YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU WEAR

Our columnist laments that women still remain prisoners to their attire — whether at school or on the Olympic track

By Nashira Davids

I wasn’t the best hockey player at school but I adored the sport and worked hard. Cross country kept me fit and strong, and I would practice dribbling on the open field at home whenever I could. But there was one thing I loathed to no end — the dreadful navy pleated skirt still hanging in my cupboard. I was a rake of a girl so even the smallest size was too big. I would roll it up to fit my waist but then it would get too short and, on occasion, the Cape Town wind would lift that rag mercilessly. I would be so overwhelmed with embarrassment and annoyance that it inevitably affected my game.

At that age, I was not ready for how my body was changing so I didn’t want it on display. I didn’t have the same qualms as a runner; the shorts and top were perfect.

When my daughter started her netball career, it began with shorts at primary school but as she got older, there it was — the awful skirt. It had come back to haunt me – and taunt her. I saw her adjusting and fixing it much as I had once done. Eventually, she got more relaxed and, as she climbed the ranks, the uniform became more comfortable with lycra skirts and matching tights. At one match while touring in Pretoria, two teams ran onto the court in shorts. There were double takes from many bystanders and other players but the girls seemed comfortable and no less feminine as many of the stone-age sports administrators had once feared.

Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, the German gymnastics team, led by Sarah Voss, chose full-length bodysuits instead of bikini-cut leotards. Voss’s explanation?

“Gymnasts don’t always feel so comfortable training in leotards. Also, in gymnastics competitions, one has the feeling that they slip out of place or could slip out of place. And perhaps that cameras or photographers can catch this poor moment... With the bodysuit, we wanted to show the campaign [of] ‘It’s my choice’. We can always freely decide if we want to wear a leotard or full bodysuit.”

I give Voss and her team a resounding 10 for that leap, as well as the German Gymnastics Association for supporting them. However, in the same month, Norway’s handball team was fined a ridiculous £128, merely for wearing shorts rather than bikini bottoms as stipulated by the International Handball Federation.

“It’s so shocking that we have to pay for not playing in our panties,” team member Tonje Lerstad told the BBC.

Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) Chief Executive Yiannis Exarchos assured they would endeavour to prevent overly sexualised images of sportswomen by ending broadcasting of “details and close-up[s] on parts of the body” — an effort to reach gender equity on the playing field. Despite this, a subreddit called Oh-lympics has gained thousands of followers with images and videos of top women athletes carrying inappropriate sexual captions. One tame comment reads “Perfect jiggle, especially on the left” so you can only imagine what others say.

While it is impossible to stop such depravity, it is time for more sports federations — from school to professional levels — to protect girls and women, and give them the freedom to choose their attire. It is time to stop fixating on what women should look like and focus on their strength, determination and how they are pioneering in their respective sporting codes.