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?

As an ex competitive gymnast I do see where you’re coming from Op. In the acrobatic element of the sport increasingly girls are wearing leggings and short jump suit leotards too. It’s the skimpy ness of the leotard in 2024 I still find strange.

Apparently what the competitors think doesn't matter.

They have the option of full body leos. The German team wear these.

The artistic elements are a core part of the women's discipline and add immeasurably to it. Many long time fans would like to see more of this, not less. Check out the old USSR teams for a better balance of artistry and acrobatics.

If you just want the tumbling, there are dedicated disciplines for that. They are equally amazing (though not yet in the olympics).

I get what you're saying, but that's art not sport

The expectations/norms for many areas of women’s lives are often very different from men’s and it’s something I find frustrating.

I had a discussion with my dad a while back about the number of women nowadays in the pop music industry who basically strip and perform in clothes that reveal all.

He said it was their choice, and perhaps to an extent it is, but there’s enormous pressure on women to dress that way that doesn’t apply to men, and in areas where that is normalised, it puts pressure on others to conform.

There’s an extent to which it’s all about the male gaze and expectations and I don’t think we can ever stand far back enough to imagine what those women would have chosen to wear, had they grown up in a world where there were only women and no pressure to, essentially, appeal to that male gaze in a competitive way.

I ended up watching a load of Kate Bush videos yesterday. They tried to sell her body in the early days, rather than her talent and skill. She resisted, as did Sinead O’Connor, but they are/were both such unique and wonderful artists (and also so beautiful that it shines through anyway) that they made it anyway.

But I hate that it’s a thing for women. Some choose to exploit it and others resist and I’m glad they do. But whether it is truly and absolutely a free choice and what they’d wear if pandering to that male gaze didn’t give them an advantage is something we can never know.

As many have said athletes can choose to wear unitards if they wish to be more covered. But even before they were permitted and popularised the Code of Points has about 4 separate specifications about the leotard having minimum cover - in the sport of Women's Artistic Gymnastics it is much more likely you will get a penalty for something too revealing rather than the opposite.

Further more the make-up being drag like? Most don't do much fancy make up, or if they do it's a bit of glitter, but this is also arguably in the face of the rules set out in the sport "Face painting is not allowed; any make-up must be modest and not portray a theatrical character (animal or human)". If a gymnast is in full beat then it's because they find makeup fun, not because it is expected.

I agree, OP. The men don't wear sparkly leotards, and I don't see why the women have to do the 'dance' elements in between the tumbles and required elements.

Perhaps some/most/all of the vendors athletes feel better competing with make-up on, knowing they look their best, but different standards are applied to women and men.

I hadn’t seen the German team, this olympics all I’ve seen so far are very skimpy leotards.
it’s like women’s beach volleyball, or the athletics where they wear knickers as well.

Women are always sexualised in sport if they can be, and when they can’t be, (rugby, for example), they too ‘manly’ and not feminine enough.

Can’t anyone just enjoy things anymore? Does every Olympic sport have to be picked apart and debated til every shred of enjoyment is wiped out of it….

Dancing is part of women’s gymnastics just like still rings and pommel horse are part of men’s. They’re two different sports.

But @AGoingConcern, pommel horse and rings are two disciplines. 'Dancing' is not a women's discipline!

I sometimes wonder if MN truly represents a cross section of society, and how people really think, or if it’s just a ‘bubble’ where people come to let off steam and be deliberately controversial for the hell of it. If it’s the former, we’re up shit creek !!

Those are events, not disciplines. They’re part of a male gymnast’s all around score.

Look at the photo of the British team- I can’t see anything infantilising about it at all. Their make-up is subtle, hair in a neat bun and their leotards not childlike. Some individual athletes might go all in on the glitter, lashes and nails but that is likely to be personal choice.

Exactly! They think they are so superior and special - the rest of us just think they are bores. No-one should enjoy anything unless it get the MN feminists seal of approval apparently. What miserable lives they inhabit.

What frills are they required to wear?

Because someone posted a photo upthread of a gymnast competing over the weekend in a long sleeved and long-legged leotard with no make up, glitter, bows or anything

First and foremost they're incredible athletes. Team USA has the most shiny, spangly leotards and why not? What you wear, aside from it being well fitted sports performance wear for the gymnasts, can affect how you feel when competing. Calling dance moves and the artistic elements twee, amongst other things it shows a lack of understanding.

YANBU OP. Women's gymnastics has a very sordid history.

It was certainly the case that pre-90s the "look" of the gymnast was very important and this fed through into the dance elements. Lots of skinny, pretty young girls performing coy and suggestible moves for a panel of older male judges. Black gymnasts were subjected to racist scoring. It was a mess.

The sport looks very different now. Gymnasts like Biles are far more muscly and powerful. They perform the dance parts in quite a perfunctory way with none of the smiles and winks and flicks of the hips that used to be commonplace.

However gymnasts are not free from the legacy of the sport. Both Biles and Chiles from the American teams have spoken about racist comments they've received about their hair and bodies. Only a few years ago Larry Nasser was sexually abusing most of the American team. God knows what happens in China and Russia etc.

I don't agree with the "they chose to do it" crowd. The gymnasts may love the sport but many openly criticise much of what goes on. Also if you've been conditioned into a certain way of being since childhood then it can be hard to see the problems. Look how many young girls were abused by Nasser and never even realised they were experiencing abuse.

There has to come a point where females need to think for themselves, it weird people have a go at big bad men but when it comes to women 'I know better than what she thinks and does'

How patronising that women can't own their decisions and they need other women (and I presume men at times) to tell them they are being females wrong

In my country we are very proud of our women's rugby teams, and I've never heard anyone say they are not feminine enough. You have no idea what you are talking about!

If I was physically able to pull off those incredible moves on a world stage you’re damn right I’d be doing it in sparkles and make up. If OP wants me in sackcloth and ashes they can do one 😂

I thought they looked great - and justifiably thrilled with their results today - but apparently these are frilly drag queens who have been humiliated. Who’s going to tell them?

I presume you feel the same way about female ballroom dancers, ballet dancers, ice skaters etc. Gymnastics is also an art form. It's perfectly acceptable for the competitors to dress in a way which enhances their interpretation of their art & portrays their femininity.

@Edingril "There has to come a point where females need to think for themselves, it weird people have a go at big bad men but when it comes to women 'I know better than what she thinks and does' "

Are you suggesting that the members of national sports teams have a say in whether they wear the team uniform?

I always find it amusing the way they get back to the corner of the mat before the next tumbling sequence. The men normally take a big side step, whereas the women sort of dance to the corner.

It's not like proper dance though. I remember Claudia Fragapane when she was first on Strictly being told off for being 'too gymnastics'. It took her a while to get everything to flow rather than stopping and starting.

🤣