Official Rules; Or Male Pervs Looking For A Cheap Thrill

[ronin001]

Norwegian women's beach-handball team fined for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms

Norwegian women's beach-handball team fined for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms (msn.com)

The European Handball Federation (EHF) on Monday issued fines against the Norwegian women's beach-handball team over their decision to wear shorts instead of bikini bottoms.

The judges, did not like the compression shorts, instead of the traditional bikini bottom, they actually have a rule book, about how much female butt should be exposed during play .

 

[Tight_N_Juicy]

The players wanted to wear shorts, they should be able to. Period.

That rule is bullshit written by a pervert or someone who wants their money. Which is just as fucked.

 

[ronin001]

The players wanted to wear shorts, they should be able to. Period.

That rule is bullshit written by a pervert or someone who wants their money. Which is just as fucked.

I'm, thinking dirty old pervs

 

[Scarletbegonia]

JFC

quit sexualizing everything women do, universe.
I’m all in on board shorts as swim wear for all.

 

[ChanelleNo5]

I could only understand if it was the other way...like restricting movement. But this way is just obvious.

 

[Scarletbegonia]

To my mind, beach volleyball does have an assumption of a bathing suit. fair enough.
after team specific limits: color, logos, non crawling (distracting to the athlete) and a limit on how much cleavage front or back may show, there should be wiggle room for individual preference.
because sand in the soft bits suuuucks.

 

[EllieP]

They probably have specifications, like 30% cheek must be exposed at all times with 15% ride up during game play.

 

[Stu311]

We also had the opposite happen shortly after in athletics: Angry Breen left speechless by official

Stupid rules and officials. As long as the shorts/bikinis are large enough to cover the vulva and any markings/patterns (numbers, team colours etc.) that aid the officials in identifying the athlete, they should be free to wear anything from a thong to long yoga-style pants and anything in between.

 

[MickeyLee]

I guess the original Olympic Games * the og OG* were played buck nekkid...so, I mean shit has improved a bit.

But most definitely a sexual gaze is part of the Olympic sells package. Think about how much media coverage athlete sexuality/sexual goings on get every year. This cardboard anti-sex beds this year. Combined with a collective immaturity currently plaguing the entirety of the human race and commercialization of course all women's sports will push nearly nude women in great physical shape as the focus.

And it is "all women's" sports. This is the typical uniform for men's volleyball team.

 

[MickeyLee]

Male gymnast uniforms

Women's gymnast uniform.... There is no reason women should not be allowed leg coverings of some kind.

 

[MickeyLee]

Awesome related article from the NPR

Oh. Before some random chimes in with friction resistance and performance enhancements. No.

Women's uniforms remain mostly unchanged since the 50s. Modern competition fabrics are actually smoother than skin.

 

[halcyondays]

WTF!

Same uniforms for men and women is the best idea.

 

[MickeyLee]

WTF!

Same uniforms for men and women is the best idea.

Oh, dudes in a leotard gonna be hella rife with wardrobe malfunction.


Uneven Testicular Floor Routines!!

 

[halcyondays]

Oh, dudes in a leotard gonna be hella rife with wardrobe malfunction.


Uneven Testicular Floor Routines!!

Haha... I was thinking the other way around...

 

[Stu311]

Awesome related article from the NPR

Oh. Before some random chimes in with friction resistance and performance enhancements. No.

Women's uniforms remain mostly unchanged since the 50s. Modern competition fabrics are actually smoother than skin.

I think the only sport where the “it helps with movement/better performance etc.” argument holds any water (excuse the pun) is in swimming, where indeed minimising friction with the water can give one a significant competitive edge as water is vastly denser than air (so drag is exponentially worse). And guess what - it is also in swimming where men wear the skimpiest suits chiefly by virtue of the fact they do not have (large) protruding breasts to flatten/streamline the chest. Any other sport it’s just hypocrisy to prevent women from wearing what men are wearing. But I guess there is some non-significant amount of revenue made (or perceived to be made) in female sports where an audience driver is showing butt cheeks or the occasional camel toe. However, if you need to sexualise your athletes and rely on pervs watching to make money from ads you do have a lousy business model and you might very well argue that the interests of the athletes do not come first, which goes against the stated values of most if not all of these sporting bodies.

 

[Sagittarius84]

In a figurative sense, I do think the sexualized uniform requirements for women in the Olympics are unreasonable...but I also see this as the inevitable consequence when people allow intersectionality and apathy to overlook what will eventually be coming their way. I don't think you can be silent when an organization makes an unfair play for conformity amongst other athletes, only to be so vocal when that call for conformity then affects you personally. The IOC has been using weak conformity arguments to thwart and hamper the excellence (and dominance)of black female athletes, by way of unfair judging, and unfair restrictions on uniform conformity quite openly...methinks a worldwide coalition of female athletes that openly criticizes the actions the IOC wage against a particularly oft-maligned subset of their own has a lot more ammo to pushback against unfair things later on with allies to boot.
I just wonder how many female Olympians incensed by this fine upon the Norwegian beach volleyball team, exerted even a fraction of this rage when black female swimmers were not allowed swim caps more appropriate for their natural hair. Or why athletes from some countries can explain away a positive steroid test on a pork burrito, while others from specific nations get canned because even as biologically female their natural testosterone levels speak to a supposed "unfair advantage".
The IOC has played this sexist and eurocentric game of conformity for decades, and the coal mine canaries(minorities)are consistently ignored, soooo why get mad now? Because now the privileged class are starting to feel the effects?

 

[Frozen Heart]

I don't blame the judges. It is their jobs to follow the rules. But yeah... A bunch of pervs wrote the rules.

Men are evolving, but it is complicated. A lot of "evolved" men are actually just macho men surpressed by society and are just waiting for a chance to send women back into the kitchen.

When men are in their "bro time" talking shit and sexualizing women (all men have done it and will do it again), there are those that are just playing and mean no harm and there are those that are more aggressive in their ideas. This second type of man is more common than women would like.

Unfortunately, I do not think those prejudices are going to disappear anytime soon.

 

[firsttimecaller]

if you need to sexualise your athletes and rely on pervs watching to make money from ads you do have a lousy business model

You think whatever tiny amount of revenue beach handball makes is due to a lousy business model?

 

[Stu311]

You think whatever tiny amount of revenue beach handball makes is due to a lousy business model?

No, but I imagine there might be some economic incentive at play. Look at Ion Tiriac and his Madrid Masters ATP Tournament and the criticism he got a few years back for using female models instead of ball kids to try and milk out some extra cash from increased audiences. Madrid Open facts and figures: Blue courts, red courts, model ball girls | Tennis365

Wouldn’t be surprised if whatever minuscule revenue there is in beach handball (a sport I had only recently heard of despite playing regular handball myself at uni) might be perceived as being boosted by scantly dressed female players.

 

[firsttimecaller]

No, but I imagine there might be some economic incentive at play.

Wouldn’t be surprised if whatever minuscule revenue there is in beach handball (a sport I had only recently heard of despite playing regular handball myself at uni) might be perceived as being boosted by scantly dressed female players.

Yeah, no shit.

If participants being scantily clad results in more eyeballs, and thus more revenue, is that "bad"?

Anyone playing handball only because they love it might think so.

Anyone who wants to expand it's popularity or make a living playing it is probably realistic about the situation.