The German women’s gymnastics team stood out for their choice of outfit during the podium training session on Thursday. Team Germany decided to stray from the norm and wear sleeveless unitards as opposed to the typical long-sleeved leotards. Although the team first wore the outfit earlier this year at the European Gymnastics championship, it is a first for the Olympics.
Elisabeth Seitz, a gymnast representing Germany at the Olympics, said in an Instagram post,
“This is to all gymnasts who may feel uncomfortable or even sexualized in normal suits. In our opinion, every gymnast should be able to decide in which type of suit she feels most comfortable, and therefore gymnastics."
This move was a statement against the sexualization of women in gymnastics. 2016 saw the arrest of Larry Nassar, a former doctor for the American gymnastics team, who was sentenced to 176 years in prison for sexually assaulting numerous gymnasts. This prompted athletes, including Olympians to talk about how the culture of the sport allowed for the sexualization and objectification of women.
Sarah Voss, a gymnast from the German team told BBC during an interview, “I want to be a role model for young gymnasts who don’t feel very safe in every situation. Deciding whether to wear a normal leotard should be an individual choice”. She also said that she hoped other athletes who feel “uncomfortable in the usual outfits will feel emboldened to follow our example." She went on to explain how she felt uncomfortable in the standard outfit as she grew older. The German coaches encouraged the decision and said they wanted the gymnasts to feel “the most confident and comfortable in any case”.
Women athletes should have the right to compete in the outfits they feel comfortable in as long as it does not give them an unfair advantage over other competitors. Then why have women constantly been denied this right when compared to male athletes? In 2011, the Badminton Federation ruled that women must wear skirts in order to create “a more attractive presentation” for viewers. An official said that ratings and viewership was down and people were losing interest in women’s badminton since they were playing in oversized shorts.
A few days ago, the Norway’s Women’s beach handball team were handed a fine when they decided to wear shorts instead of bikini bottoms. The rules of the European Handball federation, which screams sexism, requires women to wear bikini bottoms with a close cut while men can wear longer shorts that stop 10 cm above the knee.
Akilah Carter-Francique, the executive director for the Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change at San José State University said, “It’s not just about the uniform. It’s about creating equity, inclusion and space for these young women—who are growing into womanhood—to find and continue to use sport as a place of empowerment. What’s important is that these athletes are allowed to bring their full selves into the space and not have to be concerned about how they look, or whether they are being objectified in these spaces of participation and competition.”
This move by the German team, although widely acclaimed, has not yet set a trend at the Olympics.
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