Telegraph, English footballer women - white kit & period concerns

[MidCenturyClegs]

web.archive.org/web/20220707180406/www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/07/07/england-women-discuss-ditching-white-shorts-due-period-concerns/

(twitter.com/WomensSport/status/1545098364940861441?s=20&t=QbeXNzycNzxhlMLymK0MXg)

Quite pleased to see that there is no mention of menstruators, just the words "woman/women", mentioned 13 times.

It is great that women are talking about wearing whites for sports and the impact that has on anxiety over leaking whilst menstruating. Not just football and tennis, both sports referenced in this article, but cricket too. It must be especially difficult for young girls who wear pads and - don't/can't/don't know how to - use tampons (my niece is 16 and still perplexed at how to use tampons comfortably, also, some women just don't?). I do know that sometimes the older girls in her cricket team feign injuries whilst having a heavy period.

Agreed. It's long overdue that this is addressed. The Times covered this the other day in relation to Wimbledon:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/f870ec0a-f3cc-11ec-beb3-8cbcdd742a95?shareToken=4ed832e36716dddc2d66708058ef268a

Thanks for sharing that article, I hadn't seen it.
I wonder about swimming too, for young girls who don't use tampons. ModiBodi do period swimming wear, but I am wondering how effective these are?

The England kit has typically been navy shorts so not really an issue.

It's only been in the past two years that football authorities have decided that teams wear only one colour due to colour-blindness.

There’s a chat on MN now with a former England footballer, you could ask her.

I remember dancing at a very important event as a young teenager in a white leotard. When changing after the performance, I realised I had started my period and leaked slightly. On to a white leotard. I can still feel the shame today roughly 40 years later. I can't understand why women are forced to wear white for these sports. It's unfair.

Where are the rules that say they have to wear white shorts to play football?

Agree about tennis.

I do a sport with (fortunately very thick) white uniform.

From bitter experience, period knickers and pads struggle much more when you're sweaty as well as bleeding.

Exertion makes tampons and mooncups leak more when leaping around at interesting angles, even if you don't have cramps.

Usefully cold water and salt near enough removes stains from the inside of said white uniform. Don't tend to soak through to the outside because they're so think but competing (or training) at the wrong time means tampon (or mooncup) plus pad, plus period knickers and a pair of shorts or leggings under white uniform. At least layers are possible (if HOT).

It's a real nightmare with longer lasting sports, can't imagine with dealing with it for tennis where you could be on for hours with no ad hoc toilet breaks although I guess you could have an off court MTO in extremis.

You have to wear the team kit and if that's white you have to wear it. I also find white football kit pretty see-though so you have to think about what underwear you're wearing.

I had the same issue with martial arts kit when I was young. A friend had to lend me trousers at a competition once. 🙈🙈

I remember talking to an acquaintance a couple of years go. Her daughter was a swimmer. I asked her (in the context of a conversation we were having at the time) what would would happen if her dd (then 10) started her period right before a competition. The mum said she would put a tampon in her daughter as that is what the coaches expected and then get on and compete.
I was gobsmacked.

shouldn't be any kind of issue. there's no particular tradition for the men's team to wear white shorts, it's an on and off thing, e.g. see www.historicalkits.co.uk/international/england/england-2010-2019.html.

the women should never have to wear a kit with white shorts and this should never be something that isn't talked about (reasonably) openly.

sorry, my link didn't work, maybe because of the full stop I added?

Wimbledon tennis is a bit more complicated because every player has their own sponsor/kit manufacturer... if you ask every manufacturer to come up with an all pure white kit they'll all end up looking pretty similar, whereas if you say that, for example, the Wimbledon signature purple/green is ok too, you'd get different manufacturers producing very different shades of colour and you would lose that kind of 'uniform' impression that exists currently.

www.historicalkits.co.uk/international/england/england-2010-2019.html

It's kind of incredible that this wasn't taken into consideration when the kits were designed! Glad the players are speaking up. Mooncup has been talking about this recently as well:
www.mooncup.co.uk/blog/olympian-lauren-smith-on-breaking-the-taboo-around-periods-and-sport/

See also white johdpurs for dressage.

The BBC had an article on this recently, as Wimbledon has a requirement for whites.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/61785521

Same except it was white trousers for the 'sailors hornpipe.' And the costumes belonged to the school so we had to hand them back at the end of the show. I was mortified. My teacher was lovely about it.

It's really good ths is being talked about. I would never wear anything white whilst expecting or having a period. The idea of wearing white shorts for sport is awful.

"You have to wear the team kit and if that's white you have to wear it. I also find white football kit pretty see-though so you have to think about what underwear you're wearing."

@Truthlikeness yes, I understand that, but there is a suggestion from @BootsAndRoots that at times players HAVE TO wear all light colours top and bottom, as opposed to a light top and dark shorts v the opposition in dark top and dark shorts. I know that they have home/away and third kits to ensure contrast.

Why can't they always just insist on the dark shorts? Is this a club level decision?