Olympic Uniforms for female athletes

[Mortith]

I just noticed. Why do most of the women wear skimpy uniforms and the men wear far more?

Overall question: Is that a rule that says they have to wear those clothes or is it a habit, tradition or something?

[Telonius]

Depends on the sport. The women tend to wear more clothes than the men in swimming, for example. :smallwink:

[Semidi]

Men's beach volleyball:

http://i1.sinaimg.cn/2008/en/news/2008-08-20/U3029P461T74D7725F1661DT20080820142434.jpg

Women's beach volleyball

http://i0.sinaimg.cn/2008/en/photo/2008-08-10/U3029P461T74D6525F1661DT20080810180044.jpg

For some reason, I find women's beach volleyball much more entertaining than men's.

[Closet_Skeleton]

For some reason, I find women's beach volleyball much more entertaining than men's.

...because the men don't treat it seriously enough? :smallwink:

[Mortith]

yea I can see them wearing wetsuits in swimming, but for track & field events and volleyball and stuff, they are wearing barely anything compared to the men.

[RTGoodman]

It's not like the Olympic uniforms are some new innovation - they just wear what people normally wear when they participate in the sport. How many times have you seen people play Beach Volleyball NOT in those types of clothes?


Why do most of the women wear skimpy uniforms and the men wear far more?

It might not be "skimpy," but the men's freestyle wrestling uniforms are FAR more revealing that anything I've seen the women wearing. :smalleek:


For some reason, I find women's beach volleyball much more entertaining than men's.

Yeah, funny that. :smallwink: Actually, I also think it's more entertaining because I haven't seen a men's game that was anywhere near as exciting as the China-China semi-finals game or the US-China finals game last night.

(GO USA!)

[Mortith]

Yea but is what they wear up to the athletes? or is it just a uniform handed to them?

[Rare Pink Leech]

yea I can see them wearing wetsuits in swimming, but for track & field events and volleyball and stuff, they are wearing barely anything compared to the men.

I don't think the women are forced to wear less than the men due to any official requirement - I think they just wear less because that's the cultural norm. Obviously all athletes wear as little as possible to keep cool and their movement unrestricted, but in the west it's acceptable (and even expected) for women to reveal more skin than men.

I've seen a variety of uniforms on women for track & field athletics. Most wear a tank top and either briefs or shorts, all skin-tight, but I saw one woman run in a white t-shirt, and another from a middle Eastern country wear a full body suit leaving only her face exposed.

[RTGoodman]

Yea but is what they wear up to the athletes? or is it just a uniform handed to them?

I think they probably get to pick. I mean, the countries or Olympic people or whatever probably special make them so you've got your nation's flag on them, but I would think that you pick your exact style. I definitely remember reading about the woman Rare Pink Leech mentioned (the one from the Middle East who only had her face exposed) - I think there was a bit about her in Time or Newsweek in their Olympic preview issue (the one that listed "100 Olympians to Watch" or something like that).

[TRM]

Men's beach volleyball:

http://i1.sinaimg.cn/2008/en/news/2008-08-20/U3029P461T74D7725F1661DT20080820142434.jpg

Women's beach volleyball

http://i0.sinaimg.cn/2008/en/photo/2008-08-10/U3029P461T74D6525F1661DT20080810180044.jpg

For some reason, I find women's beach volleyball much more entertaining than men's.

Counterpoint:
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/20/images/guo1.jpg
Women's diving.

http://images.beijing2008.cn/20080224/Img214255634.jpg
Men's diving.

The individual athletes have a lot of control over the entire design of their own uniform; I was reading a piece about Nike and how it works with the athletes as they design what they'll wear.

Here's a question: In the team sports, where everyone wears the same uniform, do the clothing levels tend even more towards nothing for women than for men; how much say do the competitors get when someone else is designing the entire team's uniform?

[Joran]

For women's beach volleyball, I've heard two different explanations from two different players:

1) We need to sell our sport and this is a way to do it.
2) We get more freedom of movement and less clothes means less sand everywhere.

I wonder if it rains like it it did yesterday, whether or not the men will wear no shirts. ;)

P.S. I'm in favor of equal opportunity cheesecake and beefcake. It'll get my wife to watch some of these sports =P

[Theodoriph]

For beach volleyball, the women prefer to wear less. They don't want to get sand stuck under their clothes next to their sweating bodies. So they wear tight halters.

I don't think the men (and women, obviously) are allowed to go topless (if so, I'm sure most men would be...I think most men train topless) because going topless looks "unprofessional" in the eyes of the governing body and they want somewhere (visible...and appropriate) to put the athlete's name and country flag. That's the explanation I heard one of the commentators give anyway.



Funny story though. Some members are arguing that female ping pong players should be forced to wear short skirts (like tennis players) to increase interest in their sport (instead of the baggy shirts they're allowed to wear now).

[snoopy13a]

The skimpiest uniforms are male divers.

Male swimmers used to be the same about 15-20 years ago but the new suits are designed to cut down on water resistance and constrict the muscles so they perform better.

[Don Julio Anejo]

If you go to any kind of non-professional run (like an AIDS marathon, the Sun Run, etc), there will be two groups of women. Those wearing sexy, skin tight Nike or Lululemon shorts and tops and those wearing baggy pants and baggy white t-shirts.

There's also a correlation - attractive women tend to wear skimpier, sexier outfits and the other way around.

[SurlySeraph]

Fanservice is an inescapable rule of everything televised.

[Shades of Gray]

Gymnastics is weird.

The uniforms have sleeves but no legs.

[Surrealistik]

Social norms, not to imply that 'skimpy' uniforms are compulsory (they certainly are not) and individual preference of the athlete. Enough said.

[konfeta]

You see, this kind of crap is the real reason why Olympics are a joke.

We need to bring back the ancient Greek standard of uniforms and apply the modern ideas of gender equality to it.

:smallbiggrin: :smallwink: :smallcool:

[Don Julio Anejo]

You see, this kind of crap is the real reason why Olympics are a joke.

We need to bring back the ancient Greek standard of uniforms and apply the modern ideas of gender equality to it.

:smallbiggrin: :smallwink: :smallcool:
+1!!!1111!!1on1e!

This is just too funny :biggrin:

[Jayngfet]

You see, this kind of crap is the real reason why Olympics are a joke.

We need to bring back the ancient Greek standard of uniforms and apply the modern ideas of gender equality to it.

:smallbiggrin: :smallwink: :smallcool:

Which makes the olympics commercial where the guy accidentally flashes the crowd more stupid.

[LordVader]

You see, this kind of crap is the real reason why Olympics are a joke.

We need to bring back the ancient Greek standard of uniforms and apply the modern ideas of gender equality to it.

:smallbiggrin: :smallwink: :smallcool:

Seems reasonable enough. :smallbiggrin:

On the subject of Olympic commercials, an American one of the Ancient Greece games where a discus hurler destroys the Parthenon was, I thought, hilarious.

[Construct]

Gymnastics is weird.

The uniforms have sleeves but no legs.

The effect is to make the legs look longer and the body better-proportioned. This in turn makes the moves look better to the judges, eliciting a slightly higher score. The illusion is especially important given that top women gymnasts are compact (easier flips) pubescents (more flexible). The guys, however, need a fashion makeover; stirrup pants, yeeesh!

As for womens' uniforms generally being skimpier than mens', well, there are blatant ratings-grabs (beach volleyball) and antiquated nonsense (some major tennis tournaments ban sleeveless tops for men) but mostly it comes down to acceptable minimum coverage and fashion: Below the waist, it is acceptable for women to wear briefs but outside of watersports men must wear at least shorts. Above the waist, women must cover (part of) their breasts whilst - outside of casual situations - men must wear *something* and since crop tops aren't accepted as mens' fashion (the occasional triathlete notwithstanding, and the swim leg is a mitigating factor) this amounts to covering the entire torso.

Now, if someone could just explain to me why those yummy male rowers feel the need to wear a t-shirt under their lycra unitard...

[Manga Shoggoth]

You see, this kind of crap is the real reason why Olympics are a joke.

We need to bring back the ancient Greek standard of uniforms and apply the modern ideas of gender equality to it.

:smallbiggrin: :smallwink: :smallcool:

Blast! Beaten to the comment!

Mind you, this is spookily similar to a discussion on the other message board I frequent: Super hero costumes and the Olympics (http://mangacool.com/php/show.php?msg=parodyverse-2008081701175276)

[SAMAS]

yea I can see them wearing wetsuits in swimming, but for track & field events and volleyball and stuff, they are wearing barely anything compared to the men.

For Track though, I can understand. A loose outfit adds wind resistance, which can add some for them critical tenths or hundredths of a second. I wouldn't be surprised if the men wear something just as tight.

But personally, I tend to be leery of trying to be offended for somebody else.

[Krytha]

For Track though, I can understand. A loose outfit adds wind resistance, which can add some for them critical tenths or hundredths of a second. I wouldn't be surprised if the men wear something just as tight.

But personally, I tend to be leery of trying to be offended for somebody else.

Well, I'm sure everyone can also understand this. Playing beach volleyball at a high level in long sleeved clothing gets very tedious extremely quickly. It gets hot. It restricts movement for many people. You have sand everywhere and the more clothing there is, the more it clings and weighs you down. I'm the only person on my entire beach who plays with track pants on - and everyone asks me why I wear them. I get sand in my pockets. Sand gets in the linings of the pants and can weigh about a half pound on either side. I don't like shorts, but I know why people wear them when they play. Women have an even lighter option, so it makes sense for them to choose it. If Dalhauser and Rogers were allowed, I'm sure they would also play topless.

[Mortith]

Mind you, this is spookily similar to a discussion on the other message board I frequent: Super hero costumes and the Olympics (http://mangacool.com/php/show.php?msg=parodyverse-2008081701175276)

The question just came to me out of the blue.



For beach volleyball, the women prefer to wear less. They don't want to get sand stuck under their clothes next to their sweating bodies. So they wear tight halters.

I don't think the men (and women, obviously) are allowed to go topless (if so, I'm sure most men would be...I think most men train topless) because going topless looks "unprofessional" in the eyes of the governing body and they want somewhere (visible...and appropriate) to put the athlete's name and country flag. That's the explanation I heard one of the commentators give anyway.

Thanks Theodoriph! :smallsmile:

It makes more sense when you think about having more free movement by wearing less.