Rio women's sports, starting with rugby 7s

Women's mountain biking is another good one for watching fit women show off their skills

I was adding to the discussion about the dress code, Matilda, not arguing with you. Perhaps I could have phrased it better. My question at the end was a general one, not specifically directed at you. Apologies if it came out that way.

So, under the yolk of The Patriarchy, when is a choice ever a choice for anyone? And is there some measurement of how constrained any choice is - some sort of sliding scale? How constrained do you feel these athletes are?

Puzzled by tgat Grimarse- where did I say I thought it was compulsory? But since you raise the issue, it isn't that many years, why (when beach volleyball only became an Olympic sport a few years ago) did anyone (for anyone read men providing the sponsorship money) think in the first place that costumes chosen for sexual attractiveness were appropriate anyway? It all smacks a bit of good ole Sepp Blatter saying women's football would be more popular if women wore tight shorts (I would love to have locked him up in s room with my old Sunday league team to learn the error of his ways). Oh, and since you've been, for want of a better word, hanging around the feminism boards for ages, you'll know the counter arguments about the mere act of making a choice not being, in and of itself, sufficient to establish that the choice made was a feminist one. And you'll be aware of the arguments that the circumstances surrounding making a choice may be so constrained that it isn't a real choice at all some of the time.

Further to that BBC article, Matilda, the bikini is not compulsory in beach volleyball, and hasn't been for years;

www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/28/olympic-volleyball-uniform_n_1385879.html

Women can wear long baggy shorts like the men, or full body uniform like the Egyptians. The Brazilian women wore full body suits in London in 2012 due to the cold! If the athletes have a choice, and still want to wear bikinis, should anyone tell them otherwise?

I think hunny has taken a wrong turn somewhere

Right up his "conventionally attractive" arsehole

I thought this report on the BBC website, on the various reactions to Arab women athletes' clothing choices (whether hijab or swimsuit) was very interesting. (To over-simplify - the age old issue for women - you cannot win. You will be criticised whatever you do!) The picture at the end, contrasting women netball players in shorts and t-shirts in Egypt in the 70s with the covered beach volleyball player today was particularly interesting, I thought.

Welcome to mumsnet, Hunnybunny. If you are a woman of any sort, whether slender, hairless, built like a brick outhouse or hirsute as king kong, I'll eat my copy of the Feminine Mystique. But my money's on bridge dweller.

Felascloak an article explaining how journalists should cover sport, I think a fair few commentators should read it...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/09/female-olympians-guide-gaffes-athletes-sports-makeup-shorts-marital-status-lindy-west?CMP=fb_gu

slender appealing women

appealing to who? You? Who decides what is appealing?

The equestrian sports, the only gender equal sport in the olmypics

Why on earth would athletes be bothered about taking 5 minutes to remove underarm hair? Who the fuck cares what their underarms look like? weirdos, that's who.

hunnybunny: s a 'conventionally attractive' woman myself, I'm delighted to see that slender appealing women have a place in the olympics, as it is dominated by shemen with armpit hair - it's not empowering; it shows lack of grooming.

Hmmn. Can't say I noticed a lot of female armpit forests on the Olympics. Did notice a lot of male armpit forests though. Obviously a lot of men who don't care about grooming.

I'm feeling cross about females in the Olympics now. DH just told me about a nice example of a commentator remarking "and there's the man who made it all possible" on a camera shot of the coach of a gold medallist woman.
I was coincidentally reading this utter bilge about those most mysterious, vapid creatures, teenage girls. qz.com/753198/simone-biles-and-the-us-gymnastics-team-are-the-culmination-of-40-years-of-teenage-superiority/
Then DH told me about this gem too www.buzzfeed.com/gracespelman/and-the-gold-medal-in-mansplaining-goes-to-this-guy?utm_term=.sodZvVPR9#.ytL0NOJ1w

Huh.

On the plus side, I absolutely love this. The team looks amazing www.ruck.co.uk/team-gb-womens-rugby-sevens-get-rio-2016-kits-off-promote-body-confidence/

Beach volleyball - As a 'conventionally attractive' woman myself, I'm delighted to see that slender appealing women have a place in the olympics, as it is dominated by shemen with armpit hair - it's not empowering; it shows lack of grooming. It's amazing that athletes show such dedication to their bodies but can't take 5 minutes to remove body hair! Certainly encouraging DD to take part in this volleyball now!

Shelley Fraser-Pryce running the 100 metres.

DD came home from pre-school last week saying a boy had told her girls can't run and don't have muscles. I showed her SFP's 2012 final and explained she is the fastest woman in the world and much faster than the boy at nursery. DD was happy with that!

www.bustle.com/articles/171814-what-is-the-2016-olympic-beach-volleyball-dress-code-heres-how-the-rules-have-changed

Ah, I see the rules have belatedly been changed this year to take account of religious and cultural sensitivities (not of course of the fact that there may be women who don't want to wear bikini pants up their arse because they don't want to wear bikini pants up their arse).

Previously the rules were so prescriptive that the bikini bottom was not allowed to be wider than 2.76 inches. Now, why might that have been I wonder?

Not sure which is the most ridiculous - bikini pants halfway up your arse or a full culturally approved body suit on the beach.

What is wrong with the perfectly sensible vest and shorts the men wear?

I get what you're saying Grim and I love to see the female athletes built for function but I wouldn't a pro sports person body is particularly the model of health.

If we have a problem with body shaming and young girls starving themselves to look like twig-thin, malnourished cadavers, isn't the Olympics a good example of what a healthy human body actually looks like?

I second the gymnastics. Not a thigh gap in sight. Strong, athletic teamwork and simply wonderful to watch.

I'm pretty sure the volleyball players can wear what they like.

It's not the rules, Grimbletart. Competitors from various Arab countries wear full body covering for example. And lots of female athletes wear gear comparable with the beach volleyball players. I assume it's primarily a comfort thing.

I would give beach volleyball a miss though. Men dressed in normal shorts and vests. Women, natch, in skimpy bikini bottoms and crop tops. 'Tis the rules apparently. wonder why? (Sarcasm alert).

I can't think of any particular sport not to watch.

Precisely.
The Olympics is in my opinion one of the most equitable sporting events, with equal coverage and prestige given to most events, with the possible exception of men's 100m sprint being seen as the headline event.
Personally, the female archers are amazing, especially the Koreans who would beat many of the male archers if they competed side by side.

I hope KJT pushes her all the way - she's from my home town and she she should assume the crown when Queen Jess abdicates. It should be fascinating. Plus your daughter will get to see athletes capable of more than one skill, which can be a real inspiration for those who love lots of different sports.