To think beach volleyball is just an excuse for folk to perv at athletes in skimpy gear

[voluptuagoodshag]

I don't understand why it is even a distinct sport from normal volleyball. Surely it came about just because some folk were playing it on a beach? Why not then have beach gymnastics, or beach football or beach archery?

Tendon, yes, I agree I have changed my position. Yes my original title suggests does perhaps disparage the sport but through discussion and gleaning more information I have been educated. Surely that is a good thing. I am admitting to having my opinion changed.

The title provokes and starts a discussion.

And yes I still think the outfits are inappropriate and do nothing to help men and women's sports being treated as equal.

voluptua how often are we emotionally mature enough to take on board new information and admit to changing our position? V rarely on here!

I'm glad it's now been phrased that way, because plenty of the other posters on here have been repeating the line that 'no one has criticised the sport' when actually, that's exactly what the start of the thread did. So perhaps others could acknowledge that too. This is a thread that's brought up serious points about sexism but that started out as one taking a post a particular sport.

Beach Volleyball is definitely a sport. I have no reservations about calling it a sport, none at all. As far as that goes, I agree with proudvolleyballmum.

However, I don't agree that taking issue with the clothing regulations disrespects the athletes. Beach Volleyball clothing regulations have been shit for a long time now. They are finally relaxing them, because they realised that they were barring observant Muslim women from the game. Prior to this, the governing body does not seem to have considered non-religious women who didn't want to be sex objects worthy of inclusion.

Let's be clear here: historically, the choice was between a one-piece swimsuit or bikini with a mandated maximum side length of 7cm. That is why they were so famously skimpy- because they had to wear ones that small or wear a one-piece.

I can entirely understand why the athletes think a two piece bikini allows better freedom of movement, but I bet that if they had been allowed free reign, they wouldn't all have been picking knickers that short. I know I always favour firm seam-free underwear that stays put and doesn't ride up for sport...

Defending that regulation is not defending the athletes, it is defending their traditional sexploitation.

Let's be clear here: historically, the choice was between a one-piece swimsuit or bikini with a mandated maximum side length of 7cm.

How was that even a thing ?! Thank goodness for the leggings type outfits some teams were wearing, although some teams still seem to prefer the bikini bottoms with half your arse hanging out look....

If anyone's ever seen muslim women at the beach, they often wear stuff similar to what the Egyptian team wore, if they are going swimming.

Can't believe the Olympics ever got away with insisting that westernised Beach wear was the only one allowed.

I think the governing body wanted to make the sport sexy. It certainly raised the profile. I wonder about the gender make-up round the table when the governing body took that vote.

The thing that stands out to me most in itsmine's picture (posted last night) of the track and field athletes for Team USA is the differing leg lengths on the shorts. The taller competitors have longer short lengths for their comfort and to stop them looking ridiculous, because, well, that's how clothes work. The absurd 7cm restriction makes the most basic adjustment impossible for the BV players, and successful volleyball players tend to be taaaller, not shorter.

Watching the gymnastics, I was taken aback too at the super glam outfits, complete with uniform hair and full slap, but even then I couldn't help noticing that the US team leotards were cut higher on the leg... Poor woman on the beam, it was disappearing up her bum and was probably quite uncomfortable and distracting. Who can justify that?

Oh, I just found this from when the bikini rules were introduced:

"I'm kind of bummed -- I like my tights," said the sport's most famous player,Gabrielle Reece, who is known for wearing black Lycra tights rather than a bikini suit while playing.

^"You take one step, that bathing suit goes straight up," she says. "You're always yanking and fiddling"

edition.cnn.com/STYLE/9901/13/vollyball.bikini/

The US women were not so distracted they didn't achieve gold, again. The cut of a leotard is never going to be as fascinating as the lifetime of sacrifice and dedication and inhumanly hard work those gold medal winning Olympians demonstrate to us mortal audience.

But when women achieve anything we have to talk about what they look like instead of marvelling at how they did it. It's like our brains simply can't compute their sporting success otherwise.