The Guardian reports that Nike’s Team USA track and field outfits for women at the Olympic Games are overly revealing and prioritize skimpiness over function. The outfits displayed Thursday on a mannequin show a high-cut pantyline. While outfits for women athletes engaged in gymnastics, beach volleyball, track, and other sports have been decried for being relatively skimpy for a long time, this latest version is yet more extreme.
Lauren Fleshman, the US national champion in the 5000m in 2006 and 2010, shared even harsher criticism in an Instagram post, writing, “I’m sorry, but show me one WNBA or NWSL team who would enthusiastically support this kit. This is for Olympic Track and Field. Professional athletes should be able to compete without dedicating brain space to constant pube vigilance or the mental gymnastics of having every vulnerable piece of your body on display. Women’s kits should be in service to performance, mentally and physically. If this outfit was truly beneficial to physical performance, men would wear it.”
She added: “This is not an elite athletic kit for track and field. This is a costume born of patriarchal forces that are no longer welcome or needed to get eyes on women’s sports. ... Stop making it harder for half the population @nike @teamusa @usatf.” [...]
Tara Davis-Woodhall, an American who placed sixth in the long jump at the Tokyo Games and took silver at last year’s world championships, reacted with equal parts humor and horror, commenting: “wait my hoo haa is gonna be out”.
The Guardian noted that some of the debate over women’s outfits has generated more than angry responses. Germany’s women’s gymnastics team wore full-length bodysuits at the Tokyo Olympics to demonstrate their objections to the sport’s sexualization. And last week New Zealand updated its gymnastic attire rules to let women and girls wear shorts or leggings over their leotards.