Women Athlete Stereotypes

The American Prospect wrote an article about Women Olympians and the stereotypes they still go through today. I used to be a female athlete so this article really hit home with me.

Usual attire for Karrie Walsh

Since the 1900's Women have been competing in the Olympics, but usually in a negative demoting stereotype claiming they need to be more feminine in both appearances and grace. This sexist view has brought many female athletes to their knees suffering, sometimes ruining their career altogether. Eating disorders become common. The female athletes that get the most coverage during the Olympics are usually Women's Gymnastics, Figure Skating, and Women's Beach Volleyball... ironically the three sports that require the least amount of clothing, aside from Women's Swimming. Figure Skating along with Women's Gymnastics is common for known as the "beauty sports". Make up is a requirement, and sweat isn't as apparent as other female sports. These sports produce a pre-pubescent connotation, which usually leads to eating disorders. Eating disorders are the end of an athletes career, depending on the severity. Jenny Kirk, a ice skater had her career end after an eating disorder.

New Attire allowed by Olympic Committee Karrie Walsh

The attire required by Women's Beach Volleyball is a favorite by many men. The women wear tight fitting bikinis, a common publicity requirement to capture more viewers. However, this Olympic season, the women's volleyball team had the option of wearing more clothes than usually required. This brought modesty back to just drawing attention onto the actual athleticism these female athletes obtain.

This was the usual swimsuit required by
our team to swim in (Me)

In high school, I was a four year varsity female swimmer. The way that the high school jocks looked at us were "wow your sport is really tough, but you aren't as pretty as the cheerleaders". This brought frustration to a lot of my teammates and we felt like we were being undermined for our talents. This also occurred in the Olympics this year. An Australian swimmer, Leslie Jones, was compared to Michael Phelps (the most decorated medalist ever) for being 30 pounds lighter, weighing in at 150 pounds. The press made a big deal about this, hurting Jone's attitude, but she brushed it off and kept competing throughout the Olympics.

The world to this day still believes women should only be wearing heels while cooking dinner and cleaning the house. It disgusts me that the media makes female Olympians feel like they aren't feminine enough even though they are the top athletes of their sport in the World. Looking around as a former female athlete in college, it disgusts me how women still view this. Being in a sorority, I feel like the only female colligate team recognized by my TCU peers are TCU Cheerleading and TCU Show Girls. The women who break through these stereotypes should be recognized for keeping a strong head on their shoulder because honestly, if I was still swimming, I don't think I would be able to be mentally tough enough to make it through college as a female athlete for an unrecognized sport.

To read more of the article see links below:

http://prospect.org/article/olympic-girls-go-bad-boy

https://kractivist.wordpress.com/2012/08/05/athletes-dont-wear-heels-women-at-olympics-are-shaking-off-pressure-to-be-feminine/