OPINION
In case there was any doubt that misogyny still existed, Norway’s beach handball team for wearing shorts instead of the bikini bottoms approved for their sport. The European Handball Federation (EHF) said the disciplinary action was being taken to deal with “a case of improper clothing”.
The International Handball Federation's state that: “Female athletes must wear bikini bottoms... with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg… The side width must be of a maximum of 10 centimetres.”
The men on the other hand are allowed to wear shorts. In a sport where athletes have to constantly dive into the sand, many of the Norwegian team complained that bikini bottoms weren’t practical.
The incident coincidentally occurred around the same time Paralympian long-jumper Olivia Breen was told by an English Championships official that her sprint briefs were too short.
Breen tweeted about the encounter, saying: “I feel disappointed because just as I finished my long jump competition one of the female officials felt it necessary to inform me that my sprint briefs were too short and inappropriate. I was left speechless. I have been wearing the same sprint style briefs for many years and they are specifically designed for competing in… It made me question whether a male competitor would be similarly criticised.”
For some reason regulators are always keen to impose dress codes on female athletes, even if such codes seem ridiculous. Let us not forget, for example, the debate over whether in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympics.
Skirts were actually introduced in some female boxing competitions in response to a complaint by the president of the Amateur International Boxing Association, who said that spectators watching female boxers would “not tell the difference” between men and women in the sport. More than 50,000 people signed a petition to allow women to choose what they wear in competition and thankfully reason and logic were upheld.
2012 was also when the uniform guidelines for beach volleyball (a sport that could be confused with beach handball) . Until then, women playing beach volleyball had to wear bikinis when competing in the sport but now they are allowed to wear shorts. However, it seems most women competing in the sport are sticking with the bikini.
And it doesn’t matter how well known of an athlete you are. Serena Williams, arguably one of the most famous female athletes in the world, was from wearing a catsuit, even though it was specifically designed with a compression garment to help prevent the blood clots that nearly killed her during childbirth.
It’s hard to find similar examples of how male athletes have been policed over what they wear, but it follows suit that as women in daily life are told about what is and isn’t appropriate to wear, that women in sports would be as well. Whether it’s being told what we are wearing is suitable for the office, or when we are , or having laws drawn up stopping us from , women are constantly policed about what we choose to put on our bodies. And no doubt most women will say this constant policing is exhausting. Yet there is no out – it is something we've all had to accept.
In the case of the Norwegian beach handball players, they that by making a stance they earned support from across the world. Hopefully this will enable the ruling body to make changes to the uniform much like the changes that occurred for beach volleyball players. However, the reaction to their outfits was just another example in a whole host of examples where women’s bodies are policed by regulatory groups that are for the most part lead by men.
Women know what’s best to put on their own bodies, and no one (not least a faceless ruling body) should have the final say over what we wear, whether it be a black catsuit, bikini bottoms or a pair of shorts.
Saman Shad is a freelance writer.
