The quick answer is, it doesn't!
What message is this sending to young women and girls?
During a report on the NBC station in DC tonight, one of the players said she didn't have a problem with the uniform. In her words, it's no different than beach volleyball or track and field. And she's right!
Men who play volleyball aren't asked to expose most of their bodies, and the shorts worn my male track and field athletes cover more than do the uniforms worn by women. So again, what message is this sending?
Is it too much to ask that women be judged on they ability to play the sport, and not on how they look in their underwear? What do you think?
9 comments:
I enjoy watching sports and some women's sports, too. If I want to see women in lingerie (sometimes I do) I just find the Victoria Secret Catalog. Seems like LFL is simply a fetish disguised as a sport.
Women who play beach volleyball are not forced to wear any particular outfit. It's just common practice for them to wear bikinis.
Also, the Lingerie Football League is not a real sport, it is an offshoot of soft porn. Porn exists for both men and women, although women often would rather look at than men.
Just compare men's and women's magazines. Men look at pictures of women and tools and cars, women look at pictures of women. And also lots of pictures of interior design and clothes and stuff.
I think that if you want to attack the country's perception of women, then I would instead choose as a target the part of the media that is at the crux of the matter. It is not simple cheesecake that is causing a problem, it is the poor role models created in area of news, celebrities, fictional TV shows and the like.
Female newscasters are often former pageant winners. TV shows about women often display them as vain, foolish and conniving. Instead of talking about women like Sylvia Plath the media focuses on women like Paris Hilton.
Even toys are ridiculous. Every girl is going to play with dolls, but they should not be dolls like trampstamp Barbie or dolls with huge eyes and miniskirts.
I am not so concerned about anything related to cheesecake for or about men or women. That part of popular culture will never go away. What concerns me are the parts of media that are related to creating role models for women. That part is all messed up.
Oops!
"Porn exists for both men and women, although women often would rather look at than men."Should read:
"Porn exists for both men and women, although women often would much rather look at other women than men."
Dr. Z, the women competing in beach volley ball are required to wear uniforms that look like bathing suits. The men are much more covered up.
And this came to my attention when our local NBC channel interviewed the founder of the "sport." He was promoting it as something the "family will enjoy." Yeah, right!
I'm all for looking at beautiful women, but you are correct in saying that most of the women on television are selected for their looks. And again, what message does this send to young girls?
I've often said that mainstream media is much more damaging regarding the image of women and girls than porn ... because it's viewed by a lot more people.
BAC
It would seem that you are correct about the Beach Volleyball uniforms of the Olympics, according to these official regulations:
-------------------------------------------------
The official men's uniform for the Olympic Beach Volleyball tournament consists of:
- a tank top and shorts
- eventual accessories
The official women's uniform for the Olympic Beach Volleyball tournament consists
of:
- a top and briefs
or
- a one piece uniforms
- eventual accessories
Players from the same team must wear identical uniforms (style, fabric and color).
Beach Volleyball Rules, Games of the XXVIII Olympiad Athens - 2004-------------------------------------------------
The rules for American Beach Volleyball are not so specific. They clearly state that a "A player's equipment consists of shorts or a bathing suit." No remarks are made regarding gender in these official regulations:
-------------------------------------------------
5 PLAYERS’ EQUIPMENT
5.1 EQUIPMENT
5.1.1 A player’s equipment consists of shorts or a bathing suit. A jersey or "tank-top" is
optional except when specified in Tournament Regulations. Players may wear a hat.
5.1.2 For FIVB World Competitions players of a given team must wear uniforms of the same
color and style according to tournament regulations.
5.1.3 Player’s uniforms must be clean.
5.1.4 Players must play barefoot except when authorized by the referees.
5.1.5 Player’s jerseys (or shorts if players are allowed to play without shirt) must be numbered
1 and 2. The number must be placed on the chest (or on the front of the shorts).
5.1.6 The numbers must be of a contrasting color to the jerseys and a minimum of 10 cm in
height. The stripe forming the numbers shall be a minimum of 1.5 cm wide.
5.2 AUTHORIZED CHANGES
5.2.1 If both teams arrive at a match dressed in jerseys of the same color, a coin toss shall be
conducted to determine which team shall change.
5.2.2 The first referee may authorize one or more players:
a) to play with socks and/or shoes,
b) to change wet jerseys between sets provided that the new ones also follow tournament
and FIVB regulations (Rules 5.1.5 and 5.1.6 above).
5.2.3 If requested by a player, the first referee may authorize him/her to play with undershirts
and training pants.
5.3 FORBIDDEN OBJECTS AND UNIFORMS
5.3.1 It is forbidden to wear any object that may cause an injury to a player, such as pins,
bracelets, casts, etc.
5.3.2 Players may wear glasses at their own risk.
5.3.3 It is forbidden to wear uniforms without official numbers (Rules 5.1.5 and 5.1.6 above).
Official Beach Volleyball Rules-------------------------------------------------
Despite the fact that the rules do not specify gender, professional female beach volleyball players always seem to play in bikinis or one piece suits during the regular professional beach volleyball season, which of course is when the vast majority of professional female beach volleyball is played. They are not forced to wear a specific uniform during those games, and yet that is what they wear. Maybe it is just peer pressure or something, but nobody seems to be under duress. The author of the article that I read [ 1, 2 ] cannot prove their point without at least some evidence of this particular issue.
My friend who teaches gymnastics says that in Olympic events, women wear leotards but men wear leotards and pants or shorts (depending on the event.) That would tend to support your theory about the inequality regarding clothing, but consider swimming.
I didn't look up the exact rules in swimming, but men always wear Speedos and women always wear one piece suits. Men wear LESS than women in that sport. Should men be forced to wear one-piece swim suit like women? Or should women be forced to wear only Speedos like men?
And you can't tell me that women don't oogle male swimmers. I remember my sister was a huge fan of Mark Spitz, and had a poster of him in swimsuit wearing seven gold medals. I hear jokes made by women at work and on TV about how attractive the male swimmers are during the Olympics. Some women love to oogle male swimmers.
This sort of thing also happens with women oogling male football players, baseball players, basketball players, etc. This should dispel a large chunk of the argument as well. It happens both ways.
I read a couple of the articles that you might have been looking at [ 1, 2 ] and to be honest, I don't find their arguments to be very convincing. the articles sounded mostly one-sided, consisted of lazy conclusions and were not very well thought out.
At one point the author quotes two professional beach volleyball players (Natalie Cook and Tamsin Barnett) as "claiming" that the uniforms were actually more comfortable to play in, and then the author "claims" to know more about "hot sun with sand flying at you from every direction" than the players themselves. (!)
This sort of distortion is merely sour grapes and yellow journalism. Out of context, and without both sides presented any claim can be made with ease. Anybody can do it. (I should know, I do it myself on my blog all of the time! But it is in jest. I don't present myself as a real journalist.)
I think that you make a rather grave error yourself by comparing professional beach volleyball players to women in the Lingerie Football League. Women who play professional beach volleyball are athletes, despite your (and my) feelings about their uniforms. They want to play and win. Women who play professional beach volleyball are chosen because they play volleyball well.Women in the Lingerie Football League are merely models who are photographed while they play a faux game of football to create soft porn. (Not really a great evil.) Women in the Lingerie Football League are chosen because they look good on camera. It is not a very subtle distinction, it is a very clear difference.
If you have ever watched women's beach volleyball, you would know that the players do not look like supermodels, nor are they playing for the camera. They play to win.Your point that these two events create a poor image for young girls is sort of false. I would say that if young girls want to become models, then running around in lingerie will be what they do anyway. It is not the model's fault that the media focuses on them and their underpants as opposed to other professions, although it is to the models benefit.
If young girls want to grow up to play beach volleyball (or be a professional surfer, for that matter), then wearing a bikini is really the least of their concerns. Unlike a model, they shall have to become a professional athlete, which is not easy (Like modeling is).
I think that there are many areas in the media where I am very disappointed about the way that both men AND women are portrayed. I would think that articles about things like beach volleyball uniforms would at least be better researched as to what the actual players say. The only people complaining about uniforms in women's beach volleyball seem be people that don't actually play or even enjoy the game.
The author of the article I read just seemed to hate women in skimpy outfits because it offends them in some deep-seated way. I would argue that there are far more important things to be outraged about, I don't think that bikinis are even worth mentioning. I don't think that bikinis are what is hurting women, I think it's the media.
I would think that the real problem is not sports uniforms, but the overall mindset that women are conniving like they are on "Desperate Housewives", or obsessed with marriage and not career as you would see as portrayed in a zillion different shows, or as merely passive sexual objects such as on "Deal or No Deal", and don't even get me started on rap music and viagra commercials and those stupid AXE commercials. Even stupid shows like "Lost" portray women as empty-headed victims that can't fend for themselves.
If you want to complain about the objectification of women, I would look in other categories than professional female beach volleyball players and women in the Lingerie Football League.
For example, "Girls Gone Wild" videos, for a start. What happened to our culture that young girls would appear in those videos nowadays? You wouldn't see that sort of thing even 10 years ago.
And when did women's lib become a dirty word? You can't blame that on bikinis. bikinis (and supermodels, for that matter) don't cause women to get unequal pay. Banning bikinis would not improve these situations.
I think we are on the same page, but that we are merely offended by different things. I am offended on a daily basis by the portrayal of both men and women in the media. (Usually the portrayal of women.) But usually not by clothing or uniforms. It is how a particular subject matter is portrayed that is offensive to me.
By the way, I like mini skirts and go go boots, too. ;o)
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Men who play volleyball aren't asked to expose most of their bodies, and the shorts worn my male track and field athletes cover more than do the uniforms worn by women. So again, what message is this sending?
Everyone loves sport, but sport and porn?? http://lastexittoreality.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/the-lingerie-football-league-sports-or-porn/
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