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What to wear? Female fashion takes centre stage (again) in the sports arena

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What to wear? Female fashion takes centre stage (again) in the sports arena

From Norwegian handballers being fined for refusing to wear bikini bottoms, to a British Paralympian who was just fine with her skimpy shorts, the topic of sexualization of women in sports continues to be... well... wide-ranging.

Damian Goddard by Damian Goddard
July 28, 2021
in Breaking News, Entertainment, Foreground
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What to wear? Female fashion takes centre stage (again) in the sports arena
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The fact of the matter is this: some women feel empowered in a revealing outfit, while others feel objectified. And with the 2020 Olympic Games well underway, the subject matter just won’t go away. But it had a solid lead-in prior to last Friday’s opening ceremonies in Tokyo.

At the English Championships July 19th, Paralympian Olivia Breen of Britain was reprimanded following her long jump by a track official who said the athletes sprint shorts were “too short and inappropriate”.

The plight of Norway’s women’s beach handball team in their fight against overt sexualization went so viral, rock-star P!nk even entered the fray, offering to pay the fines incurred for the team choosing not to wear bikini bottoms.

Breen was doubly distraught as the criticism came from a female track official who blurted the comment as Breen was walking away from the long jump pit. The 24-year old athlete who suffers from cerebral palsy said she was left “speechless”.

Here something I felt like sharing that’s happened to me today at my competition @EnglandAthletic pic.twitter.com/QlYfPDmxEV

— oliviabreen (@BreenOlivia) July 18, 2021

But “speechless” is not a word that would describe members of Team Norway who were told that the long shorts they wore in their bronze-medal match against Spain at the Beach Handball Euro 2021 tournament were “improper clothing.” Said Co-captain Emma Steggles, “I would feel extremely uncomfortable being made to wear a bikini to play a sport I love.”

What’s good for the goose, is good for the gander? Euro Beach Handball officials don’t seem to think so. The Norwegian Handball Federation announced that it was prepared to pay the fines, adding though that it should be “a free choice within a standardized framework”.

While the women’s beach handball team from Norway is not competing at these Olympic Games, Germany is in women’s gymnastics. And they too are there to make a statement: fashion, and otherwise. During team qualifying Sunday, the Germans took to the floor in head-turning “unitards“. While the German Gymnastics Federation said the choice of apparel was meant to counteract “sexualization” in the sport, team member Elisabeth Seitz said they “wanted to show that every woman, everybody, should decide what to wear.”

All things considered, it is a tricky line to tow as there is something to be said of uniformity, whether it be at the office desk or on the high-beam. But it is clear that women are very split on what should, and shouldn’t be worn. What is also clear is that it is not necessarily a blame that can be placed at the feet of men. And if that is the case, is not the “sexualization” self-inflicted? Could Breen, Steggles, and Seitz all be right? Could they all be wrong? Does this need a deeper conversation than what we have here?

Time and again, these Tokyo Olympics have been described as the “Woke Games”. In terms of women’s fashion, woke to what exactly?

Tags: feminismNorway beach handballolivia breenOlympicsP!nksexualizationunitardswoke
Damian Goddard

Damian Goddard

Damian Goddard is a veteran television, radio, and internet broadcaster who garnered international headlines in May 2011 after taking to Twitter in defence of "the traditional and TRUE meaning of marriage".  Not twenty four hours after delivering the tweet, he was fired from his job as anchor for Rogers Sportsnet; one of Canada's two network sports broadcasters.  Damian's extensive broadcast experience also includes work as a news anchor at Sun News Network, a talkshow host at NewsTalk 1010 CFRB in Toronto, and ample experience in the sports realm working for the CBC, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (lead host at Raptors NBA TV and LeafsTV), and The Fan 590 in Toronto.  A history major with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario and a devout Roman Catholic, Damian is passionate about world and cultural affairs, the history and future of the Catholic Church, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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