Their outfits have long tried to reconcile notions of femininity with those of athleticism, but this process has turned women into objects to be admired rather than being valued for their sporting skills. Heres what it does for lactating parents. Earlier this month, the Norwegian beach handball team decided to wear shorts rather than bikini bottoms in the bronze medal game of the European Beach Volleyball Championship. It should be clear, at this point, there were no terribly dramatic shifts in track and field uniforms from the 1950s onward. I think girls uniforms are more skimpyto draw the male crowd in, she said, referring toall levels of athletics. For us, it was important above all to reach young athletes because it's often said that a couple of athletes right now do not want to continue in the sport during puberty due to the dress code, Voss said in a statement. Join them today with a recurring donation or a gift of any amount. Bravo Norwegian Women's Beach Handball team for standing up to the rules regarding the hypersexualized uniforms female players are expected to wear while playing. Slowly, female athletes are pushing back on outdated uniform regulations and demanding that athleticism be prioritised over aesthetics. The Olympics represent a global standard. Contributing: Sandy Hooper, Alex Ptachick. How Olympic Track & Field Uniforms Have A change in culture needs to happen, Scurry said. Women's dress codes in sport are determined by "traditions" that are both outdated and gendered. Games like tennis, volleyball, track and gymnastics all see women more scantily clad than their male counterparts. The model donned uniforms designed for each sex, similar to those worn in gymnastics, running, tennis, volleyball and swimming. Which demonstrates a very important angle in this whole uniform topic. And as the girls up the glitter-factor the fabric budget seems to have suffered with more flesh on show than ever at the 2008 Games in Beijing. A 2017 survey by BT Sport found that 80 per cent of elite female athletes in the United Kingdom felt pressure to conform to a certain look and body type, with 87 per cent of respondents saying the pressure to present a certain type of body image had influenced their diet. Savage isn't sure that's possible even if men and women were to wear the exact same uniform in every sport. Let female athletes wear what they want Of course, these bare minimum uniforms must be all about sports performance. At the same time, if a female athletehas an option, it is up to her what she wants to wear..