Why do women athletes compete in clothing so skimpy it could be underwear?

well I didn't mean to make anyone feel sad about it. It's just my view and i can accept that obviously I see things in a strange way that other people really find weird and incomprehensible. I'm not trying to make you think the way I do. It's just my view on the OP that's all.

It is sad in a way that in an environment where, perhaps above all others, the female body is something other than grist for male fantasy, it is possible for a woman to take on the 'male gaze' by imagining that women athletes are so influenced by it that they would make a less-than-optimal choice of clothing. Sports clothing is something of a science, isn't it? Chosen for its capacity to shave off that extra 0.001 second?

That's how I feel too marsha.

xposts zzzen.

I also find these doping comments sad.

Yes doping is awful etc and gives the sport a bad name but frankly you could give me all the drugs in the world and I wouldn't be able to do what they do. Doped or not it's bloody hard work, to dismiss the whole spectacle as "well they're all doped" is depressing.

It's nice to have a space where the male gaze is irrelevant.

I watched it last night and they were a sight for sore eyes. It surprised me how healthy, good, strong they looked.

Why would we want to denigrate other womens hard work though without any evidence at all?

There may of course be an element of display and competing body-wise with each other. I'm sure that happens with both sexes and across most sports, showing a very fit/trim/muscular body to someone you are about to compete with might servse to intimidate.

I'm thinking snooker and darts as the exception to this

my assumption is that a lot of it goes on. That's the message that came to me via the media but I have no exp of top-level sport personally. Just how it comes across to me.

You now get one or two a year. Your suggestion sounds like the whole team is sat in the dressing room handing around all sorts of stuff. The Olympic comp's in the 70's when Germany was still split and Russia was still officially communist, there were 15 or 20 athletes that were found to be using drugs, usually anabolic steroids.

I don't know the stats for Beijing, but in Athens 04 only 5 athletes were confirmed to be using banned substances. They are not even supposed to use some cold remedies, fgs!!

fakeplastictrees did

What eleison and meow said.

As a feminist I object to objectification of women - womem who are being paid to display their bodies for the arousal of men, or girls and women feeling that they have to conform to certain beauty standards imposed by sleb mags and fashion and the like.

I don't object to the female body full stop which is what seems to be going on here. These women (from where I'm sitting) look confident and powerful and at ease in their own skins, and the clothes they are wearing are not mainstream "appeal to men" clothes. If they were doing it in padded bras and preening before they went off then that would be different. But they aren't, they're there to compete, to win, their bodies are strong and there to work hard. Their purpose in wearing these clothes isn't to set teenage boys off wanking.

Maye someone should find a way of askign some sportswomen what they think of all this.

x-posted with Meow

right, I saw this thread yesterday and asked my SIL to be (who is ex-team GB - yes I am rather intimidated by her abs!)

She said that there are longer vest options, but they tend to not be as supportive, and boobs need control! Apparently minimum clothing is a good thing as it doesn't get in the way/can make a difference with airflow round you. She pointed out that male sprinters tend to be in outfits that leave very little to the imagination for similar reasons, and longer distance/endurance sports woman tend to be more covered up as it's not as important (not counting triathalon as they have to wear something they can swim in without having to get changed before the other events)

oh, and she said you have to remember to get to that level you've had a coach/physio/world and his wife grabbing at you/seeing you in very little for years so in her words "have no shame left!"

why spurious drug claims. Doping charges come up all the time

And both the male and female athletes make up most of their money through endorsements if they have the looks and personality - look at that Danish javelin champion - at least I think he was Danish.

I really dont mind my dd seeing the athletes dressed like that at all - they have worked damn hard for those bodies and not bought them through surgery etc.

And they do choose what they wear - if you look at the marathon runners there is a really wide variety of clothing - its what they themselves feel comfy in. I would require some sort of two wheeled vehicle to feel comfy during a marathon but each to their own.

I do think these are one set of women who we can discount as bad role models though as they really arent are they? Jessica Ennis for example is truly inspirational.

I don't care if they wear make-up or false nails etc, I am just saying there îs an element of display in taht

in contrast to an earlier post which said there is no element of display in the whole thing.

There is a range of gear that every athlete has access to in their team colours they can choose any of those items.

OP it seems to me you are looking to take offence/ for an objection on feminist grounds where there is none to be taken. The sponsorship that was referred to earlier is not millions and millions like Beckham and Rooney get for endorsing their footy boots, it's £50k here and £25k there which is purely for trainig purposes, including paying their coach. The prize money that most athletes get is pitiful when compared to most sports, which is why many international athletes also have a "civvy" job too.

As for not being a positive role model. WTH?!?! Commitment, drive, ambition, healthy eating, clean living. What's not to like?! And don't go throwing about spurious drug claims. Sport as a whole has never been better, athletes know that testing is state of the art now, there was never wholesale doping of a British team like the Russians and the E Germans used to do, and the vast majority of athletes are good, honest competitors who want to win by virtue of the hard work of their own bodies - beautifully sculpted, healthy bodies. So what if someone's got false nails or make up on!! By your attitude, if someone's an athlete, they're not supposed to give a toss how they look?!?! As they are effectively working, that means none of us should give a toss to how WE look when we go to work?!?!

Mariepuree: "You have too much time on your hands if this is an issue for you"

what an incredibly helpful post. Such an interesting contribution.

Gosh it would never occur to me that they are dressing for any other reasion than their sporting comfort and performance. Everything about their bodies speaks of power and achievement and dedication rather than a concern to fit sexist expectations of the female body.

When the Olympics started in ancient Greece didn't the athletes compete in the buff?

You have too much time on your hands if this is an issue for you. Why can't they wear their skimpy oufits? They are grown women who are capable of making a decision without having to justify it in the name of some sisterhood claptrap.

I don't have a problem with the crop tops, it's the running in "knickers" that I don't get. They just look so uncomfortable and then there's the distraction of them riding up your bum! I wear lycra shorts, what's wrong with them.

Just for efficiency, and they want to look good doing what ever it is they are doing. Also differs between the different sports look at swimming for example the men wear hardly anything in comparison to the women.

I think the would have a huge say in what they wear. Performance and comfort a priority.

Also they probably aren't thinking about perceived skimpiness, that's a good thing. Agree with ISNT.

I'd say there was a fair element of display amongst some of the women (I mean the recent euorpean light athletics which I saw), make-up, jewellery, long black fingernails etc. Obviously they can express themselves however they like, but to say there is no element of display in it doesn't fit with my own recollections of what I saw.