Olympic gymnastics humiliates and infantilises grown adult women

[Thebellofstclements]

The ridiculous leotards, the twee hairstyles. Having to do the ridiculous flicky "dance" moves (artistic expression, ha!) and grinning inanely (insanely) in between moves and when presenting...
Arguably the best athletes in the world but these grown adult women have to present themselves in a ridiculous, almost grotesquely infantile manner, looking fairy cheap and tacky.
The men do not.
My family argues that the gymnasts choose to do this.
We know that historically female gymnasts have been abused with no voice, so I'm not convinced this is all what they would necessarily choose given the option. AIBU?

You realise you've just slagged off the entire dance world, right? Of course you can judge the "ridiculous dancing shit". Perhaps you personally don't have the skill or knowledge but others do. It's not easily done.

Yes, I thought the comment about bunches was quite odd.

Why are dresses stupid?! Anything feminine or pleasant looking has to be bad on this site

I'm sure many girls will quit gymnastics before they reach their teens for many reasons. The level of discipline and commitment to the training and eating regimes and the lack of a life outside of school and gynmastics, plus the sheer difficulty of it, meaning that the competition and pressure gets tougher and tougher as they get older is probably a much bigger factor in many girls quitting than the costumes, the hairstyles or starting periods I imagine.

They are pointless. They have to wear shorts as well or their arses hang out. If there is no functional aspect to sportswear, why is it there?

Have you done much gymnastics?

I haven't, but I can imagine that the moves are easier to do without clothes impeding there athlete. They need to be able to move freely. Someone upthread said the unitard makes it harder to grip their legs in tumbles which makes complete sense.

I wear a swimsuit for one week a year on holiday and would happily never do that - but these women are training day in day out and won't have the same negative associations I do with form fitting clothes. They wear what's comfortable and appropriate for their sport, just like the swimmers and the sprinters.

@CelesteCunningham

Very true didn't not mean to "offend" the whole dancing world who will all be probably holding there hands up in horror at some random mumnset poster thinking the dance part of tumbling is all a bit shit!

As it happens I love the ballet and have a child who is a dancer on a cruise ship. But you know? I still think the "dancing" prancing on tumbling is all a bit shit!! Makes me cringe to honest, amazing athletes prancing about.

But I just love love love the fucking tumbles, incredible abilities!!

Ah yes of course it's impossible to score dancing accurately and uniformly!! You never seen Strictly? ;)

@CelesteCunningham "I haven't, but I can imagine that the moves are easier to do without clothes impeding"

Men seem to manage....

And anyway- a leotard can be cut so pubic hair removal is not necessary....

I'm with you, OP. It's an outmoded display of sexual stereotyping.

Think of all the vitriol the chunkier-built gymnasts have to put up with. The expectation is that they are all little ladies — make-up, tidy hair and wrist-flicking and sticking their chins in the air like drag queens. Dreadful. But at least some of them, I'm pleased to see, have practical short hair. So few short-haired women around these days. When I grew up in the 70s we all had short hair.

Yes, we see female marathon runners in tiny crop tops and shorts that are little more than knickers but no-one seems to complain or find that misogynistic. I think we can assume that the athletes themselves know what works best and is most practical and comfortable.

Why is Simone Biles criticised for her sportswear but not Rashidat Adeleke?

Form fitting clothes are popular in lots of sports.

Well done to her!

I don't think gymnasts, who have a fantastic skillset, should be judged on dance.

If you don't enjoy the artistry side of women's gymnastics then stick to watching the men, or tumbling or trampolining. Many of us appreciate the blending of skills that the women show.

I find your wording grossly misogynistic, just in case that wasn't clear.

I do think there is some relevance to the bunches issue. There was a time when some countries had a vested interest in making woman gymnasts look younger than they were to distract from the fact that their bodies were controlled by artificial hormones.

Dance is part of that skillset, it's part of what makes them so impressive.

@TwigletsAndRadishes there are similar issues in athletics. Jessica Ennis Hill has recently stated how she didn't enjoy competing in such small kit and Holly Bradshaw had a massive battle at a previous Olympics as she didn't feel comfortable in the uniform offered (ended up in Rowing kit for pole vault).

Because they are an anachronism in this situation. Love a frock but don't want to be running around a court or pitch in a silly little pleated skirt. Shorts or a skort are fine.

it's absolutely true that some gymnasts are a lot more adept at the dancing parts than others, some simply look like they are marking it out, others perform stunning routines where the dance is just as engaging as the tumbling. And I love that it allows the sport to reward a variety of skill sets, not just the badass tumblers (the sport is artistic gymnasts not tumbling). Some gymnasts being more able at that requirement than others does not mean it shouldn't be there. A full turn on beam is required, some gymnasts really struggle with this and the result is a bit unsightly, Sanne Wevers excels, it does't mean it should be axed.

But bones would be fused by then and it would be too late to train the body.

Like if you couldn't start ballet until 16. En pointe would no longer exist.

Anyway I'm baffled by OP. I look at someone like Simone Biles and I see a lion, an almost superhuman paragon of skill and strength. It gives me faith in humanity that the species can actually produce rare human beings capable of almost godlike feats.

I know that sounds silly but it's genuinely how I feel. what she can do makes my spine tingle. It makes me want to jump up and move my own body, to clap, to laugh. It's an ecstatic experience to watch such brilliance.

'cheap' and 'tacky' are not words that belong in the same universe as Simone Biles.

This isn't true at all. Multiple female track and field athletes have already been mentioned in this thread as having complained about the requirement for wearing such skimpy outfits.

There was a massive furore over the team USA women's track and field uniform for the Paris Olympics.

www.nbcnews.com/sports/olympics/skimpy-olympic-track-uniform-nike-criticized-women-athletes-rcna148015

Olympic male swimmers remove their body hair for added speed.

Misandrist? Or just steamlining the body for peak performance?

Well for a start Rhasidat Adeleke isn't doing the splits or moves that require her to stand on her hands with her legs spread exposing her crotch and hold the position while the camera lingers on her undercarriage...

I agree with the OP: the tumbling is amazing and ruined by the silly dance bits. They don't make the men do them so why are the women expected to include them?

It would've been a good point about the 70s, 80s and earlier 90s. It's just quite obviously not what the gymnasts are going for now, and hasn't been for some time. The sport is getting older, which is a good thing.

The 'arm waving and flapping' is to allow them to rest briefly and reassert their orientation!!