Bye bikinis? Athletes at the Olympics and beyond battle sex dress

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Off Brand is a column that delves into fashion and beauty trends.

In 2004, then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter came up with an idea to make women’s football more exciting for viewers: tight shorts. His comments to the Swiss newspaper SonntagsBlick suggested that football might follow the example of volleyball, where women’s uniforms are more visible than men’s. (Mr. Blatter, who has been banned from football by FIFA for his ethical violations including illegal rewards, did not respond to requests for comment)

Mr. Blatter’s opinion was clearly on the back burner, but it was not shocking to those – like me – who had been involved in women’s sports at any level. As a high school hockey and lacrosse player, I received more “comments” about the length and style of today’s kilt from fellow students and passersby than any other aspect of the sport. Even in the days of lacrosse games, when I had to drag an old 6-foot wooden stick into each class, the comments were still about the faded outfit. Although I loved the charm of the old traditional skirt, I and my teammates for the most part preferred the option of wearing shorts. It struck me then as now that the mini skirt imposed a sense of something about the sport. The focus was in the wrong place.

In recent weeks, many elite athletes have expressed similar concerns as conversations about women’s sports uniforms have resurfaced. The German women’s gymnastics team wore full-body units to compete at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last Sunday in place of the more common bikini. In April, when the team first wore this subtle look (which, although allowed by the sport’s governing bodies, is rare), the German Gymnastics Federation tweeted that it was a statement against “sex in gymnastics”. It doesn’t seem coincidentally that this is the first Summer Olympics to be held after Larry Nassar was sentenced in 2018 for widespread sexual assault within the sport.

The week before, the Norwegian women’s beach handball team was fined 1,500 euros ($1,783) by the European Handball Federation for insisting on wearing shorts instead of mandatory bikini bottoms at the European Beach Handball Championships in Bulgaria. After an international outcry – singer Pink even offered to pay a fine to the team – the FA donated the fine to an organization that promotes equality in sport. Michael Federer, head of the FA, said his organization “will do everything possible to ensure that a change to the sports uniform regulations can be implemented”.

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