That having a bikini wax shouldn't be a necessary part of any job?

[ThatsWotSheSaid]

I've been watching the amazing gymnastics at the olympics and every time I can't help but wonder if they are all happy to have such revealing gym costumes. I would hate to have a camera doing a slow mo when I'm legs akimbo in the air wearing so little even if the camera angles seem to be discrete.

I have tried to look up if there is a rule about the cut and if they wanted could they wear little shorts but I can't find anything. I did read if they remove a wedgie they get marked down?!

AIBU to think that in this day and age it seems a bit odd that these elite athletes need to be so scantily clad and that they probably have more to worry about than waxing, ingrowing hairs and itchiness in the run up to the games?

[Swannykazoo]

Let's not fight about the right or wrong of pubic hair removal or not when there are bigger issues at stake......


Let's hear more about Butt glue.
Do you have to stick your bum cheeks together to stop the wedgie or do you glue the leotard/knicker edges to your thighs?
Does it require 2 people?
Where does one purchase it

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

This is an interesting piece about fashions in gymnasts' clothing, and it includes some quite overt statements about how the 'sparkle' is deliberately intended as a feminine counterbalance to these gymnasts' increasingly powerful performances. Also makes the point about costs. ]]www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/fashion/olympic-gymnastics-simone-biles-leotards-crystals.html?_r=0]]

[Helmetbymidnight]

I know a young ball room dancer who adores and excels at ball room dancing but really doesn't like the fact that she is expected/pressured to wear fake tan for competitions.

Still, one should never question these things.

[faffalotty]

I could have sworn I've seen some wearing flesh coloured tights under leotard. maybe that was in the trampolining?

[cherryplumbanana]

It's interesting when outsiders complain, but the athletes themselves have no issue.

I have seen sports clubs where the basic uniform was identical for men and women. The female have had changes made, to make theirs more feminine, say by wearing a tighter top. I have seen so many little girls insisting on having their nails painted to make sure they don't "look like the boys".

In RL, I really don't witness so much drama about female being feminine.

[MyBreadIsEggy]

Swanny
You spray the butt glue on your skin, and stick the fabric to the outside of the cheeks so it can't ride up and cause a wedgie!
You can do it yourself, but does require the once over from a team-mate: "Hey, can you check my butt glue?"

[cherryplumbanana]

Swannykazoo

before testing, you should probably ask the experts how you REMOVE it!

(ouch?)

[jay55]

Technically the women are allowed to wear tights under or over the leotard but I've never seen anyone do it. They can also wear a unitard that covers the hips but again I've never seen it in competition.

There was a big to do over a Malaysian gymnast wearing a leotard last year which was so disheartening.
www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11683079/Muslim-gymnast-criticised-for-revealing-leotard-as-she-wins-gold.html

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

I think this comes down to if you have never done the sport or nurtured it, or been involved you will just have to cast objection from the side line without true first hand knowledge.

So, tell me ... does that apply to everyone, or just the people who agree with you? Cos it sounds awfully like you're trying to imply that you don't believe anyone who questions what gymnasts wear could possibly have been involved in the sport, and I don't know where your evidence for that would be.

[WhatamessIgotinto]

I was using the common expression " clean line" which applies to architecture, interior design, fashion etc. So yes, I and others prefer to have a clean-line bikini.

Ah you were being pretentious, ok then.

[ThatsWotSheSaid]

I think the idea that if you don't like it don't do the sport is a really unfair. I can imagine a young girl having competed her whole life only to hit puberty and want to leave the sport. I know that sounds dramatic but I'm sure it has happened. I don't want to seem critical of something I don't have first hand experience but if people didn't talk about anything unless they were 100% informed we would never become informed and Mumsnet would close down in a week.

[cherryplumbanana]

Ah you were being pretentious, ok then.

no, just trying to stay polite.

[RepentAtLeisure]

Lots of male athletes go for full body shaves too. Like road bikes having no paint to save a gram or two, removing hair makes them fractionally more streamlined apparently!

And I did wonder about women's skimpier costumes during London 2012 - Jess Ennis's costume versus her male equivalent. But I read that it comes down to the fact that men would be laughed at for wearing similar. A male sprinter said that ideally he would compete in a swimmers costume, just briefs, but it would be inappropriate for several reasons, one being that it might not contain their bits properly while running!

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

I can understand using the term 'clean line' (though there's a long history of describe women's bodies as if they were inanimate objects), but I still don't for the life of me see why it would be different for men.

All this about men's bodies being taller - really, if that were true, then taller female gymnasts would wear differently cut costumes than their shorter teammates.

It's surely just about aesthetics - we expect a different 'line' on a man's body than we do on a woman's. And the way we expect women to look also requires a more by way of intimate hair-shaving.

[JigglypuffsCaptor]

LRD you don't tend to converse over an agreement, just a disagreement, so yes objections would be discussed wouldn't they. If you want to offer agreement from the side lines that's also useful and we can all nod

If a gymnast really downy want to wear a leotard then I'm sure she can object, the same as if a skater didn't want to wear a certain outfit, we can object. But it's generally met with hissing and puffing about marks and winning.

So in your head you do the math, shall I just wear this God ugly outfit and lift a trophy or sit on my step and sulk. I'd choose trophy in a God ugly outfit every time.

[HandbagCrab]

I read in the guardian this morning that team gb cycling employed vulval specialists as the female cyclists were so uncomfortable on their bikes. They recommended tilting the seat and no waxing. I think there's a difference between body hair and its effect on performance and body hair and it's aesthetic, as I think that should be a personal choice.

[HerdsOfWilderbeest]

But when you bend over and do gymmy things, doesn't the butt glue hurt? Is it like gummy stuff that allows the Lycra to move with it?

[ThatsWotSheSaid]

Also I completely agree with their right to wear revealing leotards if they want to. I am happy to see their amazing legs and butts (glued or otherwise) and bikini lines. But just seems a strange requirement. But I'm happy to hear tights can be worn. So my imagined hypothetical gymnastics career could have continued once the hairiness truly took hold!

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

I don't understand you, jiggly. You seem to be saying you'll only listen to people who do gymnastics, as if that's a valid response to people disagreeing with you - a way of shutting them up.

So why did you assume everyone who disagrees with you hasn't got your specialist knowledge? Do you have any evidence for that?