Female beach volleyball players have swapped their tiny bikini-like uniforms for more modest attire at the Paris Olympics—but not everyone’s happy about the change.
Until this year, female Olympic athletes were required to either wear a one piece or a top and briefs, with The International Olympic Committee mandating that the bottoms could not be longer than 7cm on each side.
However, the 2024 Paris Olympics have scrapped the—rather outdated—rule and allowed their female competitors to wear leggings and shorts. While it surely came as a relief to the athletes—who were set to compete in cold and wet weather—some of the sport’s viewers weren’t as pleased and felt the need to share their opinions online.
“I waited 4 years for f***ing PANTS?!!?!??!??! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH”, one X user wrote.
“Every 4 years, I become a women’s beach volleyball enthusiast.
“I also generally support tight yoga pants in public. However, yoga pants, no matter how tight they are, have NO place in women’s beach volleyball. For us traditionalist fans, this is heresy,” another person wrote.
These comments are of course, frustrating to read about female athletes who are not at the Olympics to please male viewers but to excel at their sport.
Thankfully, other X users were similarly horrified by the sexist views shared online.
“Congratulations to the female athletes who fought so hard to be able to wear pants while they play beach volleyball,” one Twitter user hit back.
“And to all the creepers who are disappointed…gross. Go away. They didn’t want you watching anyway.”
“Unpopular opinion: I love the USA women’s beach volleyball long pants uniforms!!! Finally! The thong bikini’s were ridiculous,” another replied.
Many people have also pointed out that male beach volleyball players never been subject to the same miniscule outfits.
In contrast, male beach volleyball players are only required to wear a tank top and shorts, which must be a minimum of 10 cm above the top of the knee cap.
Some have suggested that this difference in uniform may have also contributed to the differences in the way the cameras film the male players compared to the female players, with female players being subject to more close up shots of their bodies instead of the game.
“Unfortunately, in some events, they [women] are still being filmed in a way that you can identify that stereotypes and sexism remain, even from the way in which some camera operators are framing differently men and women athletes,” chief executive, Yiannis Exarchos, told reporters in Paris.
“Women athletes are not there because they are more attractive or sexy or whatever. They are there because they are elite athletes.”
With the female player’s uniform rule scrapped, this year’s athletes didn’t just don leggings but a variety of different uniform variations.
Some nations, like France and Brazil, decided to compete in shorts, while others, including some USA and Australian competitors, decided to keep their traditional uniforms, while the Egyptian team are competing in fully-covered, hijab uniforms.
Finally, female volleyball athletes can compete in uniform that’ makes them feel comfortable ‘s designed to make them feel comfortable—rather than the spectators.
This article originally appeared on Marie Claire Australia and is republished here with permission.
