Why do women athletes compete in clothing so skimpy it could be underwear?

[FortiesCromarty]

This occurred to me whilst watching some of the athletics on TV, the women are in small pants and crop tops, yet the men wear vests and shorts, their bodies totally covered.
It can't be a question of that's what clothing gives the fastest time, else the men would be running about in their skimpies.
My DH says he thinks it's fashion, the women have chosen to wear these clothes as they are proud of their bodies and want to fit in with the other female athletes. Yet I do not agree and feel profoundly uncomfortable at the sight of adult women competing in an international event as if they'd forgotten their PE kit and their coaches had made them do the race in their bra and knickers.
What do you feel about it?

Eh? Where's the PA, SGM?

If I had abs like those girls, I'd be showing them off.

These days, I'm built more like the shot putters.

Yes scouserabroad ancient Greek did compete naked, and there's a lot of paintings (murals/pottery type stuff) from that time to illustrate. Probably not a good idea when doing high jump though. Just thinking... Dangly bits knocking the bar off....

Huh?

Just started reading it and realised I contributed a lot the first time around! People usually flag zombie threads on here.

And in fact my views are a bit different to 2 years ago. Interesting to read it back.

I am a bit troubled by the women wearing skimpier clothes than the men.

However, in one race I watched recently, while they mostly had 'knickers' on one or two women were wearing shorts ? still quite short, but loose, like boys' sports shorts.

That made me feel a bit better because presumably it means the tiny knickers aren't a required uniform but are something that most of the women choose to wear.

I always wonder though; presumably they all wax/laser their pubic hair? Surely otherwise they wouldn't be able to relax thinking of those close-ups when they hurdle/go over the high jump etc.

The only thing that I find weird is the current trend for long socks. That doesn't seem to fit the "less is more" approach outlined above. And in conjunction with running knickers it does look like fetish gear.

Are there any performance advantages to long socks? If so, why don't both sexes wear them in similar proportions? (I've only noticed one or two men doing so).

I like the tiny-shorts-long-socks look! It makes me think of Pippi Longstocking.

Edith, the long socks are compression items, which give a tight hold on the calf muscles and are most useful to runners who suffer from a tendency to stiff or strained calves. Compression is supposed to enhance lessen vibration through the muscle and therefore reduce fatigue. The now-banned compression swimsuits that were used in the last Olympics worked on a similar principle.

As to why not everyone uses them - it's down to preference, comfort, and your personal tendency to suffer from calf problems. They do look like schoolkids socks though!

It doesn't make me "profoundly uncomfortable" but I do think it is one more small example of the way society perceives men and women. And it's a pity.

I wondered if it might be something to do with that (like the sleeves).

But unlike the sleeves - which I have seen on roughly equal numbers male/female - the socks appear to be a overwhelmingly female item, which I wouldn't have expected if they were being chosen for performance reasons.

Interesting. Thanks, namechange.

"But unlike the sleeves - which I have seen on roughly equal numbers male/female - the socks appear to be a overwhelmingly female item, which I wouldn't have expected if they were being chosen for performance reasons."

Well... if I was going to dress up like a nonce to help me become a superior runner, there'd better be a large amount of scientific evidence suggesting that nonce-socks work.

There isn't.

The only supportive evidence for 'nonce socks' and compression gear in general is that they promote faster recovery after a race/exercise. The ability to improve actual performance is not proved conclusively. Of course, some athletes might be paid handsome sums to wear them.....

"Professional athletes?There is no consistent evidence that compression garments improve sporting performance. Muscle soreness seems to be reduced if garments are worn for 24 hours after exercise, but objective measures of recovery are less consistent, and compression garments seem to work no better than other recovery strategies such as low grade exercise or contrast bathing. Potential adverse effects of these garments may include increased skin temperature, decreased thermoregulation, and reduced range of motion."

"Mythbusting sports and exercise products", British Medical Journal, 2012.

The girls just need to Man-Up(TM) and jump in that ice bath.

'...a study presented at the 2007 American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting in New Orleans suggested there were no statistically significant differences in maximal oxygen consumption, heart rate or minute ventilation between treadmill runners who wore compression socks and those who did not. According to the study, conducted at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, subjects did, however, show a faster lactate recovery rate after exercise when wearing the compression socks, suggesting that compression socks might speed recovery after a strenuous workout or a race.'

I use compression tops in the gym and at boxing training. I have found that I feel better quicker afterwards, perhaps because a lot of the movement is high-impact. Of course it could just all be in my head - I expect to feel better, so I do. There is no doubt that they make me look more awesome though

I think I saw one of the olympic female boxers wearing a compression top. She was actually quite good so I doubt she needed it in a competitive sense. I'd be very wary about routinely training with one though; as a consequence of increased intra-abdominal pressure it may condition your body to be able to do things it otherwise wouldn't (minus the top).

But the Olympics are a bit like F1 racing; anything that genuinely improves performance eventually gets banned! Let's wait and see.

This annoys me too. All the male gymnasts seem to be wearing long pants or shorts, while the women are in leotards. There are girls of 16 competing who must be having to remove their pubic hair or it would be showing out of the sides of their costumes. I understand that it's a small price to pay for competing in the Olympics, but it's a shame that they're having to put their teenage bodies on display and modify them to fit the costumes.

Has anyone asked the female gymnasts what they think?

I'd love to hear from some female athletes about their clothes and how much say they have in what they wear.

Any journalists on here who could pitch and put together an article?

Female sportspeople talking recently about apparrel

boxing

badminton

I can't find anything about female gymnasts at the moment though.

When the 100m sportsmen lined up for the 100m final in their very form fitting clothing, you could spot the drugs cheat