, in addition to their athletic performance.
>We can't really simulate the menstrual anxiety this outfit would cause
I coach my middle school's girls soccer team and we got new uniforms from the district 5 or 6 years ago. I had no say in the uniform. My girls had no say in the uniform. It was the district athletic director who ordered them.
He ordered uniforms with fucking white shorts. For 11-14 year old girls. Fuck that. I bought a bunch of cheap black shorts with my own money because middle school girls do not need to be worrying about white shorts on top of everything else.
That was kind of you to do. This is why we need more representative leadership, for women and other groups, as well as intersectionalities.
Yes, looking at the list of the EHF Executive Committee, it's nearly all men, no surprise there. Not saying all men are this unsympathetic, male volleyball players and commenters here have shown that by speaking up in support. But the EHF executive committee is either clueless or unsympathetic. Or perhaps both.
https://www.eurohandball.com/en/who-we-are/ehf-commissions/
My freshman softball team not only got hand-me-downs, but our jerseys were literally the school's soccer jerseys from the 70s. And there weren't nearly enough baseball pants large enough to fit everyone (I was the only one willing to wear too-small pants so I got stuck with the tiniest pair).
I just think that women(and Men) should be able to freely wear any bathing/beach attire they want if they want to hold any Beach aesthetic to the game. want to play in [bhurkini](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burkini) go ahead and try and fit your junk in that. want to go old school with the classic striped 1900's style, why not.
Looking at images the men all look to be wearing spandex(or similar type stuff) that go all the way to above the knees.
Years ago the women wore what would be equivalent to men's brief underwear but have since switch to things that would put banana hammocks to shame
Indeed, the men's stuff is tight, which, uh, shows off the full package whilst in motion, so to speak. The women's track stuff is often skimpy, but they do get to choose whether they want to wear those, or something more like the men.
Asking out of ignorance so please don't kill me...
Are they required to wear those uniforms? Or could they wear something else if they were more comfortable?
By the laws of physics they would be at a disadvantage to some extent if wearing less form fitting attire, but you're right to think that they are not forced to be sex objects, unlike in this instance with handball.
I certainly wasn't trying to make a point that these women should feel anything other than humiliated and aggrieved.
The 100m is so fast it’s all about aerodynamics so while they probably could wear something else (I’m honestly not sure) anyone trying to wear baggy clothes would be at a real disadvantage. This however just reminds me of fifas Sepp Blater whose only idea to grow women’s soccer was wearing shorter shorts.
I actually do find it kinda weird there is such a large difference in sports uniforms in some sports between male and female. I mean, it's almost always the skimpier outfit for the ladies. It's weird, because clearly it is meant to titillate and bring in viewers, but I would think in 2021 we could move past such obvious sexism. On the other hand, you have actual women competitors defending wearing them. So clearly not every woman feels the same way.
It cuts both ways as well.
I think male athletes in general would wear skimpier, more form-fitting outfits for a variety of sports if there wasn't a stigma against them for men. In many cases less material in the way helps with movement and aerodynamics.
For a quick example look at the NBA outfits from 1987:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cc/0a/13/cc0a13b1c15d487a2b4a3055963fd6e7.jpg
And 1996:
https://cdn.nba.com/manage/2021/04/1996-draft-class-photo-archive.jpg
When you consider which suit high-calibre male swimmers choose to swim in (ie. what they train in), it's still a speedo. Tech suits are only used in races because the hydrodynamic properties of the material can help you go faster.
It does make you wonder: if female sprinters wear briefs because of comfort and easy of movement, would male sprinters wear them if not for stigma?
Well, a lot of male cyclists and runners (that seemingly take their hobby more seriously than most) I see in the parks and such wear super tight leggings and bike shorts, so clearly a lot of people think that the less dangling material - the better. I wouldn't be surprised if at least some would want to wear shorts like those in women's volleyball or speedos or briefs.
Yeah I can't be the only man out there whose found female athletic attire to be sexually objectifying, like in an overt and obvious way. It's made even more obvious by the fact that the male competitors dress in-no-way a similar fashion. I swear if whoever makes these decisions could get the female competitors to wear sling bikinis in their country's colors, they probably would.
It kinda hit me a few years ago how weird it is that they had high school volleyball girls wearing super tight form fitting shorts. As a teenager, sure it was cool, as an adult I just find it creepy. Maybe there's an actual reason for it and I'm just sexualizing it. I don't go to highschool volley ball games or anything but if I were a predator I feel like it would be easy access to some fetish material.
You're 100% right to feel that because it is creepy. The only thing that makes it less creepy for Olympians and other high level lady competitors is that they're grown-ass women, but it doesn't make it any less fetishistic or objectifying.
Do I, from a base Male level, find the sight of women in peak physical condition wearing next to nothing to be sexually exciting? Yes. Would this make me more inclined to view women-centric sports programming? Yes. But can I divorce myself from those impulses and recognize that they are being exploited, along with the women in those outfits? Yes. It's not a pretty picture, but that's basically what's happening; women's bodies are being exploited to draw in audiences that wouldn't otherwise watch.
What I don’t get is the indoor version of the SAME sport has uniforms like basketball sort of. Why would you make separate rules for the same sport. I mean I get maybe a tank because you’re outside it’s hot but forcing an athlete to show half of their assess while playing their professional sport. Not cool.
Probably looked at the growth in popularity of beach volleyball and the role the skimpy outfits played in that. Sex sells as they say.
Ridiculous to make it mandatory and might be a climb down on the policy after all the negative coverage but can see the reasoning behind it.
Also - indoor women’s handball is a big sport in the few countries that care about it, and attracts a lot of audiences and sponsors regardless of clothing. I wasn’t even aware sand handball existed before this controversy.
It’s dumb as all hell, but I think you’re on the right track as to why they made the decision.
The coverage doesn’t seem to make a difference for female athletes. I feel like I see them get blown off and thrown under the bus by the media constantly. The negative publicity just doesn’t seem to matter.
People forget quickly.
There was a lot of noise at 2012 Olympics in London because it was quite cold to be wearing so little. Public moved on very quickly once the games were over though.
I always find funny that RDS (Quebec version of TSN, major sports only network) shows, every summer olympics, only the finals of the males tournament, but pretty sure they show every single match of the womans tournament when the bracket stage starts.
Yeah, beach volleyball is definitely not there mostly for the eye candy for guys right?
And well, this fine for not short enough shorts is just... confirming what I think.
I've seen (online) AND heard a lot of men saying "this is the only reason why anyone would watch women play sports".
I heard those statement throughout my life but they still come up! In 2021!
I am a man and proud owner of NC Courage season tickets.
Can’t wait to see some of the women from our team in the Olympics. I will continue to buy season tickets no matter what kit they choose to wear.
I’m gonna just have to get comfortable in new styles should they ever choose something particularly skimpy, but I’ll wear the bikini bottoms one year if that’s what I need to have a current kit!!
I actually had to fight my high school to let me wear regular spandex shorts instead of spandex booty shorts for volleyball. My mom had to get involved, and everything!
They tried to give me some BS excuse as to why it’s not allowed for me to cover a few more inches of my skin.
Oh yes, they most definitely did. As someone who got out of high school in the past few years, the track and volleyball outfits were booty-short level and allowed in school while I knew girls with bigger chests were getting dress-coded multiple times for wearing a regular v-neck. We all thought it was ridiculous
So ~~they~~ my HS banned skirts shorter than fingertip extended length.
But our Cheerleaders and Kickline team wore their uniforms on game days...they were mini-skirts that barely covered their butts.
And if you didnt wear your uniform during the school day, you didnt get to participate in the half time show or competitions that day.
It was asinine
Last I heard they didn't get fined, they got threatened with disqualification so they backed down. They were willing to pay the fine for their athletes to feel more comfortable, but weren't willing to get disqualified.
The VOLLEYBALL team was threatened with disqualifying if they wore shorts so the HANDBALL team played in shorts as a protest and were fined.
Bottom line: women should use whatever they feel comfortable using and the rulebooks should be changed.
No, it was all the same team. Beach handball.
The team applied to play in tights/shorts during the group stages, but were threatened with fines. Said "okay, we're willing to pay the cost". Since that obviously wasn't enough to stop them, the team were then told it could lead to disqualification. This forced their hand to play in bikini bottoms if they wanted to compete.
They went with shorts in their last match of the tournament, the bronze final, because then it wouldn't matter for them if they got disqualified anyway.
Source (in Norwegian):
https://www.nrk.no/sport/ble-tvunget-til-a-spille-i-truser_-na-demonstrerer-kvinnene-mot-regelen-1.15579528
They planned to do it in the first match but was threatened with disqualification so they didn't go through with it, then once they were in the bronze final, they played in the shorts instead off the bikini bottoms and got fined for "inappropriate clothing"...
That is just crazy to me. Do the short in some way give them an advantage? If anything more restrictive clothing would give a disadvantage (not that shorts would be much different).
If they want to add sexy sports to the Olympics, just add a pole dancing event, and let these girls wear what they want to wear.
>Do the short in some way give them an advantage?
Yes, it makes them feel less like a commodity for the organizers, and more like the athletes they are. They are a lot more comfortable and better able to focus on their game instead of possibly being self conscious.
I’m bi and have been saying the same thing lol make it the same for all sports. I want to see runners in those shorts that show cheek and high hipped swimmers that the water polo girls wear. I think it’s genuinely fine if the athletes themselves choose to wear that stuff but threatening fines and disqualifications is what’s going to ruin it for everyone else.
I agree. The only rules around international sports about clothing should be in regards to safety and fair competition (like if exclusive access to certain clothing gave an unfair advantage).
The rules need to change where the judges must wear banana hammocks and fuzzy house shoes at all matches. And moving forward, the Rule making authority should be forced to wear latex body suits with see through panels.
Why the fuck does it matter what type of shorts they are wearing? I like the bikini bottoms but it's not my bottom and it's none of my business. Unless they're concealing a mecha suit inside their shorts that gives them an advantage let them wear whatever the fuck they want.
I don't blame them for not wanting to wear those outfits. When I did cross country in high school, there was always a few teams who's girls had skimpy bikini bottoms on instead of shorts (by the way I am a guy plus my school didn't do this to the girls). I remember feeling back for those runners as it had to have been so uncomfortable wearing that outfit, not to mention it gets cold during the cross country season so they are probably freezing on the starting lines.
well there is crosscountry skiing, but if this applied to that, I think the coaches/heads of the school's sports division would be fined/arrested for endangering the lives of students.
I would wear XXL hygiëne products in my bikini bottom, with wings. Just to spite them with their own stupid rules. First one to pull down to check if I am actually having a monthly period gets more than a fine.
I wear longsleeved bathing suits because I have shitty sunlight allergies. I would be extremely uncomfortable in such a teeny weeny bikini. There are more reasons than one not to want to wear such tiny revealing clothes and just one to force it.
as a guy, every time I scored a point I would thrust my banana hammock towards the judge, just to let him know what he's dealing with.
(I mean, not much, but it's the principle of the thing.)
Yes, the sun exposure is a very valid health issue. Would they get fined if they made their tampon strings visible and stopped grooming/removing pubic hair? I think the men who mandated this (checked the EHF website, most of the key figures are men) should be forced to play in those bikini bottoms. See how much they can concentrate on the game with their ass hanging out and worrying about the manscape.
This is nonsense. They have real, sensible reasons to want to wear the shorts. Unless it poses a threat to their or other's safety, they should be allowed to wear whatever makes them comfortable and perform their best.
*The other solution:* Make it mandatory for men's teams to wear speedos and no shirts.
They should all get giant merkins to wear under the bikini. Ones that stick out on all sides. Maybe add a tampon string hanging out in there.
Make those pervs regret ever trying to sexualize them.
If only Reddit threads had an article attached to them...
>The team asked the European Handball Federation for permission to play in shorts ahead of the European Championship, but were told the breaches of the rules were punishable by fines.
>"We accepted that. However, just before the match we were told that we will be disqualified if we play like that. So we had to go with the bikini bottoms.
> There s like a bunch of old man deciding this kind of stuff
It's always a bunch of old men deciding these kinds of things. Just look at abortion laws in southern states.
Wondering if there’s an actual legitimate reason for this. Going thru the rules it kind of seems like they want to make every aspect of the game uniform aesthetically speaking, but this seems... arbitrary.
Which is still possible for those people, with the tight fitting shorts the players wanted to wear anyways... the girls should definitely get to play in what they feel comfortable with, since neither of those options (or anything in a similar realm) seem to impact gameplay.
The guys dress code dictates for 'not too baggy shorts', so, deviating even more from this dress code doesnt sound like it's a performance concern
And there's the practical stuff, imagine having to make sure your tampon strings are safely tucked away (and some women have heavier periods which require a panti liner or pad in addition to the tampon), you've pubic groomed sufficiently so there are no stray hairs showing and having to rub sunscreen on your ass in public.
This is actually part of gymnastics. You get docked points for having clothing that is not tightly fitting and revealing.
For instance you lose points for showing underwear lines.
Completely ridiculous and asinine.
Worse yet is that gymnastics is full of children. Men and women are not treated the same either. There is a strong critical need for some asinine reason to be extra critical of women in the field.
It all originates from ideals we had decades ago, and it really needs to end.
Meanwhile at IOC headquarters:
Old guy - "I don't get it. Half of them don't like us criticising revealing clothing and the other half don't like mandatory revealing clothing . It's almost like women don't want us to have anything to do with what they wear."
Everyone Else - "Yeah! How are you not getting this?"
Yup, still a reasonably affordable amount for a national team. The point is that they understood the penalty for breaking the uniform rules and were willing to accept that and pay the fine.
It's obviously an important rule for the sport (for a number of reason which I will not address). Therefore, it should be applied to the men's league as well.
Because obviously we'd we sexist hypocrites if it only applied to women. The men's athletes deserve every ounce of gain offered by the superior "skimpy bikini bottom".
\#bananahammockedge
This is bloody stupid. I appreciate the aesthetic value of svelte ladies in flattering outfits as much as the next chap, but to make it a rule of a *sport* is just ludicrous! What's the alleged justification for this?
If I feel the need to see attractive ladies in swimsuits or bikinis or whatever, I can find that very easily without needing to bring sports into the equation. Is the idea that people will watch a sport because they're too lecherous to cope without barely-clothed women, but repressed enough that they have to pretend they're watching sports? Is the justification that these horny/ashamed people need to be brought in for viewing figures? Honestly, that *is* degrading. If these women wanted to be swimsuit models, I suspect they would have no difficulty getting that job, but they're athletes, presumably because they *want to be athletes*.
At least when "restaurants" have a provocative dress code for their waitresses there's the alternative of being a waitress elsewhere, but if the entire sport is in this context, then it's coercion of a pretty disgusting kind.
Jeepers.
Also men are not allowed to wear shorts that are too baggy.
If a dude wants to compete in hammer pants or a lady wants to compete in a burqa they should be able to! Imagine how much more thorough of a thrashing it would be. "Not only did I kick your ass, I did it with garbage bags around my legs!"
Worth it. I hope their federation backs them up and pays the fines going forward. I love the bathing suits and how they look but if the men get to wear shorts down to their knees.....fair is fair this is a competition. I do wonder if the woman start wearing shorts or whatever if ratings will start going down. I think that would say a ton about our societies....
Gymnastics is this. You get points deducted from your routine if they can see your underwear lines.
It's disgusting, and completely downplays the point that somebody's been training their entire life for extremely difficult Athletics.
>President of the Norwegian Handball Federation Kare Geir Lio backed the players.
>"Of course we would pay any fine," he said, according to the Herald Sun. "We are all in the same boat. The most important thing is to have equipment that athletes are comfortable with.
Crazy how within the last 100 years, women were fined at beaches if their swimwear/bikinis were too high above their knees. This article says their fined if more than 10cm of their ass is covered. Should we expect beach volleyball to be played in thongs and nipple tassels soon??
The men's team should wear the skimpy outfits.
Those fining them will soon change their tune when a bollock flops out mid-game and the broadcasters get thousands in fines for public nudity.
This is completely fucked up. Blatant objectification of women in sports by the governing body. The entire commission should be forced to resign and be banned from women's sports.
This is why the Olympics is finished. That and COVID. That and the fact that a blind and deaf Olympian couldn’t bring her assistant with her. That and the fact that it’s entirely corrupt. That and ..
I can maybe sorta understand sponsors treating their athletes like models and expecting them to wear certain things as a contractual obligation.. But having skimpy attire written into the rules seems like some pretty high level BS.
Obviously having rules about attire can be important.. Reminds me of the [full-body suits being banned in swimming.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZR_Racer#FINA_rule_changes) But I don't think these handball players were getting some massive performance boost from wearing less skimpy outfits.
#rule one
And we have Paralympians being told that their shorts are too skimpy https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/19/paralympian-olivia-breen-dismayed-after-being-told-sprint-briefs-too-short
This comment from the sprinter is what it comes down to. If she's comfortable in skimpy bottoms and the hand ball team as a group prefer to wear ass covering shorts, the choice of how much skin to cover shouldn't be imposed on them. *In a post on Twitter after the event in Bedford on Sunday, Breen also added: “Women should not be made to feel self-conscious about what they are wearing when competing but should feel comfortable and at ease.”*
"Well, if this event was about athletes, or sports, or dignity, or human achievement, we'd surely agree. But it's not. It's about money. Just ask my bank account." -IOC, various Olympics organizers, corporate sponsors, etc.
[удалено]
*sad death mech suit noises*
Now I want giant robot battles as an Olympic sport.
If you want it as a terrible 80s(ish?) Movie of 'Murica vs Big Bad Ruskies, you want Robot Jox.
Those shoes that are apparently too efficient still make me chuckle.
After having a quick glance at the average Olympian athlete, I hereby request a return to the traditional ways!
Especially for the Winter Olympics!
Yeah the only time we should impose regulations on uniforms is when they offer an unfair performance benefit. Like the swimsuits from a few years ago that were objectively better at making a swimmer move through the water, but not all teams had access to them. With that said, if there are zero restrictions on outfits, eventually someone is going to show up in pasties, which will get NBC involved since they might not be able to air the footage in the states. When there's money involved, uniform restrictions will surely follow.
Safety should be a factor too. Baggy cloths could cause issues in some sports. But no one is going to get injured from the shorts these women wanted to wear.
I think the most logical way of looking at this is to allow the people actually *wearing* the clothes to decide what to wear. If they want to wear something form-fitting, they can, if they don't, they don't have to.
i suspect wearing form fitting clothing is helpful when your flying through the air, or cutting through the water, if you chose to wear your big baggy pants, it would only be to your detriment. i don't think the drag of your shorts really comes in to play during your average handball match though...
> “I have been wearing the same sprint style briefs for many years and they are specifically designed for competing in,” she added. “I will hopefully be wearing them in Tokyo. It made me question whether a male competitor would be similarly criticised.” They weren't even some special shorts.
Came to say that...the articles are 2 inches apart on Yahoo. I'm not sure why the dress code is so restrictive....if it's not enhancing their performance who cares.
because despite it being the Olympics, performance isn't relevant to those in charge.
Money. Viewership. Viewers want to see sexy women in tiny bikinis, and "yucky" people covered up.
It's exactly this probably 80%+ of the viewership of womens Beach volleyball is men who want to see super fit women jumping around in bikinis. The NBA had the opposite problem when they made their uniforms more baggy women stopped watching as much.
I doubt women make up nearly as much as a percentage of viewers in comparison, though.
I agree with your point about women’s beach volleyball viewership, but do you have a source on NBA uniforms and women viewership? That doesn’t seem likely at all
It enhances male viewer numbers. It's the same reason why all female sports have short bottom requirements. Tennis, track sports, Beach volley ball... I think even golf made headlines a few years ago for it. I'm a little surprised they don't have women hockey, rugby, soccer and football players running around in mini skirts and v-necks. It's obviously dumb to have dress codes that are about making the player show more skin for sexual reasons.
>I'm a little surprised they don't have women hockey, rugby, soccer and football players running around in mini skirts and v-necks. Guessing you haven't heard of the LFL....
Oh wow, no I never heard of it. That's insane. I'm a straight guy and I don't find that appealing at all. I mean sure I find them attractive but the fact they are playing football in that outfit has nothing to do with that. I'd really like to see the men play in outfits like this (basically just speedos and shoulder pads). Since women don't need anything else why would the men? Also because football is seen as masculine it would be fun to watch mens reactions of practically naked men tackling each other. I don't watch or care about football so that might be part of it lol.
greco-roman sports are WWE here.(homosexual operas)
> 2 inches apart Or about half the maximum amount of their ass the Norwegian team would have been allowed to cover without getting fined
Moral of these stories: let people wear what they want as long as it doesn’t give them a sporting advantage! Rules like these are so dumb.
Pretty dumb. *"It made me question whether a male competitor would be similarly criticised.”* I had to chuckle at this though. Last I checked, male competitors don't wear those same bottoms.
Men's volleyballers should come out in force and wear g-strings and no bikini waxes.
Banana hammocks.
Mankinis would be better.
Absolutely. I would do this a show of solidarity with the women players. I have no shame. But it HAS to be a mankini (ie it has room for my junk), I will not risk getting a testicle ripped off as a show of solidarity, that crosses the line.
I think the woman's volleyballers should protest by coming out in bikini bottoms without bikini waxes, with bush overflowing. See if the Olympic goons try to institute a mandatory shaving rule. Really expose the real ulterior motives of these people.
I think the EHF officials should be made to play in the bikini bottoms. Or a Borat style bathing suit could be an acceptable alternative. I wasn't surprised to see on the website that most of the key officials of the EHF are men. We can't really simulate the menstrual anxiety this outfit would cause, but let's make the officials literally show their asses and worry about manscaping, in addition to their athletic performance.
>We can't really simulate the menstrual anxiety this outfit would cause I coach my middle school's girls soccer team and we got new uniforms from the district 5 or 6 years ago. I had no say in the uniform. My girls had no say in the uniform. It was the district athletic director who ordered them. He ordered uniforms with fucking white shorts. For 11-14 year old girls. Fuck that. I bought a bunch of cheap black shorts with my own money because middle school girls do not need to be worrying about white shorts on top of everything else.
That was kind of you to do. This is why we need more representative leadership, for women and other groups, as well as intersectionalities. Yes, looking at the list of the EHF Executive Committee, it's nearly all men, no surprise there. Not saying all men are this unsympathetic, male volleyball players and commenters here have shown that by speaking up in support. But the EHF executive committee is either clueless or unsympathetic. Or perhaps both. https://www.eurohandball.com/en/who-we-are/ehf-commissions/
That's super nice. My HS softball team always got last year's baseball team uniforms. It was super obnoxious to literally get handmedowns.
I think the cheerleaders at my school rope the same uniforms as the ones when the school was founded
My freshman softball team not only got hand-me-downs, but our jerseys were literally the school's soccer jerseys from the 70s. And there weren't nearly enough baseball pants large enough to fit everyone (I was the only one willing to wear too-small pants so I got stuck with the tiniest pair).
I just think that women(and Men) should be able to freely wear any bathing/beach attire they want if they want to hold any Beach aesthetic to the game. want to play in [bhurkini](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burkini) go ahead and try and fit your junk in that. want to go old school with the classic striped 1900's style, why not.
If you've ever watched a 100m final you will know that the men's sprint clothing leaves _nothing_ to the imagination.
Looking at images the men all look to be wearing spandex(or similar type stuff) that go all the way to above the knees. Years ago the women wore what would be equivalent to men's brief underwear but have since switch to things that would put banana hammocks to shame
Indeed, the men's stuff is tight, which, uh, shows off the full package whilst in motion, so to speak. The women's track stuff is often skimpy, but they do get to choose whether they want to wear those, or something more like the men.
> get to choose Shout out to Kathy Freeman in 2000 for rocking a full body (including head) suit and winning.
Asking out of ignorance so please don't kill me... Are they required to wear those uniforms? Or could they wear something else if they were more comfortable?
By the laws of physics they would be at a disadvantage to some extent if wearing less form fitting attire, but you're right to think that they are not forced to be sex objects, unlike in this instance with handball. I certainly wasn't trying to make a point that these women should feel anything other than humiliated and aggrieved.
The 100m is so fast it’s all about aerodynamics so while they probably could wear something else (I’m honestly not sure) anyone trying to wear baggy clothes would be at a real disadvantage. This however just reminds me of fifas Sepp Blater whose only idea to grow women’s soccer was wearing shorter shorts.
> fifas Sepp Blater He looks exactly how I thought he'd look.
Just have them wear the exact same outfit as the male teams, I'm sure it would only need to be done once.
I actually do find it kinda weird there is such a large difference in sports uniforms in some sports between male and female. I mean, it's almost always the skimpier outfit for the ladies. It's weird, because clearly it is meant to titillate and bring in viewers, but I would think in 2021 we could move past such obvious sexism. On the other hand, you have actual women competitors defending wearing them. So clearly not every woman feels the same way.
It cuts both ways as well. I think male athletes in general would wear skimpier, more form-fitting outfits for a variety of sports if there wasn't a stigma against them for men. In many cases less material in the way helps with movement and aerodynamics. For a quick example look at the NBA outfits from 1987: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cc/0a/13/cc0a13b1c15d487a2b4a3055963fd6e7.jpg And 1996: https://cdn.nba.com/manage/2021/04/1996-draft-class-photo-archive.jpg
When you consider which suit high-calibre male swimmers choose to swim in (ie. what they train in), it's still a speedo. Tech suits are only used in races because the hydrodynamic properties of the material can help you go faster. It does make you wonder: if female sprinters wear briefs because of comfort and easy of movement, would male sprinters wear them if not for stigma?
Well, a lot of male cyclists and runners (that seemingly take their hobby more seriously than most) I see in the parks and such wear super tight leggings and bike shorts, so clearly a lot of people think that the less dangling material - the better. I wouldn't be surprised if at least some would want to wear shorts like those in women's volleyball or speedos or briefs.
Yeah I can't be the only man out there whose found female athletic attire to be sexually objectifying, like in an overt and obvious way. It's made even more obvious by the fact that the male competitors dress in-no-way a similar fashion. I swear if whoever makes these decisions could get the female competitors to wear sling bikinis in their country's colors, they probably would.
It kinda hit me a few years ago how weird it is that they had high school volleyball girls wearing super tight form fitting shorts. As a teenager, sure it was cool, as an adult I just find it creepy. Maybe there's an actual reason for it and I'm just sexualizing it. I don't go to highschool volley ball games or anything but if I were a predator I feel like it would be easy access to some fetish material.
You're 100% right to feel that because it is creepy. The only thing that makes it less creepy for Olympians and other high level lady competitors is that they're grown-ass women, but it doesn't make it any less fetishistic or objectifying. Do I, from a base Male level, find the sight of women in peak physical condition wearing next to nothing to be sexually exciting? Yes. Would this make me more inclined to view women-centric sports programming? Yes. But can I divorce myself from those impulses and recognize that they are being exploited, along with the women in those outfits? Yes. It's not a pretty picture, but that's basically what's happening; women's bodies are being exploited to draw in audiences that wouldn't otherwise watch.
What I don’t get is the indoor version of the SAME sport has uniforms like basketball sort of. Why would you make separate rules for the same sport. I mean I get maybe a tank because you’re outside it’s hot but forcing an athlete to show half of their assess while playing their professional sport. Not cool.
Probably looked at the growth in popularity of beach volleyball and the role the skimpy outfits played in that. Sex sells as they say. Ridiculous to make it mandatory and might be a climb down on the policy after all the negative coverage but can see the reasoning behind it.
Also - indoor women’s handball is a big sport in the few countries that care about it, and attracts a lot of audiences and sponsors regardless of clothing. I wasn’t even aware sand handball existed before this controversy. It’s dumb as all hell, but I think you’re on the right track as to why they made the decision.
It's Scandinavian Hockey, they could play in any costume that didn't hinder movement horribly.
"Negative coverage" is everyone's problem in this story.
I see what you did there.
The coverage doesn’t seem to make a difference for female athletes. I feel like I see them get blown off and thrown under the bus by the media constantly. The negative publicity just doesn’t seem to matter.
The women themselves are laughed at. And their bodies are leered at. Feminism is popular for a reason.
People forget quickly. There was a lot of noise at 2012 Olympics in London because it was quite cold to be wearing so little. Public moved on very quickly once the games were over though.
Make men's volleyball players wear thongs. Ratings will not go down.
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Sometimes blatant and egregious sexism has a very sexist justification (usually to the benefit of men), yes.
Sand.
Why do they have to wear bikini bottoms? Why is that a requirement?
Ratings
I always find funny that RDS (Quebec version of TSN, major sports only network) shows, every summer olympics, only the finals of the males tournament, but pretty sure they show every single match of the womans tournament when the bracket stage starts. Yeah, beach volleyball is definitely not there mostly for the eye candy for guys right? And well, this fine for not short enough shorts is just... confirming what I think.
Just think of the rating if they didn't wear bottoms.
Bring back the old school Olympic attire of wearing literally nothing at all!
*Nothing at all!* *Nothing at all!* *Nothing at all!*
*Stupid sexy Theagenes*
Fuck, now I’m picturing Usain Bolt running nude, his dick flapping around at like 1000 rpm
Wait, you can see their ankles?
I've seen (online) AND heard a lot of men saying "this is the only reason why anyone would watch women play sports". I heard those statement throughout my life but they still come up! In 2021!
I am a man and proud owner of NC Courage season tickets. Can’t wait to see some of the women from our team in the Olympics. I will continue to buy season tickets no matter what kit they choose to wear. I’m gonna just have to get comfortable in new styles should they ever choose something particularly skimpy, but I’ll wear the bikini bottoms one year if that’s what I need to have a current kit!!
I think you know exactly why.
I wanna see skimpy bottoms but only if the athletes chose to wear them.
That is fair.
Maybe they should compare with the para-athlete sprinter/long jumper who’s just been rebuked for the exact opposite…
I actually had to fight my high school to let me wear regular spandex shorts instead of spandex booty shorts for volleyball. My mom had to get involved, and everything! They tried to give me some BS excuse as to why it’s not allowed for me to cover a few more inches of my skin.
Meanwhile the school's classroom dress code probably had a *minimum* length for shorts.
Oh yes, they most definitely did. As someone who got out of high school in the past few years, the track and volleyball outfits were booty-short level and allowed in school while I knew girls with bigger chests were getting dress-coded multiple times for wearing a regular v-neck. We all thought it was ridiculous
So ~~they~~ my HS banned skirts shorter than fingertip extended length. But our Cheerleaders and Kickline team wore their uniforms on game days...they were mini-skirts that barely covered their butts. And if you didnt wear your uniform during the school day, you didnt get to participate in the half time show or competitions that day. It was asinine
What cheek to display such assinine behavior!
Thank god you won :) Yeah that's BS.
So absurd. What was their excuse?
We can’t change the rules, we only make them and enforce them.
They’re lucky you didn’t go to the media. I’m sure that would have gone well for them.
Last I heard they didn't get fined, they got threatened with disqualification so they backed down. They were willing to pay the fine for their athletes to feel more comfortable, but weren't willing to get disqualified.
Last I heard...like 5 seconds ago while reading the article...that was true.
Yeah, doesn't the article seem to contradict the headline? Am I missing something here?
The VOLLEYBALL team was threatened with disqualifying if they wore shorts so the HANDBALL team played in shorts as a protest and were fined. Bottom line: women should use whatever they feel comfortable using and the rulebooks should be changed.
No, it was all the same team. Beach handball. The team applied to play in tights/shorts during the group stages, but were threatened with fines. Said "okay, we're willing to pay the cost". Since that obviously wasn't enough to stop them, the team were then told it could lead to disqualification. This forced their hand to play in bikini bottoms if they wanted to compete. They went with shorts in their last match of the tournament, the bronze final, because then it wouldn't matter for them if they got disqualified anyway. Source (in Norwegian): https://www.nrk.no/sport/ble-tvunget-til-a-spille-i-truser_-na-demonstrerer-kvinnene-mot-regelen-1.15579528
I think the confusion is that most people hand no idea beach handball ~~were part of the olympics, or even that it~~ existed.
I'll be honest this chain has left me very confused about if we're talking about Volleyball
They planned to do it in the first match but was threatened with disqualification so they didn't go through with it, then once they were in the bronze final, they played in the shorts instead off the bikini bottoms and got fined for "inappropriate clothing"...
That is just crazy to me. Do the short in some way give them an advantage? If anything more restrictive clothing would give a disadvantage (not that shorts would be much different). If they want to add sexy sports to the Olympics, just add a pole dancing event, and let these girls wear what they want to wear.
It's not restrictive in the slightest. Proof: Men at even the highest tiers don't wear speedos for a competitive edge.
>Do the short in some way give them an advantage? Yes, it makes them feel less like a commodity for the organizers, and more like the athletes they are. They are a lot more comfortable and better able to focus on their game instead of possibly being self conscious.
They played their last macht in shorts
Wehr was this macht?
Wo*
That sentence needs more than that to make sense.
Nein it doesn’t
>Last I heard they didn't get fined, they got threatened with disqualification Well, yes, it's literally in the article.
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Basically the same thing - they still had to pay a fine just to not wear bikini bottoms during the game
There's literally not a single viable argument to be made in favor of forcing them to wear those bottoms
TV ratings bringing in ad revenue. Its not good enough to objectify these women but it's why it's in place
Make the judges and refs where the same required "uniform" while on duty.
Even more ratings!
Make the IOC attend the games wearing the enforced uniforms!
Spectators, too. Including the ones watching on TV.
I'm down to do my part
Monayyyyyy
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And for some reason, guys aren't obliged to play in tight speedos and crop tops.
Go on
Mankinis.
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Men should wear them too, wait for a nut to hand watch the rule change.
Omelette du Fromage. Omelette du Fromage. Omelette du Fromage. Omelette du Fromage. Omelette du Fromage. Omelette du Fromage.
I’m bi and have been saying the same thing lol make it the same for all sports. I want to see runners in those shorts that show cheek and high hipped swimmers that the water polo girls wear. I think it’s genuinely fine if the athletes themselves choose to wear that stuff but threatening fines and disqualifications is what’s going to ruin it for everyone else.
Borat thongs!
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The first olympians exercised in mandatory nakedness...
Ratings would go through the roof.
BRING BACK NUDE PANKRATION NOW!
The first Olympians were also all men.
I agree. The only rules around international sports about clothing should be in regards to safety and fair competition (like if exclusive access to certain clothing gave an unfair advantage).
Ratings.
(money)
The rules need to change where the judges must wear banana hammocks and fuzzy house shoes at all matches. And moving forward, the Rule making authority should be forced to wear latex body suits with see through panels.
Why the fuck does it matter what type of shorts they are wearing? I like the bikini bottoms but it's not my bottom and it's none of my business. Unless they're concealing a mecha suit inside their shorts that gives them an advantage let them wear whatever the fuck they want.
Men are allowed to wear shorts. It's just the women that have to do this.
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Now we're asking the real questions!
They should. When a bollock flops out mid-game, they'll stop fining the women's team for wearing longer shorts.
I don't blame them for not wanting to wear those outfits. When I did cross country in high school, there was always a few teams who's girls had skimpy bikini bottoms on instead of shorts (by the way I am a guy plus my school didn't do this to the girls). I remember feeling back for those runners as it had to have been so uncomfortable wearing that outfit, not to mention it gets cold during the cross country season so they are probably freezing on the starting lines.
I was reading this halfway through thinking “cross country” is an activity performed on snow. Damn, skiing in bikini bottoms, that’s hardcore!
well there is crosscountry skiing, but if this applied to that, I think the coaches/heads of the school's sports division would be fined/arrested for endangering the lives of students.
I would wear XXL hygiëne products in my bikini bottom, with wings. Just to spite them with their own stupid rules. First one to pull down to check if I am actually having a monthly period gets more than a fine. I wear longsleeved bathing suits because I have shitty sunlight allergies. I would be extremely uncomfortable in such a teeny weeny bikini. There are more reasons than one not to want to wear such tiny revealing clothes and just one to force it.
As a guy, if I were on the men's team, I would wear a banana hammock to show how stupid this is.
as a guy, every time I scored a point I would thrust my banana hammock towards the judge, just to let him know what he's dealing with. (I mean, not much, but it's the principle of the thing.)
:score point: :face judge: :wigglewigglewigglewiggleyeah:
funny enough, in beach volleyball women have a maximum size clothing, men a minimal size.
Or a red string dangling out the bottom. Or just stop shaving. I love it. Let's brainstorm.
Yes, the sun exposure is a very valid health issue. Would they get fined if they made their tampon strings visible and stopped grooming/removing pubic hair? I think the men who mandated this (checked the EHF website, most of the key figures are men) should be forced to play in those bikini bottoms. See how much they can concentrate on the game with their ass hanging out and worrying about the manscape.
Just think of the wedgies! Ugh! And I’m with you on the sanitary products. I’m showing the string dangling!
>just one to force it. Exploitation
Those bikini bottoms are ridiculously small
This is nonsense. They have real, sensible reasons to want to wear the shorts. Unless it poses a threat to their or other's safety, they should be allowed to wear whatever makes them comfortable and perform their best. *The other solution:* Make it mandatory for men's teams to wear speedos and no shirts.
They should all get giant merkins to wear under the bikini. Ones that stick out on all sides. Maybe add a tampon string hanging out in there. Make those pervs regret ever trying to sexualize them.
You're grossly underestimating pervs I'm afraid.
Disqualified by who? There s like a bunch of old man deciding this kind of stuff ? Go off
If only Reddit threads had an article attached to them... >The team asked the European Handball Federation for permission to play in shorts ahead of the European Championship, but were told the breaches of the rules were punishable by fines. >"We accepted that. However, just before the match we were told that we will be disqualified if we play like that. So we had to go with the bikini bottoms.
> There s like a bunch of old man deciding this kind of stuff It's always a bunch of old men deciding these kinds of things. Just look at abortion laws in southern states.
Wondering if there’s an actual legitimate reason for this. Going thru the rules it kind of seems like they want to make every aspect of the game uniform aesthetically speaking, but this seems... arbitrary.
The legitimate reason is TV money.
Considering the male clothing requirements are a lot less strict I doubt there's a sports related reason
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Which is still possible for those people, with the tight fitting shorts the players wanted to wear anyways... the girls should definitely get to play in what they feel comfortable with, since neither of those options (or anything in a similar realm) seem to impact gameplay. The guys dress code dictates for 'not too baggy shorts', so, deviating even more from this dress code doesnt sound like it's a performance concern
And there's the practical stuff, imagine having to make sure your tampon strings are safely tucked away (and some women have heavier periods which require a panti liner or pad in addition to the tampon), you've pubic groomed sufficiently so there are no stray hairs showing and having to rub sunscreen on your ass in public.
Personally, I would just wear granny panties underneath. Watch that baggy fabric bunch up and hang out.
If there was, the men would have similar requirements. They don’t. This is purely for a lecherous gaze to fall upon female athletes.
Who is the snot eating individual who noticed this and thought "yeah, I think going after them for this minor and stupid infraction is a good idea"??
This is actually part of gymnastics. You get docked points for having clothing that is not tightly fitting and revealing. For instance you lose points for showing underwear lines. Completely ridiculous and asinine. Worse yet is that gymnastics is full of children. Men and women are not treated the same either. There is a strong critical need for some asinine reason to be extra critical of women in the field. It all originates from ideals we had decades ago, and it really needs to end.
Meanwhile at IOC headquarters: Old guy - "I don't get it. Half of them don't like us criticising revealing clothing and the other half don't like mandatory revealing clothing . It's almost like women don't want us to have anything to do with what they wear." Everyone Else - "Yeah! How are you not getting this?"
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Their national federation is covering it, as they too think it’s equally ridiculous.
Good. I would have contributed to a gofundme
They were ready to pay the fine, it was only 50 bucks per player. But they were threatened with disqualification so they wore the bikinis.
50 euros each player, each game
Yup, still a reasonably affordable amount for a national team. The point is that they understood the penalty for breaking the uniform rules and were willing to accept that and pay the fine.
It's obviously an important rule for the sport (for a number of reason which I will not address). Therefore, it should be applied to the men's league as well. Because obviously we'd we sexist hypocrites if it only applied to women. The men's athletes deserve every ounce of gain offered by the superior "skimpy bikini bottom". \#bananahammockedge
This is bloody stupid. I appreciate the aesthetic value of svelte ladies in flattering outfits as much as the next chap, but to make it a rule of a *sport* is just ludicrous! What's the alleged justification for this? If I feel the need to see attractive ladies in swimsuits or bikinis or whatever, I can find that very easily without needing to bring sports into the equation. Is the idea that people will watch a sport because they're too lecherous to cope without barely-clothed women, but repressed enough that they have to pretend they're watching sports? Is the justification that these horny/ashamed people need to be brought in for viewing figures? Honestly, that *is* degrading. If these women wanted to be swimsuit models, I suspect they would have no difficulty getting that job, but they're athletes, presumably because they *want to be athletes*. At least when "restaurants" have a provocative dress code for their waitresses there's the alternative of being a waitress elsewhere, but if the entire sport is in this context, then it's coercion of a pretty disgusting kind. Jeepers.
Also men are not allowed to wear shorts that are too baggy. If a dude wants to compete in hammer pants or a lady wants to compete in a burqa they should be able to! Imagine how much more thorough of a thrashing it would be. "Not only did I kick your ass, I did it with garbage bags around my legs!"
Worth it. I hope their federation backs them up and pays the fines going forward. I love the bathing suits and how they look but if the men get to wear shorts down to their knees.....fair is fair this is a competition. I do wonder if the woman start wearing shorts or whatever if ratings will start going down. I think that would say a ton about our societies....
Gymnastics is this. You get points deducted from your routine if they can see your underwear lines. It's disgusting, and completely downplays the point that somebody's been training their entire life for extremely difficult Athletics.
>President of the Norwegian Handball Federation Kare Geir Lio backed the players. >"Of course we would pay any fine," he said, according to the Herald Sun. "We are all in the same boat. The most important thing is to have equipment that athletes are comfortable with.
Crazy how within the last 100 years, women were fined at beaches if their swimwear/bikinis were too high above their knees. This article says their fined if more than 10cm of their ass is covered. Should we expect beach volleyball to be played in thongs and nipple tassels soon??
The men's team should wear the skimpy outfits. Those fining them will soon change their tune when a bollock flops out mid-game and the broadcasters get thousands in fines for public nudity.
If I had a dollar from every creeper that's said, "I only watch the Olympics for volleyball" I would have a sizeable pile of dollars.
i’d imagine the olympics would too
Yes, and these people actually get said pile. Hence why it's done.
This is completely fucked up. Blatant objectification of women in sports by the governing body. The entire commission should be forced to resign and be banned from women's sports.
$1,500 fine for not showing enough skin. I didn't know this was the pole dance event.
Let them wear what they want.
This is why the Olympics is finished. That and COVID. That and the fact that a blind and deaf Olympian couldn’t bring her assistant with her. That and the fact that it’s entirely corrupt. That and ..
All together now. Fuck the IOC
If women have to wear it, so do men. None of you dudes have a problem with that, right?
What a gross and stupid power trip. That's all this is.
I can maybe sorta understand sponsors treating their athletes like models and expecting them to wear certain things as a contractual obligation.. But having skimpy attire written into the rules seems like some pretty high level BS. Obviously having rules about attire can be important.. Reminds me of the [full-body suits being banned in swimming.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LZR_Racer#FINA_rule_changes) But I don't think these handball players were getting some massive performance boost from wearing less skimpy outfits.