Why don’t the men wear Speedo’s?

I recall reading about one sports (it could have been football) where a coach or someone higher up in the organisation wanted women to wear skimpy clothing so as to maximise male viewership

That was the notoriously sexist Sepp Blatter, and he was roundly criticised by all for it.

Why isn't the original question "why don't the women wear shorts?". That could equally apply, and turns out it is allowed, so why don't they?

In the past the male costume could be quite revealing.

My kids used to have swimming lessons at a water polo club. Speedo's are pretty good at keeping everything in, even during what was basically rugby in a swimming pool (I don't understand the rules of the sport - there just seemed to be an awful lot of water thrashing around and occasionally I'd spot the ball)

I tell you, it was occasionally hard to know where to look when the men's team got out of the water and swarmed towards the changing rooms... the women's seemed much more decently covered!

The words from my then 5yo DS - why are they wearing pants?

I was watching the diving OMG could the budgie smugglers get any smaller?

I've ranted about this very issue so many times!

Same thing in gymnastics - the women wear leotards, the men wear singlets and short shorts. I'd understand if both sexes had to wear leotards in order to show the hip movement etc, but they don't.

It's shit, OP.

I remember reading an interview with a female volleyball player and they said they preferred the bikini bottoms because of movement and it's easier to keep the sand out/clean the sand off the skin.

i remember reading that and wincing at the thought of wearing the shorts the elite cyclists wear and those saddles with no buffer zone so to speak....

www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2016/aug/15/team-gb-cycling-saddle-sore-medals

So I wouldn't be surprised if there were rules around clothing and body hair that have no purpose but to make women more aesthetically pleasing for spectators.

Men have to cover up lest the women become all randy and cannot function normally.

I'm not into sport, but i love it that beach volley ball is played at such a competitive level, and i imagine the players taking like they do in films, like dude, gnarly. Obvs films of my youth were a long time ago! More to the point though, op, i've watched this phenomena throughout my life. Whilst i image the material musty be amazing, it simply cannot be comfortable to wear such skimpy pants while performing amazing feats of physical stamina. Apparently the early romans competed in the nude but it always made me think about friction. Unpleasant.

If I had the guts and were one of the athletes in question, I would be tempted to grow my pubic hair to its natural maximum and watch the organisers have a coronary.

🤣🤣

Same with sprinters-women showing flesh, men in Lycra

For major championships men and women get the choice. Not sure about things like diamond league but assume sponsors give an element of choice. Mizuno definitely do. For the Olympics British athletes going to 'kitting out' is seen as a big event. All athletes get the choice of kit so women can wear cropped top, vest and shorts (knicker or cycling)or Lycra suit. They choose how much flesh they show.

I recall reading about one sports (it could have been football) where a coach or someone higher up in the organisation wanted women to wear skimpy clothing so as to maximise male viewership. That is probably the real reason for the differences in what men and women wear in some sports.

Of course its feminist theory interpretation is rather different, going on about stuff such as women's bodies are either private property (in cultures where women must cover) or public property (in the Western pop culture), and that in either case the actual usefulness of the human body is not the major focus when the body is female. Because of the strictly defined right to look at those bodies, either by all men or by those men seen as the rightful owners of said bodies.

I always find this odd particularly compared to the sports that are actually in water, competitive swimming racing costumes are knee length and cover more skin than outfits for most other sports.

It is common and expected in our society for women to wear a lot less clothing than men.

Swimming today there was a chap (aged about 60) in what can be best described as thong trunks........but men in tight shorts could make viewers lose their lunch

and
I entirely agree OP but I'm not sure I actually want to see men playing volleyball in Speedos. A man's bollock accidentally popping out of his budgie smugglers is more likely to feature in my nightmares than my sexual fantasies.
😂🤣😂
Sports wear designers take note ^^

but the rules changed in 2012 so women from different cultures could compete

I'm not terribly familiar with sports (I barely even watch the Olympics) but, at the moment, it is still a requirement that a team compete in the same uniforms so I imagine there might be pressure for some competitors from others. I mention the lack of familiarity because I wonder if there are comparable sports with multiple uniform options (for women or men) where the teams are allowed to compete in different uniforms at the same time. It seems like that would be a positive further change.

There used to be an actual regulation about how long the sides of bikini briefs could be- 7cm.

Humans depress me.

There used to be an actual regulation about how long the sides of bikini briefs could be- 7cm.

I ssupect to some extent it relates to the origins of beach volleyball, which is beaches, obviously, I believe in the US. So players tended to wear something based on beach ware, which for women tends to be rather like a bathing suit. American men though rarely wear speedos, they are more likely to go for board shorts.