‘Far too often, attention is paid more on how women athletes look, versus their power, grit and performance’
The official Nike kits for American women competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics have been slammed as “a costume born of patriarchal forces” by one track athlete and “treating women as second-class citizens” by a commentator on Nike’s Instagram page because of the skimpy nature of the swimming costumes and leotards.
Meanwhile, France has been criticised for its decision to bar its sportswomen from wearing the hijab.
Although the International Olympics Committee (IOC) has allowed international athletes to wear the hijab, French sportswomen will still be barred from exercising the right to wear the outfits of their choice during the Summer Olympics, which started on Friday and continue until August 11.
Whether it’s a question of sexist outfits or a ban on the headscarf worn by some Muslim women, directives can impinge on women’s freedoms and needs, activists say. Women should be allowed to wear outfits they feel comfortable in, they say.
Let’s take a look at the debate around women’s attire in athletics.
In April, the first look at Nike’s kits for men and women on the US track and field teams for the Paris Olympics were released by Citius Mag, a website that covers track and field.
The attire for men is a tank top and shorts that hit below the fingertips of the mannequin wearing them. For women, the kit is a leotard with a high-cut bikini line, drawing ire from female athletes.
“A costume born of patriarchal forces” is how US track and field athlete Lauren Freshmen described the kit in an Instagram post.
“If this outfit was truly beneficial to physical performance, men would wear it,” she said.
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