Girls trampolining and leotard glue AIBU to be shocked

[rookiemere]

So my friends 10 yr old DD has taken up trampolining. she's showing great promise and is competing already. However I was totally shocked when she told me that they aren't allowed to wear pants and therefore have to use leotard glue to keep it in place. They are also not allowed to wear bras. Boys who do the same routines wear tracksuit bottoms.

AIBU to think this is a sexist outmoded practice and actually a bit creepy?

[LakieLady]

I have to ask: what happens to any stray pubes that got glued when you remove the glued-on leotard?

[rookiemere]

Hi OP here. It's not my DD it's my friends DD. It's interesting to know that it seems to be down to personal club preferences and that there are some garments that might get round the issue so I will let my friend know about them.

I just feel so angry that at her competitions, rather than just concentrating on being the best athlete she can be, she's also got the mild worry of thinking about her costume potentially shifting when she is mid routine.

Thinking about it, this must be particularly worrying for girls when they hit visible puberty - not only have they all these body changes to think about but there is the additional worry of pubic hair showing or periods starting unexpectedly.

[Trifleorbust]

Goldfishjane:

Yes and no. Don't male gymnasts compete in tiny little vests? They are displaying the parts of their bodies that tend to do more of the work, as I understand it.

If the boys aren't in Lycra then I agree it is sexist. There may still be a sporting rationale if you ignore the assymetry.

[rookiemere]

Trifle - I asked my friend and for the trampoline, the routines for the boys and the girls are apparently the same, so that shouldn't cause any difference in costume requirements.

[Trifleorbust]

rookiemere:

But as they progress in the sport the routines won't be the same. To compete they will all need to wear appropriate kit, and the question is whether there is a reason, in terms of judging, why the girls wear leotards and the boys trousers and vests?

But anyway, if the girls are forced to wear a competition standard of kit and the boys aren't, that is clearly unfair.

[Trifleorbust]

Actually, for some reason I was thinking of gymnastics. No, there doesn't seem to be an obvious reason why the costumes should be different. Is that the national standard, though?

[rookiemere]

Some posters seem to suggest that this is a club imposed thing rather than a national standard, so I'm not entirely sure Trifle.
But it still appears to be a very mainstream practice even if it's not expected.

[finagler]

More threads about sporty young girls and pants or the lack of them

[primaryboodle]

I trampolined to county competing standard as a kid. At 12 i stopped competing because i was too self concious to wear just a leotard (lycra swimming costume style) without a bra and pants as i had hit puberty. Boys could wear long leggings over theres - i think its horrendous!

I was gutted as i loved it and i was good but there you go, sexism for you!

[rookiemere]

Finagler - I can assure you I have no ulterior motives for starting this thread, other than trying to understand if there was some good reason for this practice. If the topic is too gratuitous to even discuss, then perhaps that's another good reason for stopping it.

As per primaryboodles post it puts girls off competing and effectively disqualifies certain groups with religious clothing requirements.

This can't be right surely.

[springflowers11]

The gymnastics disciplines - mens artistc, womens aristic, acro, rhythmic, team gym, trampolining, DMT aerobic are completely different disciplines and cannot really be compared.

[springflowers11]

If leotards ride up bum cracks, kids are more tempted to pull at them and that is a deduction.
Obvioulsy male gymnasts anatomy is such that they need to cover up their privates.

[Boffered1]

It sounds like the problem may lie with the club insisting on a leotard. The British Gymnastic code allows a leotard, a unitard or a leotard plus tights for women/girls competing on trampoline.

[rookiemere]

Ok thanks for checking that Boffered1 - I'll let my friend know as that does seem a lot more sensible to have those options.

[lyricaldancer]

Ok thanks for checking that Boffered1 - I'll let my friend know as that does seem a lot more sensible to have those options.

Several of us have already told you this and early on, OP, if you read the thread.

[rookiemere]

Sorry lyrical I didn't deliberately overlook anyone's contributions.

[MCamp10]

Oh for goodness sake. Do we have to see "creepiness" in everything? I trained as a dancer and subsequently taught for many years. A leotard is a close fitting garment that follows the line of the body and wearing anything underneath it is distracting, uncomfortable and frankly, just not necessary. Nothing worse than knicker legs showing below the legs of leotards. Presumably nobody would think of wearing a bra or pants underneath a swimsuit? A leotard is the same sort of garment - designed for its purpose.

[TheRugbyValkyrie]

QueenOlive
Male gymnasts wear a male leaotard and shorts or full a type of full length trouser.
They wear shorts for the floor event because they show full leg muscle definition.
For disciplines such as rings and pommel the trouser with stirrup under the foot show that the legs are perfectly straight and extended as required for the discipline.
Boys gym has waaaaay less stress than the girls version.

[TheRugbyValkyrie]

For those that asked about periods, pretty much all female athletes will be on whichever pill it is that can stop bleeding, I forget the name, dd uses them. They manage their cycles to the nth degree!

[VestalVirgin]

A leotard is a close fitting garment that follows the line of the body and wearing anything underneath it is distracting, uncomfortable and frankly, just not necessary.

Why do males wear more, then?
And if it is so uncomfortable, why not let the people actually wearing that stuff decide what they are comfortable with, hmmm?

Obvioulsy male gymnasts anatomy is such that they need to cover up their privates.

Why?

[VestalVirgin]

For those that asked about periods, pretty much all female athletes will be on whichever pill it is that can stop bleeding, I forget the name, dd uses them. They manage their cycles to the nth degree!

So they have to take hormones and disrupt their natural cycles so that men can gawk at them?

(And to those who will now wail about it not being about that, you will never in a thousand years convince me that it is women who insist on costumes that show this much skin and apparently make it impossible to perform while wearing pads or even tampons.)

[Cubtrouble]

I shall deal with this issue for you all by joining the local trampolining club. I shall follow the rules by wearing neither pants nor bra and bounce away to my hearts content.

The rules will be changed within the week.
I believe they cannot discriminate against people with massive jugs and big fat asses or you know there would be a March about it.

[Roversandrhodes]

I packed in gymnastics when I was about 9 just as I was beginning to develop but I've never heard of that before .I did however to ballet until I was 12 when I packed in as I literally couldn't not wear a bra and we weren't aloud .Never heard anything about the knickers but like I say that was ballet.Its a bit discriminatory apart from anything else isn't it .I could dance but I've always had big boobs and I got made fun of and felt self conscious in no bra .I was a 30d btw at age 12

[Crowdblundering]

Flipping heck - I was a E cup by age 15 (size 10) how would I have ever found a leotard?!

[cherish123]

Not allowed to wear pants???

If you want your child to wear pants, it is up to you.

With regards to bras, some girls, even some 10 or 11 year olds, will find this uncomfortable.