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?

Perhaps the men could wear mankinis!

Here we are in 2024, dictating how we think athletes, most of whom are in their 20s and some in their 30s, should or shouldn’t present themselves.

Have a day off.

This just gave me a flashback to having to dance around twirling ribbons at senior school in a leotard WITH A FACE LIKE THUNDER. I wasn’t asked to perform again 😂 I agree with you OP it demeans the physicality of their performance with a bit of beauty pageantry that isn’t expected of the men. Fine if some girls & women like doing that but why is it part of judging the performance?

Why can't they be free to compete on the basosog their technical prowess and not have to wear glitter or makeup. Like the men. The men don't have to do the frins or flourishes, and don't have to risk flashing their bits every time they compete.

And do you know with any certainty how much choice they do have?

I’m not sure where you’re looking but when I’m watching I’m watching their athletic achievements, not to see who has the most sparkles.

What is infantilising is putting judgements about appearance onto older teenagers and grown women.

There might be something in what you say, OP, in the sense that the women do a floor exercise which is influenced by dance, and do fancy moves on the beam too, which I suppose are more dance-like than anything expected of the men where strength and endurance seem to be the criteria.

Ironically, I've always thought the beam exercise is one of the most scary, potentially dangerous and extreme Olympic categories. I used to be just about able to walk along the 10 cm wide beam when it was on the ground. I can't take my eyes off the athletes as they do phenomenal things on that beam, though. I find it utterly mind-boggling, what those women do.

I would have understood if you raised issues about their health, which are numerous, such as they train like horses but under-eat, they damage their joints, ligaments, etc., they end up with severe lordosis, etc. But this? They don't do twee gestures in real life, they don't perform ridiculous dances in real life. Do you have issues with classical ballet too, men and women in tights, making ridiculous gestures and pretending to be little swans?

Male gymnast floor routine - no music, no dancing, just an exhibition of their gymnastic skill

female gymnastic routine - incredible gymnastic skill which needs to be accompanied by music and dance because back in the 1928 when female gymnasts were admitted they were meant to highlight Grace & flexibility

basically music was there because back then women were not meant or expected to show case tumbling or strength

wny it’s still there is another matter

When did the sparkles and glitter become a thing?

I caught Semone Biles on the highlights and thought the outfits were more glittery than ever. But in the 80s and 90s the leotards were very plain.

Valid point I am sure about probably lack of choice, or pressure to look at certain way.

Apart from Jade Carey's bow, I didn't see anyone with twee hair. It's mostly just buns to keep it out the way. Agree with pp about gymnasts having input into leotards. Team USA for example traditionally love sparkle and asked for a black leotard to be in their kit this time.

If women don't want to do the dance elements (of which there are none in 50% of the women's events anyway - vault and bars), they can do tumbling which is a discipline in its own right. The leaps and spins are insanely hard. Sanne Wevers won Olympic gold with a beam routine made up almost entirely of spins; their difficulty is as great as the tumbling in the Code of Points and unachievable for many.

Would you say the same about ballet dancers ?

I love to watch the gymnastics

Here’s a picture of Sarah Voss competing today in her second Olympics. Gymnasts aren’t required to wear sparkles or remove body hair or “look like drag queens.” But they should get to do those things if they like because they’re the ones competing. The arrogance it takes to look at an athlete reaching the Olympics in their chosen sport and say “oh little lady, I know you think you’re achieving the dreams you worked so hard for but actually you’re being humiliated and you’re just too helpless to know it” is astounding.

Dance is a core part of women’s gymnastics. Aspiring athletes who dislike it should pick a different sport in the same way someone who doesn’t like diving into pools should pick something besides swimming. If you like the tumbling and acrobatics only, check out tumbling and trampoline.

There are several disciplines in gymnastics. To be an amazing female artistic gymnast then yes you need to be good at dance as well as the actual gymnastic skills.
It is all part of the same sport now. Even from a young age elite female gymnasts receive specialist dance training.

If they don’t enjoy that they tend to switch to a discipline that doesn’t involve it eg tumbling/trampoline. Meanwhile if the boys do want to dance and wear fancy outfits they tend to find themselves in rhythmic or display.

I find the artistry makes the women’s gymnastics way more enjoyable to watch than the men’s. Tell me this gymnast isn’t having fun…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4ic7RNS4Dfo

And as for the hairstyles - I braid and clip my hair when I compete in running events to keep it out my face. Is that not allowed either?

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...

The men also wear tight clothes. Not sure how you expect them to vault in loose clothing. Hence leotards. Hair again, I wouldn't want this in my face while I'm flying through the air.

As for the dance and smiles, dancers are also expected to smile throughout routines

Wait until you see the other type where they prance about with ribbons 😂

People say choosen sport.
Given most gymnasts or in fact most top sports people have been doing their sport since early childhood, is it really them who choose the sport?

They'll be the odd person who changes from one sport to another (lots of divers have gymnastic backgrounds,) but for the majority it's what was available locally that your parents could get them too.

@AGoingConcern Yes, the German decision to have unitards as their uniform is an important one. Here's an extract from an article about it "- Some of Germany's female Olympic gymnasts at the Paris Games opted for full-body suits in training on Thursday, a fashion choice that has had profound repercussions for young competitors and inspired women to wear what makes them feel at ease.
At their podium training session at the Bercy Arena in Paris, two German gymnasts wore black unitards, which are combined leotards and leggings extending to the ankles.

Germany received wide-ranging praise at the Tokyo Olympics and in the run-up for wearing unitards in a move some athletes said was designed to counter the sexualisation of the sport."

Elite gymnasts train for hours per day usually 6 days per week. They love their sport and pour everything into it just like every other athlete at the games. These aren’t kids being dropped off in whatever recreational classes their parents found nearby, though they usually started that way and found they couldn’t get enough.

Acting like gymnasts (or any other Olympic athletes) just stumbled into elite level success without having their own drive, goals and passion is insulting. They’re not there because piano lessons were full up in their local village.

And a bit more from the same article ""I think for the German girls, especially for the younger girls, they feel more comfortable," the 24-year-old said.
"They feel like we've pushed to give more empathy. In different clubs, it's allowed for the younger athletes to wear shorts within the competition. And that's something that was not allowed before."

Actually i think gymnasts are amazing. I was mistakenly looking at the full USWNT list, which does have 16 year olds. It's absolutely not infantilizing to discuss the cultural issues with gymnastics. My point was that the issues with the sport are much deeper than whether they wear glitter gel.

I’m with you. People can say that the gymnasts choose to wear/do this, but maybe they’d really prefer for it to be about their gymnastic capabilities. It didn’t used to be like, but it seems like it’s slowly become the norm. There is a team ‘look’. Glitter, gems in outfits, bows in - it’s all a bit lame and demeaning.

OP are you a Taylor Swift fan? @Thebellofstclements

Yet another thread kicking women because they "don't know what's best for them"

Did you not READ the op?
She's said they are "arguably the best athletes in the world "

The point op is making is the convention that these amazing athletes have to prance around like ponies and be all cutesy, sparkly and girly is pretty sexist.

Men don't have to do this. What's complex?