Skirting The Issue

I have to confess: I’m not a big boxing fan. My knowledge of the sport amounts to one full match I saw on TV and amazement over the fact that my Mom used to practice it as a kid. I was basically of the opinion that because I’m not a fan of huge gloves and broken noses, there isn’t anything in boxing for me. It turns out, I was wrong. There is something in it for me after all: denouncing sexism.

I may not be a fan of watching boxers beat the living daylights out of each other, but I have respect for the sportsmen and sportswomen who commit themselves to the grueling training and competition. Turns out the same can’t be said of the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA), which recently announced its plans to make miniskirts the mandatory outfit for all female competitors during the Olympics. Yes folks, shorts will no longer do, because it has to be obvious that ladies are competing, instead of sportswomen who need comfortable—as opposed to sexy— outfits.

In a sport where winning doesn’t involve drawing on any traditionally feminine skills, it may seem more important to bring out the sexiness and femininity of the competitors (if you’re a sexist buffoon bent on degrading attempts to raise commercial income, that is). 

In my opinion, women’s sports still aren’t taken seriously. We’ve seen this happen in every discipline from football to tennis, and from beach volleyball to marathon races. Women competing in sports are regularly deemed to be less “exciting,” and what lacks in sports spirit is made up in sexiness. Yes, it takes female gold medalists a few seconds longer to run 100m, and female tennis players hit the ball a fraction less powerfully than men. But it’s not like anyone watching this on TV or courtside would notice. And the actual performance aspect is not the problem. These women work just as hard as their male counterparts and deserve the same amount of respect and award money. But they don’t get it—instead, they’re repeatedly told to wear less and less when they compete.  

Why? Because they’re treated by sports managers as bodies to watch and not performers whose skills should be admired. In case there is any doubt as to the sexualization and objectification of women in sports, one can look at the news articles about the Williams sisters, arguably the highest achieving duo in female tennis. More than the results of their matches, the reporting revolves around their clothes and the “noisy grunts” they make. And remind me: When was the last time Andy Murray had his shorts and not his backhand over-analyzed after a game? Oh right, never. Because men get to be champions without being sexually objectified.  

So the AIBA is in good company. Sports disciplines all over the place are making sure their (male) viewers get to see more than just a good game. It seems like everybody is doing their best to heed the advice of FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who in 2004 made suggestions to “let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball…they could, for example, have tighter shorts.” (Although kudos to the members of the Badminton World Federation, which shelved its plans to phase in skirts this year after vocal opposition).

And to make it clear: This whole boxing skirts issue isn’t just bothering this random feminist who doesn’t even enjoy the sport too much. The boxers themselves are speaking out against it, including European championship silver medalist Natasha Jonas who said, “My personal opinion is if you want to wear a skirt, it should be a choice, it shouldn’t be forced upon anyone.”

Her opinion was reflected in Ireland’s three-time world champion Katie Taylor, who recently told the BBC, “I won’t be wearing a miniskirt. I don’t even wear miniskirts on a night out, so I definitely won’t be wearing miniskirts in the ring.”

Obviously, this is a problem for these sportswomen, and I find it infuriating that they’re not being listened to and their dignity as sports competitors and humans is being sacrificed in order to make them more “feminine.” What’s more, until a 2009 ruling, boxing was the only Olympic sport that was male only. Having fought for so long to make it into the Olympic ring, these women are now up against their own association. So they’ve been deemed serious enough to be in the Olympics, but not serious enough to get to compete in real sportswear? The AIBA will make its final decision in January and let’s hope it’s the right one—before someone has to knock some sense into them.

Maria M. Pawlowska is a healthcare analyst with a passion for reproductive health and gender issues. Her articles on different aspects of reproductive and women’s rights have been published by The Maternal Health Task Force, RH Reality Check, HealthyPolicies, The European Pro-Choice Network, and The Good Men Project, among others. Maria currently lives in London with her husband. You can reach her at: m.pawlowska@gatesscholar.org.

Photo credit marcinlachowicz.com/Flickr

Related Links: