“It is a lack of respect”; “They are not made at all with performance in mind”, “Professional athletes should be able to compete without devoting brain space to constant surveillance of their pubes”; “This is not an elite sports team for athletics, it is a costume born of patriarchal forces”…
These are just some of the reactions to the uniforms introduced by Nike for the United States Olympic track and field team. One of the models for female athletes is a kind of one-piece swimsuit with an extremely high cut that leaves part of the pubis exposed. A design that has unleashed the ire of many athletes who consider that it is not an outfit worthy of a professional athlete.
“The amount of attention it takes to your pubes to wear something like that and on a world stage, when you’re trying to be carefree and free to push your limits and not be worried about every movement of your body… It’s honestly a lack of respect,” said Lauren Fleshman, 5,000m champion in 2006 and 2010. “If this outfit was truly beneficial for physical performance, men would wear it,” she said.
Colleen Quigley, eighth in the 3,000m hurdles at Rio 2016, was also very critical of this design: “Everyone competing for the United States team deserves a uniform that they feel comfortable in, that they don’t have to worry about. to feel self-conscious about putting on their underwear or because their vulva is visible.
Faced with this avalanche of comments, Nike has had to come forward and give an explanation about these uniforms. The American firm has explained that it offers fifty garments to athletes with a dozen different styles and that athletes can choose the one that is most comfortable for them. And a USA Track spokesperson
American middle-distance runner Athing Mu and American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson were among the athletes who wore Nike’s Olympic uniforms at the launch show in Paris yesterday. While Mu wore boxers, Richardson wore a version of the outfit with shorts.
Not everything has been criticism, the Olympic pole vault champion in Tokyo, Katie Moon, acknowledged that “what was shown on the mannequin was worrying and justified the response it received,” but clarified: “We have at least 20 different uniform combinations for compete, we can even use male options if we want. When you attack by saying something along the lines of “sexist” (which if that were our only option, it would be), even if it’s with the best of intentions, you’re ultimately attacking. our decision as women to wear it. We do have the power to choose what to wear and we should support this autonomy.”
