Badminton’s New Dress Code - elite women must wear skirts to appear more 'attractive'

[Liberal_in_LA]

Badminton’s New Dress Code Is Being Criticized as Sexist




In an attempt to revive flagging interest in women’s badminton as the 2012 London Olympics approach, officials governing the sport have decided that its female athletes need to appear more, how to put it, womanly.


The new badminton rule was formulated in consultation with Octagon, an international marketing firm.

To create a more “attractive presentation,” the Badminton World Federation has decreed that women must wear skirts or dresses to play at the elite level, beginning Wednesday. Many now compete in shorts or tracksuit pants. The dress code would make female players appear more feminine and appealing to fans and corporate sponsors, officials said.

The rule has been roundly criticized as sexist, a hindrance to performance and offensive to Muslim women who play the sport in large numbers in Asian countries. Implementation has already been delayed by a month. Athletes’ representatives said they would seek to have the dress code scrapped, possibly as early as Saturday at a meeting of the world’s badminton-playing nations in Qingdao, China.

This is a blatant attempt to sexualize women,” said Janice Forsyth, director of the International Centre for Olympic Studies at the University of Western Ontario. “It is amazing. You’d think at some point, somebody would have said: ‘Wait a minute. What are we doing?’ ”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/sports/badminton-dress-code-for-women-criticized-as-sexist.html

[The Magistrate]

1. Someone, Ma'am, Seems To Have Mixed Up the Words 'Attractive' and 'Accessible'....

[Warpy]

2. Fuck that shit. Skirts are totally impractical

for any sort of sport and the committee knows it.

This is sexism, period.

[USA_1]

6. Skirts are used in tennis

I'm not sure this is sexism. Pro tennis subscribes to this code and it is not viewed as sexist by the WTA (governing body largely comprised of women) and it fans. As a part of that community I can attest to the fact that we appreciate beauty, strength, and femininity among pro female tennis players. Pants and shorts are not viewed by this community as feminine or flattering to our athletes. For further proof log on to:

http://www.tennisforum.com/

This is not an advertisement on my part but is posted just for your information. You can readily see our photo gallery, fan commentary, and other info to illustrate what I mean. Oh, by the way, the vast majority of our community is female.

[Warpy]

10. Oh, crap, you lost me at "flattering and feminine"

That's bullshit. You want to slobber over "flattering and feminine," go to a titty bar. You want women athletes to do their best, go with slacks and shorts.

At some point you need to decide whether it's a beauty contest or an athletic one.

[USA_1]

11. WTA's Standards

The majority in this community is female as I wrote above. We, the men and women of this athletic community, have created a set of standards that comply with our vision of what constitutes an ideal appearance among female athletes. If you cannot accept this standard, then please go to some other venue for your sports entertainment instead of displaying your prejudices and imposing your distastes upon us.

[KittyWampus]

12. Your profile indicates you are male. How many corporate decision makers sponsoring tennis

are women? How many in the management level of your tennis "community" are women?

Apparently, a woman tennis player wants to participate, she'd have no choice but wear a skirt... OH, unless she wants to start a whole new community replete with corporate sponsors and media exposure.

At least you could admit your decisions are made solely for corporate and media demands for women to appear as sex objects in a skirt.

Tennis isn't a sport. It's a business whose sole object is to sell products, advertising and media slots on tv. And some tickets to the actual live event.

[USA_1]

30. Log on to the Link I gave You

Go ahead and articulate what you wrote above and tell the fans there (especially the female ones) that they view women as sex objects. It is very easy for anyone like you to pass judgment on a community that they are not a part of. But the real challenge for people like that is to confront those you criticize when you are not a part of their community.

I look forward to your comments on http://www.tennisforum.com/

[Liberal_in_LA]

21. negative 100

:puke:

[USA_1]

31. Liberal??

The hallmark of liberalism is open mindedness. Your unwillingness to accept that others have created standards that seem uninviting to you bespeaks of closed mindedness. On that basis, it would appear you hardly qualify as a liberal.

I am utterly amazed that people can pass judgment on others when they are not a part of the community they are criticizing. That, more than anything else, is a sign of prejudice.

Negative 1000, and a sure sign of Republican ''values'' in my book.

[Liberal_in_LA]

33. Bet your group doesnt require males to play shirtless with waxed chests

[USA_1]

34. That's the ATP Crowd

I'm with the WTA.

[Hannah Bell]

23. didn't realize sports were about "appearance". is tennis a contest about appearance or skill?

why don't men wear skirts if they make one have such a good appearance?

nah, it's just about tradition -- which is pretty much shot anyway what with women players now wearing skirts so short you can see public hair.

distracting & unappealing.

[Odin2005]

29. Womern in Somalia are OK with female genital mutilation, too.

Women are brainwashed to perpetuate misogyny.

[cliffordu]

50. Whoop, there it is.

Exactly.

[sufrommich]

13. "Pants and shorts are not viewed by this community as feminine

or flattering to our athletes"

So? Is it a sport or a beauty contest?

[KittyWampus]

15. It's a BUSINESS first and foremost that exists to sell products, advertising & media rights.

Thanks to USA-1 for inadvertently helping to point that out.

[Maine-ah]

19. not really

I wear a sport skirt for roller derby. Basically, it looks like a tennis skirt, shorts underneath. Has great stretch, wicks away moisture, and the skirt part hides things that shorts don't....like the accidental camel, which happens with shorts...they ride up sometimes, and it can be embarrassing.

on edit:
I just want to say, that I think their reasoning behind it is very sexist, and I hope the girls fight it.

[coffeenap]

3. WTF? What century is this?

:banghead:

[nolabear]

4. Just as long as the men have to wear them too.

[geardaddy]

5. As a wearer of kilts, I agree.

Plus no underpants. That's what makes it sporting.

[bemildred]

7. Fools, they will regret this. nt

[tabasco]

8. Olympic. Badminton.

If your sport is so lame that you have to shoot beavers to generate interest, it shouldn't be an Olympic sport.

[TheDebbieDee]

9. I like the (sick) way you think! Olympic Badminton. Pfeeeeeew!

[KittyWampus]

14. Read up the thread. This is tennis too.

[aaaaaa5a]

48. There's a ton of sports that should not be played in the Olympics...

women's badminton is way down on that list.

[KittyWampus]

16. This reminds me of the movie "League of Their Own".

[wpelb]

17. I didn't know . . .

. . . that badminton was even an Olympic sport.

Look, they have rhythmic gymnastics, which is a joke, no matter what the contestants wear. The same is true of synchronized swimming.

Besides tennis, women have always worn skirts and dresses in Olympic figure skating, so I don't see that requiring women badminton players to wear similar garments is all that off-the-wall. In any case, I assume they wear more than just a pair of panties underneath.

[LisaL]

36. I don't believe women are required to wear skirts for figure skating.

[surrealAmerican]

18. That photo is a really good illustration of just why ...

... skirts are a poor choice of attire for badminton.

[Hannah Bell]

25. so "appealing". yeah, i don't much like boobs & pubes with my tennis. some do, apparently.

[DCBob]

20. next they will require thong panties..

unbelievable.

[Ex Lurker]

22. it worked for beach volleyball

not saying this is right, but they know what they are doing.

[Darth_Kitten]

24. Maybe males should wear thongs outlining their assets....

and let's see how worthy they are as athletes. :(

[USA_1]

32. They already do

http://www1.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Olympics+Day+14+Diving+MrcSVV8ajnEl.jpg

Notice how the photo illustrates the outline of his crotch. I can post a few more photos of this sport if you'd like.

Since so many of you view skirts for women as sexist, i would suppose you feel thongs for men are sexist as well. Correct?

[TorchTheWitch]

39. You've got to be kidding

Attire for swimmers and divers is what it is for PRACTICAL purposes not appearance. Very small amounts of skin tight cloth worn by swimmers and divers is to ENHANCE performance. Skirts on women playing racket sports not only have no practical purpose they are a HINDRANCE to performance. Men and women swimmers, divers and gymnasts ALL wear skin tight clothing where the details of crotches and asses are plainly visible, not JUST the women or JUST the men.

Divers and gymnasts also wear skin tight clothing because precise body position is what is being judged to determine who wins which can't be achieved in garments that aren't skin tight. Women who play racket sports aren't judged on body positioning to score points, so there is no practical reason to see the details of skin tight crotches and asses.

Forcing only women badminton players to wear impractical clothing that is a hindrance to performance and will show skin tight undergarments that leave nothing to the imagination concerning the players' crotches and asses without forcing the men to do so also is sexist any way you slice it. They came right out and ADMITTED their reasoning for the rule to force the women players to wear skirts was to make them look more attractive and feminine to attract interest to the sport... through showing more details of ONLY the womens' nether regions.

[USA_1]

44. Actually, my post was in answer to the thong question

The photo illustrates that men do wear thongs.

However, in answer to your post, a full body suit does not impair a man's diving ability. After all, women divers wear full body suits and it does not impair their abilities to dive. If a uniform standard is to be applied for athletic apparel it would stand to reason that male divers should wear full body suits like their female counterparts.

[LisaL]

37. They actually wear tiny bikinis for beach volleyball.

I suppose badminton players are lucky they aren't required to wear tiny bikinis.

[Hannah Bell]

45. beach volleyball = joke

[0rganism]

26. if they made the men wear skirts and dresses too, I'd watch for sure

Forcing only women to wear skirts and dresses? Degrading. :grr:

Forcing everyone to wear them? Absofuckinglutely HILARIOUS! :spank:

[USA_1]

35. ...

there you go!

[0rganism]

46. Kilts are not Skirts

...and I think you could offend a lot of Scotsmen if you asserted that they are - regardless of how reasonable such a notion might be on its face.

Side point, I think the PTB could sponsor a golf tournament held exclusively in cross-gender BDSM gear, and I still wouldn't be physically capable of watching more than 5 minutes of it. Personally, I just don't understand the appeal of golf as a spectator sport, under any circumstances.

[Liquorice]

27. The women should sue for discrimination. nt

[Tabasco_Dave]

28. Badminton is the sport for people who can't afford a tennis court.

Hey i made a rhyme. :D

[InvisibleTouch]

38. Flashing one's panties is attractive?? n/t

[JVS]

42. Unless there are skid marks.

[JVS]

40. *Insert joke about shuttlecocks here*

I can't believe the word hasn't been used in this badminton thread yet.

If you look closely, you can see the woman's undies in the OP. This rule is going to lead to a lot of that.

[Pryderi]

41. And beach volleyball is...? n/t

[jmowreader]

43. Interest in women's badminton isn't "flagging" because of attire

It's because it's badminton. Probably the only people who watch Olympic badminton are badminton players.

Olympic surfing would be MUCH better...yes, you'd have to hold the Olympic surfing championship in a place where there's surf, but that shouldn't be much of a problem since we have airplanes now.

[aaaaaa5a]

47. Is this an athletic competition or beauty contest?

Ultimately the governing body isn't to blame. We are.

The reason for the skirts is because they are trying to generate interest.

I have this conversation with my friends all the time. They are all for Title IX and women's sports. But then when I ask them if they saw the LPGA tournament (women's golf) over the weekend, or if they follow the WNBA (women's basketball) they look at me like I'm crazy. Women's pro golf is on life support in this country and nobody (especially women) seems to care! The WNBA survives only because it's subsidized by the NBA. The league has never turned a profit, yet I have never met a woman who even seemed remotely interested in the success of the league.

Women are 51% of the population, and control the "purse strings" in most households. That's the demographic advertisers and sponsors want. But women don't support women's sports. And men will only watch if the girls are in skirts. And thats the dilemma.

It infuriates me to see people talk about sports equality, but then refuse to back it up with their own actions. Those of us who are upset by the gross double standard the OP was talking about (and we should be), need to remember this the next time a women's sporting event is playing on TV or in town, and we refuse to take interest.


Money talks.

[The Midway Rebel]

49. If they really wanted to make the girls more attractive they should require a skirt AND heels.

Maybe a nice silk blouse and some pearls to clutch too. Grrrowl