Beach Volleyball: What Women Wear

[itself]

Ok gals, why do women wear bikinis when playing beach volleyball, and the men wear shorts and tank tops? This really bums me out. I mean, would they make the men wear speedo bottoms? No.

I love watching May and Walsh play at the Olympics, but find it so insulting that they are forced to wear what they wear.

Lisa :)

[SadieKate]

Don't get me started. :mad:

[redrhodie]

I vote for Speedos for men. Fair is fair.

[maillotpois]

Good lord - I got all ticked off about that last night and "he" just did not get it. How do I know the women don't like wearing that? Well, maybe they do, but RR's right - fair is fair. I had expected speedos and was VERY disappointed. :mad:

[kelownagirl]

Someone told me that the BVB (women's I'm assuming) was the first thing to sell out at the Olympics. It's stupid. Playboy magazine is popular too but it has no place in sports.

[Zen]

Don't get me started. :mad:

Me neither. :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Veronica]

I like what the women wear. They are in incredible shape. They look like real women, unlike the gymnasts. I wish the men's was skimpier. And it's stated in the rules how long their uniforms have to be.

http://www.cnn.com/STYLE/9901/13/vollyball.bikini/men.women.graphic.jpg

[kelownagirl]

Someone in another forum made a good point about the difficulties faced by women athletes from other countries/cultures (ie. Muslims) where being sexualized is not as acceptable as it in North America.

[Veronica]

The article I read where I got the picture of the regs. said that they do allow different uniforms for religious reasons - both of the players and countries they play in.

V.

[kelownagirl]

The article I read where I got the picture of the regs. said that they do allow different uniforms for religious reasons - both of the players and countries they play in.

V.

Well that's good to hear. Do you have a link? I'd like to pass it along.

[Zen]

I don't see any reason why they can't be the same uniform for both genders.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I don't see any reason why they can't be the same uniform for both genders.

Yeah me either. What's the rationale for having the women's uniform be way skimpier and more revealing than the men's?? What could possibly be the reason??
Maybe this is a dated holdover from earlier times that has not been seriously questioned and reviewed?

[kelownagirl]

Yeah me either. What's the rationale for having the women's uniform be way skimpier and more revealing than the men's?? What could possibly be the reason??
Maybe this is a dated holdover from earlier times that has not been seriously questioned and reviewed?

"What could possibly be the reason?" said tongue in cheek I'm sure?

[bmccasland]

I'm a$$uming that the "uniform" or lack thereof comes from what one would be wearing on the beach while playing volleyball. Which begs the question, why aren't the guys in Speedo's :rolleyes:

Either put the guys in Speedos or have the gals wear shorts and tanks too.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Either put the guys in Speedos or have the gals wear shorts and tanks too.

Or make the guys wear exactly the same outfits as the women- with the little stretchy crop top and the bikini bottoms. :D

[Brandy]

I like what the women wear. They are in incredible shape.

Same here. If you've ever watched a beach volleyball match...ummm...that's pretty standard.

[Grog]

My husband is actually bothered by the women's beach volleyball. We both dislike seeing people's illiac crest and the crease leading to their pubic area on display.

We had the same reaction when the American men won the 4X100m freestyle relay last night: one of the guys had his swimsuit (bib style) down on his hips so low that you could have seen his pubic hair if he had any. I was thinking: "Dude, your grandmother is watching you on TV right now!!" Just a bit too much. Sure they have nice bodies and spectacular abs, but some things I'd rather imagine than see.

But TV ratings dominate the olympics, not critical gender studies. :) They were showing a lot more of beach volleyball than cycling road race the other day.

[SadieKate]

We had the same reaction when the American men won the 4X100m freestyle relay last night: one of the guys had his swimsuit (bib style) down on his hips so low that you could have seen his pubic hair if he had any. I was thinking: "Dude, your grandmother is watching you on TV right now!!" Just a bit too much. Sure they have nice bodies and spectacular abs, but some things I'd rather imagine than see. That was Michael Phelps, celebrity extraordinaire. Leaving something to the imagination is so much sexier.

[Brandy]

I wonder if growing up in a beach city has shaped my perspective. Seeing people nearly naked has never seemed odd or offensive to me.

[SadieKate]

I grew up in a beach city also.

[Kimmyt]

I guess I just find it odd (okay, annoying) that women's beach volleyball is so highly publicized, when there are so many other women's sports that people, men specifically, find 'boring'. There was maybe 10 minutes of coverage that I saw on women's road race. THe only reason they showed ANY women's fencing was because the US swept the podium. Yes, they show about 50:50 male:female gymnastics, but I find that the exception for the Olympics, not the rule. And then let's look at women's pro sports in the states. Good luck getting the majority of men to watch women's basketball. But beach volleyball? It's really just T&A displayed in a societally acceptable way.

You know everyone just wants to watch women's volleyball for the gratuity. They're cheering when the girls dive not because they're performing a powerful athletic move, but because they're hoping to get a glimpse of cheek. And I'm not offended at all by people showing bods, I think athletic bodies are exceptionally beautiful, its the inequality that bugs me here, and the blatant support of that attitude by the media as well. Well, that and the fact that I find watching volleyball akin to watching paint dry.. I'd much rather watch fencing or t&f!!

[Natural Beauty]

Dang I can't believe I missed seeing Phelps!!! Since he did a shave down anyway....he has no hair to see. Swimmers are so used to being mostly naked for 8-10hours a day and during meets in front of thousands of people...you forget other people don't do the same. :D

I would think the volleyball guys would wear closer fitting clothes if anything. Wouldn't excess fabric get in the way? Like that guy from the Netherlands getting called on a double because the ball hit his hat. I guess I'm so into the sport, I don't really see the suits. They are in such amazing shape that there are no jiggely parts acting porno...I guess I just don't pay attention. yeah, i know...probably just me. LOL

[Skierchickie]

Gee - I just assumed the teams picked the uniforms. I realize this reveals my icky judgmental side, but I assumed it was the choice of the women, and they were pretty much just exhibitionists. Are you saying that the IOC requires them to wear uniforms that brief? If so, then there is something seriously wrong here.

Okay, sorry if I've exposed too much about the "inner Skierchickie". I just think there is a limit to what needs to be revealed for the sake of revealing it. Aren't the Olympics supposed to about the athletics, and not about flaunting bodies?

I apologize if I've offended anyone.

[bmccasland]

Or we could go back in Olympics history to the very early uniforms.....

They competed in the nude :p

No magic speed swimming suits necessary.

[KnottedYet]

Or we could go back in Olympics history to the very early uniforms.....

They competed in the nude :p

No magic speed swimming suits necessary.

Now THAT would be uniform equality!

[Tuckervill]

Gee - I just assumed the teams picked the uniforms. I realize this reveals my icky judgmental side, but I assumed it was the choice of the women, and they were pretty much just exhibitionists. Are you saying that the IOC requires them to wear uniforms that brief? If so, then there is something seriously wrong here.

Okay, sorry if I've exposed too much about the "inner Skierchickie". I just think there is a limit to what needs to be revealed for the sake of revealing it. Aren't the Olympics supposed to about the athletics, and not about flaunting bodies?

I apologize if I've offended anyone.

Oh, I thought the regulations that someone posted were demonstrating *minimum* coverage, not maximum coverage?

I have no doubt that some would compete nude if they could.

I don't care about their uniforms that much. But I did see Bush go to meet the US women's team (their names escape me). What really ticked me off is that he was all grabby and kissy with them! Not presidential at all. He went down on the sand and put his arm around them both and kissed them both on the cheek like he was a regular joe meeting Playboy bunnies! I was so disgusted! Where was his sense of decorum? The women were friendly to him, and they had surprised looks when they first saw him, but then they were so cooperative with the touchy-feely part. I don't know if I would have been.

Karen

[Tuckervill]

This article doesn't go into the rest of it, but this was enough.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/11/georgebush.olympics2008

And then there are pictures here:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iZg-HwAM2Kt14M4ZEW_FoAlckFngD92EQ1S02

The pictures don't tell the story that the actual video did.

Karen

[tulip]

Wearing bikinis makes sense because it's beach volleyball, and is played at the beach (which is where it should remain).

The thing that doesn't make sense is why in the world is this is an Olympic sport in the first place?

[Kimmyt]

you said what i was trying to be nice enough not to say... but the truth is, there are a lot of sports in the olympics that many people don't feel are olympic worthy. How are you going to define what makes a sport able to be in the olympics? I think the IOC does it by having a certain number of national sports federations, right? I don't really know.

And to some extent, what I enjoy about the olympics is getting to watch sports that are not as main stream, that I don't get a chance to watch too often.

On the other hand, they have olympic trampoline. :eek:

Fo shizzle.

[Grog]

I do think it was included for TV ratings (although it is played on at least so many continents and things like that), but it definitely is a sport, and a hard one. These women are very fit. It's quite tough to jump like that on sand, and it's a fast paced game that can be pretty exciting to watch...

[maillotpois]

But I did see Bush go to meet the US women's team (their names escape me). What really ticked me off is that he was all grabby and kissy with them! Not presidential at all. He went down on the sand and put his arm around them both and kissed them both on the cheek like he was a regular joe meeting Playboy bunnies! I was so disgusted! Where was his sense of decorum? The women were friendly to him, and they had surprised looks when they first saw him, but then they were so cooperative with the touchy-feely part. I don't know if I would have been.



Funny, that's just what he did that time with the German Prime Minister... :rolleyes:

[Hammer]

I don't have a problem with beach volleyball as an olympic sport. It takes as much endurance as anything. Hubby and I discussed the uniforms last night too. I personally think that something like boy shorts, or something would be okay.

Though, they're competing in sports bras, sort of, and I see women running in sports bras all of the time.

Hubby thought that maybe for both sides something like cycling shorts.

Ah well. Whatever floats their boat.


Now, I am curious why the IOC is yanking baseball and softball. I am not an enthusiast myself, but loads of others are. I don't quite understand equestrian events as olympic events, I imagine that it's got something to do with the historic reference to chariot races, perhaps? I'm also unsure of sailing, archery and shooting events. Why are these olympic sports?

I'm not bashing them, I've never done them. I'm just genuinely curious: What makes an event worthy of olympic competition?

[Grog]

Here is a quote from MSN Encarta:

"What criteria? Well, someone's got to apply: A sport needs an association or governing body of some kind to get in. Cow chip hurling, therefore, popular though it may be in the upper Midwest, probably won't make it.

A sport must also be popular in many countries--75 of them for men's summer sports, 40 for women's summer sports, and 25 for winter sports."

Do there needs to be an international federation, and it needs to abide by the IOC rules. And there must be enough interest for the sport worldwide.

I just learned that tug of war used to be an olympic sport, but it's now gone.

Note that many sports are "recognized" by the IOC but not currently in the Olympics. That includes bridge (yes, the card game - is that a summer or winter game?). I'm not sure what it does to be recognized.

More info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_sports
http://encarta.msn.com/column_olympics_tamimhome/What_Makes_a_Sport_'Olympic'.html

[Hammer]

The wikipedia entries were helpful. I forget that sport sometimes means an activity of skill rather than shear strength/stamina/flexibility.

[melissam]

Now, I am curious why the IOC is yanking baseball and softball. I am not an enthusiast myself, but loads of others are.

I was wondering that myself. Basically, it comes down to money. Building baseball and softball stadiums is expensive. According to an article I read in the local paper, the softball venues built for the Athens and Sydney Olympics have hardly been used since the events.

Softball will be out of the 2012 Olympics in London. It may be considered for the 2016 Olympics and beyond.