The International Handball Federation officially changed their uniform policy for female athletes after receiving mass backlash in July when they fined the players of a Norwegian women’s beach handball team for protesting their uniforms by wearing shorts. Previous to this change, female beach handball players were only permitted to wear bikini bottoms and crop tops, but the International Handball Federation has announced that female beach handball players may now wear tank tops and bike shorts, as long as the bike shorts are “short tight pants with a close fit.”
This is in contrast with the male beach handball uniform regulations, which state that male athletes may wear regular shorts as long as they are ten centimeters above the knee and they are “not too baggy.”
A similar incident occurred in 2012 when the Badminton World Federation tried to regulate female players’ uniforms, stating that they needed to wear skirts so as to “look feminine and have a nice presentation.”
Unfortunately, this sort of parallel isn’t uncommon in the sports world. Take for example football; every year there are specialty football events hosted by the Legends Football League where women play football clad only in overly bulky protective gear for their head and shoulders, bra and bikini tops and short shorts.
Women in the sports world are already highly criticized in comparison to their male counterparts. Female fans are quizzed on their knowledge of sports history like their enjoyment isn’t valid, and if they’re athletes there is no lack of comments made by men challenging them to competitions or treating them as lesser to their male counterparts.
Female athletes already face enough criticism for just existing, but judging every aspect of their appearance as well turns away both fans and prospective athletes. If you’re going to be scrutinized no matter what on the basis of your femineity, why bother even trying?
Sports should be something that everyone can participate in, not just those who fit the picture-perfect superhero description some sports leagues expect. It’s demoralizing for female athletes to be expected to be taken seriously when their own leagues won’t allow them to wear uniforms that make them feel comfortable and professional.
We hold female athletes to unachievably high expectations in both performance and presentation. If you watch any male athlete perform, they aren’t pretty. They’re sweaty and red-faced and powerful. We can’t expect female athletes to do the same things and still be dainty and attractive beings. They’re amazing and powerful, but they’re not superhumans.
