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Team GB's Zoe Smith broke a British record in weightlifting but had to put up with sneers from some social media users. Nick Potts/PA Wire

Column Female Olympians are national heroes, not national sweethearts

The desire to see female athletes looking feminine at all times is a bit of a relic, says Lisa McInerney, but it doesn’t stop some people bodysnarking at female Olympians.

AH, THE OLYMPICS. A chance to see humanity’s most epitomising specimens competing to determine who’s the fastest, who’s the strongest, who’s the most nimble – who’s the best.

Any opportunity to see brilliant people being brilliant is… well, brilliant. But only the most resolute pragmatist would deny it’s also the chance to see very hot people being brilliant. Olympians are in the prime of physical health. They are the best of the best. It is not at all unusual that we find ourselves admiring them as much for their aesthetic properties as for their achievements.

So this isn’t necessarily a critique of how we view the world’s best athletes (even if how we photograph the beach volleyball competitors is borderline creepy). It would be a sad day indeed if we weren’t allowed to appreciate physical condition, since the future of the human race depends on our continuing attraction to one another.

What’s a head-scratcher, though, is how we are generally more appreciative of the male than of the female Olympians. The male competitors are a chorus line of veritable Adonis stunt doubles. The female are best appreciated when they subscribe to certain social standards of beauty.

Let’s come out and say it: when they’re thin and perfectly coiffed.

Well of course they’re thin! you may well be thinking. They’re fit, toned and strong, and possess abs you could play Greensleeves on, had you a set of spoons and a complete lack of disregard for your own physical safety. But with Olympian strength comes big Olympian muscles, and big Olympian muscles aren’t socially deemed so attractive in a woman. Better that she attend gym classes purely to fit into pretty dresses than do so to build her upper body strength. It’s hard to ogle a woman who could put your head through a wall, in fairness.

English weightlifter Zoe Smith had to put up with sneering tweeters telling her she looked like a “bloke” and a “lesbian”

Take three-times Olympic gold medal winner, Australian swimmer Leisel Jones. Before the Games, she was denounced as being “too fat to compete” by Melbourne’s Herald Sun. She’s taking home a silver medal.

English weightlifter Zoe Smith had to put up with sneering tweeters telling her she looked like a “bloke” and a “lesbian”. She broke the British record for ‘clean and jerk’ lifting, lifting twice her body weight.

Sixteen-year-old US gymnast Gabby Douglas has been roundly, and weirdly, criticised because her hair didn’t look right. Her hair? She’s taking home a gold in both team and individual events! Not bad for a veritable Medusa who shouldn’t have been allowed to leave the house, or something.

Even super-toned Jessica Ennis, one of Team Britain’s standout stars and communal crushes, was allegedly told by an unnamed official before the Games that she was ‘fat’. This is depressing for myriad reasons for us couch potatoes – if Jessica Ennis isn’t immune to the worldwide trend of gawking at and loudly critiquing the female form, what hope do the rest of us have? But let’s not forget how damaging it is to the Olympians themselves, who despite evidence to the contrary, are only human. Hollie Avil is one example of a high-profile sportswoman (a triathlete) who had to quit competitive sport after admitting she had battled eating disorders.

Yes, what hope is there for any of us plain Janes if even the Olympic athletes are getting bodysnarked to weeping husks of their former selves because they don’t quite match the current physical standard for beauty, which, last I checked, says the perfect woman manages an eating disorder in between cosmetic surgery appointments?

And while it’s undeniably true that going to the gym is encouraged and promoted for women, it’s often done so as a lifestyle choice you can slim down with and accessorise your smokin’ new wardrobe to, rather than as an outing that will make you stronger. Check out the gym ads you see scattered all over magazines and roadside billboards – women are encouraged to get fit to get thin (hence the amount of images that include measuring tape props) or to procure for themselves an appealing arse (hence the amount that try to sell conceptual beach bums to insecure and potentially lumpy ladies).

Matchstick arms are great for modelling delicate straps and expensive watches, but not so fantastic in competitive swimming.

All of this of course misses the point that were our female Olympians to look like underwear models, they wouldn’t be very good at sports, now would they? Matchstick arms are great for modelling delicate straps and expensive watches, but not so fantastic in competitive swimming. Likewise for thighs, busts, calves and shoulders – Olympians need strength, not the approving glances of us mere mortals. Wafting down the track in tea-dresses, augmented boobs hitting them on the chin, is surely not how we want our female athletes to compete.

The desire to see female athletes looking feminine at all times is a bit of a relic, really. As a norm, it should have been abandoned back with having to stay home on voting day, or needing a man’s written consent to even cross the threshold of a financial institution.

We here in Ireland have had great cause to get behind a truly formidable female athlete, Katie Taylor, who’s had a phenomenal and inspirational Olympian run.

Prior to the Games, when officials were debating whether or not to make skirts mandatory for boxing’s female competitors, Taylor was quoted as saying that if she wasn’t interested in wearing mini skirts on a night out, she certainly wasn’t going to do so in the ring.

Taylor is the perfect example of a brilliant athlete uniting her country’s fans in support: so far, I haven’t heard or read a single disparaging comment on her lack of false eyelashes.

Katie Taylor is a national hero, not a national sweetheart. And long may that line of thinking continue.

Read previous columns on TheJournal.ie by Lisa McInerney >

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57 Comments
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    Mute itaryan
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    Aug 10th 2012, 7:13 AM

    Hear hear! Can’t believe they were going to make them wear skirts. Who are these people?

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    Mute Richard Crompton
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    Aug 10th 2012, 9:42 AM

    Nothin creepy about admiring the beach volleyball players, they wear the small bikini’s for a reason- most of them have done magazine spreads like Fhm. They are using their great athleticism to gain extra coverage for their sport, and it is working. Love live pause!!

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    Mute hughsheehy
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    Aug 10th 2012, 7:27 AM

    Actually this whole idea of the stick insect woman being some ideal that men want women to comply with is mostly nonsense. Most men rather fancy a fit muscular woman. There are people who are skinniness fascists, but not that many…men or women.

    In any case I rather doubt that Katie Taylor gives a hoot what some random non-Gold-Medal-winning stranger things of her looks. She’s the hero, not them.

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    Mute Dexter Gordon
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    Aug 10th 2012, 9:39 AM

    Agreed! What’s this obsession about being ‘too fat’. Most men aren’t attracted to thin women, no matter what women themselves think.

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    Mute Phil Prendergast
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    Aug 10th 2012, 7:13 AM

    …and so say all of us, we need to shift the focus to achievement in sport, or whatever the specialty is, and not how someone looks.

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    Mute seamus mcdermott
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    Aug 11th 2012, 10:51 PM

    We’ll leave the looks issue to the television news presenters. :-)

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    Mute John Ryan
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    Aug 10th 2012, 7:34 AM

    Another five minutes of my life I won’t get back thanks to Lisa. What exactly was the relevance of this?

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    Mute Shneak
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    Aug 10th 2012, 8:06 AM

    Every group is going to use the achievements of Katie to push their own agenda. Politicians were first, now it’s the feminists. Who will be next?

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    Mute Vocal Outrage
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    Aug 10th 2012, 8:50 AM

    John, the headline was clear as to the content of the article, if you were so concerned about those 5 minutes you had all the info to decide not to read it, give up the trolling

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    Mute Donncha Foley
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    Aug 10th 2012, 8:54 AM

    So judging people by their ability and not their looks is now ‘feminist’? Thanks for update……

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    Mute Adrian de Cleir
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    Aug 10th 2012, 9:31 AM

    I agree John, its one if those articles where the author already gas their point, they just needed to find the rare almost non existent situations it up.

    As for people saying ‘you knew what the article was going to be about’, i had faith that it would be a solid article

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    Mute Adrian de Cleir
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    Aug 10th 2012, 9:32 AM

    *to back it up, I mean

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    Mute Zoe Hughes
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    Aug 10th 2012, 8:35 AM

    I’m not saying this to take from Katie’s performance, at all- I think she as an amazing athlete, a superb boxer, and she seems like a truly lovely woman. But surely I’m not the only one who watches her matches with half my brain thinking “sweet jebus, she’s gorgeous”??!!??!!? Same for most of the female athletes. I am flabbergasted by the comments made about the British weightlifter, and Gabby the Gymnast. Her hair, really? She’s leaping around the place and twisting into a pretzel and you’re watching her hair. Really???? Bizarre.

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    Mute Viv O'Connor
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    Aug 10th 2012, 7:33 AM

    Strange I thought we were in the 21st century. Such a shame athletes cannot be appreciated for their prowess whatever
    gender.

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    Mute Flaming_Troll
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    Aug 10th 2012, 7:40 AM

    Agreed John. How an athlete wants to look is their choice.

    It’s not our place to tell them, and its certainly not for some ultra-feminist to decide to do so either!

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    Mute Andrew Eager
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    Aug 10th 2012, 10:07 AM

    So you agree with Lisa then. Go figure.

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    Mute Edel Quinn
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    Aug 10th 2012, 8:39 AM

    This is hardly a femininist argument, do you see one mention of women being regarded as superior to men? Quite the contrary the author is merely wondering about the double standards that exist when the public views male & female athletes. There is little doubt this is the case, I watched Katie’s last two bouts in public places & while the majority of viewers were completely supportive & proud I heard various sexist remarks uttered by men about both Katie & her opponents looks. So many of the male athletes aren’t exactly pleasing on the eye but I’m pretty sure this is rarely thought about not to mind voiced openly in the face of their athletic prowess. There is constant pressure on women to conform to certain body image and ridiculously this prevails even in the Olympic arena. It shouldn’t matter what the sex of an athlete is, there is barely any time differences between male & female competitors at this point in our evolution, so why must some male viewers feel so threatened by female athleticism & success? This is the 21st century afterall & well done to the author for opening this debate.

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    Mute John Ryan
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    Aug 10th 2012, 8:43 AM

    My gilfriend told me that herself and most of her friends try and look their best not for their boyfriends or other males but for other girls. So I don’t think you can heap it all on men.

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    Mute Nick Beard
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    Aug 10th 2012, 10:19 AM

    Feminism REALLY doesn’t mean that women are superior to men. At all. The point is that I’ve heard plenty of teenage girls say that they don’t want to do sports which would make them too muscular, because it’s not feminine or attractive. Which is ridiculous. Beauty comes in many forms and good on Katie for refusing to box in a less comfortable skirt to appear more “feminine.”

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    Mute Sinéad Redmond
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    Aug 10th 2012, 11:37 AM

    The fundamental tenet of feminism is regarding women as equal to men. Not superior. See: http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/69192?redirectedFrom=feminism#eid

    “Advocacy of equality of the sexes and the establishment of the political, social, and economic rights of the female sex; the movement associated with this”

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    Mute Niall Hughes
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    Aug 14th 2012, 4:28 PM

    Lisa you seem to have created a lot of this in your own head! But amazingly some of it actually rings true. Your wild, “stab-in-the-dark” like claims do occasionally hit on some key issues.
    To clarify though, majority of the sexualisation of the games is created and perpetuated by women. I had to google Gabby Douglas. The top 3 articles on her hair are by women (also, consider they may not be talking about the hair on her head… then in fairness that is a fiasco).
    Another example – Tom Daley. Look at how Tom Daley was sexualised by Clare Balding and the BBC (it was their Olympics afterall) coverage, with one guest panellist claiming she would strip off and jump in the pool with him if he won a Gold.
    Liesel Jones – A swimmer being too fat is a genuine cause for concern for a nation – because of the impact it could have on her ability to win a 4th Gold. nothing to do with how attractive she is in a one piece. She didn’t win Gold. The journalist was vindicated.
    Men don’t seem to think / care about these issues half as much as women have convinced themselves that the world does.
    My interest, and all my male friends interest, in the games is purely in athletic ability. I waited 4 years for this. I don’t want it trivialised by women/men moaning about the same old inequality sh*te.

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    Mute Dave Kavanagh
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    Aug 10th 2012, 8:33 AM

    National heros and national sweet hearts. It matters little how an athlete looks but the ladies like Taylor, Ennis etc will earn more because of their looks. This is not limited to lady sports stars. David Beckham has traded on his looks and fair play to him. This article assumes that these athletes will be insulted if they are viewed as pretty or hot, think the agenda is more the writers than the athletes. Stop politicising sport for persinal agenda

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    Mute John Ryan
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    Aug 10th 2012, 8:40 AM

    Well said Dave. When’s the last time you heard a mens group give out over the likes of Beckham getting modelling contracts over say Tevez?

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    Mute Jayniemac
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    Aug 10th 2012, 8:42 AM

    Did u even read the article? It’s not about some ultra feminist telling ppl what to look like…if anything i think the headline takes away from a well written piece. I think it’s appalling that women in sport have to endure the extra annoyance of people commenting about their appearance. What i wouldn’t give for a body like Jessica Ennis! (in itself, a comment about her body?!) But people (both genders) will always comment especially on out of the norm physiques such as the female weightlifters, it’s sad but true, but I don’t think it means ppl want or expect them to look another way though, or that it changes peoples levels of respect for them, having said that, Anna kournikova…revered for her looks not her abilities…i guess pretty is a bonus and i don’t see that ever changing

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    Mute Donal McCarthy
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    Aug 10th 2012, 9:01 AM

    I’m sure female athletes will be delighted to here Lisa tell them it’s fine that they don’t look feminine.

    The female appearance pressure thing is wholly created by women – how many times are we told that women don’t dress up for men, they dress up because of other women?

    If you want to change those pressures, start your lecture there.

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    Mute Deirdre Forde
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    Aug 10th 2012, 10:35 AM

    Yes, everything really is that black and white.

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    Mute Donal McCarthy
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    Aug 10th 2012, 10:51 AM

    Perhaps you could address the point Deirdre.

    The issue this is essentially the old one of why are women judged on their appearance more than men are (increasingly less so – thanks ladies).

    The appearance issue is largely one of female creation (the ‘wholly’ above was a mistake – apols). Ladies Day at the races has nothing to do with men. Nor do the 50 pages in the summer edition of Cosmo on how to get the buff beach body (or whatever).

    This is just another one of those lazy group-think feminist articles that fails to even begin to think that women might the source of the issue.

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    Mute Deirdre Forde
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    Aug 10th 2012, 11:06 AM

    The “wholly” was what I had an issue with. I felt you were insulting your own intelligence.

    I don’t believe that women are the source of the issue. I believe that both men and women hold the blame for the distorted view of the body beautiful. Have you ever heard men critiqueing a woman’s body? I’m sure you have.

    I’m sure you don’t mean that women ‘group-think’ and that because Lisa has certain opinions, we must all agree. But for the record, in general, I cringe a bit when I read her articles.

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    Mute Donal McCarthy
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    Aug 10th 2012, 11:36 AM

    Of course I have heard men critiquing a woman’s body. That stems from a very base thing that has more roots in biology than sexism – I think. We are all programmed to go for certain physical cues.

    I just think the ‘femininity’ issue has to do with standards set and maintained by women.

    As regards the group think thing – female comments on Lisa’s articles are nearly always supportive. The critical ones tend to be about issues of style. Women never seem to have a substantive issue with anything she writes (or anything that anyone writes that has a feminist tone). Surely that could be seen as general agreement?

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    Mute Deirdre Forde
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    Aug 10th 2012, 11:59 AM

    I believe that the ‘femininity’ issue has to do with standards set and maintained by both men and women. This is from general observation.

    The ‘critiqueing’ I am talking about can be dismissed as innocent biology… but it doesn’t make aspects of it any less nasty or damaging. No less than that of women critiqueing women.

    Your right that I have an issue with the style of her writing, I feel it looks for a reaction from men. But also I feel it’s not inward looking enough… which is something that’s coming across in your opinions in a reactionary way.

    I do agree that women athletes are judged too much on their appearance though. Do you think that’s a valid observation or am I a subject of ‘group-think’? Are the men’s opinions here ‘group-think’?

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    Mute Donal McCarthy
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    Aug 10th 2012, 12:17 PM

    I think all women are judged on their appearance more than men are – no matter what field of endeavour they are involved in. Apart from pop music maybe. And places like Italy.

    I would accept we are all to blame for this etc. but I think the role of women in this is largely over-looked and airbrushed away by articles like this.

    As regards Lisa’s articles, yeah, if the objective is to provoke a reaction from men, than she generally succeeds with me. And what you call ‘not inward looking enough’ is precisely my problem with most of her articles.

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    Mute Nick Beard
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    Aug 10th 2012, 2:37 PM

    I think both men and women enforce this idea of what is the perfect body (and yes, I do think it’s a cop out to chalk male criticism up to “biology”). There are a range of gorgeous bodies and a range of preferences. Katie Taylor doesn’t define what a woman’s body should look like any more or less than Gabby Douglas. I’ve heard plenty of men and women criticise women’s bodies. Blaming it on one gender is ridiculous. It’s amazing that Katie is providing a new type of role model for young girls.

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    Mute Edel Quinn
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    Aug 10th 2012, 9:07 AM

    When i mentioned the word feminist it was in response to two of the comments above. I agree it’s normal to admire beauty in either sex coupled with fit bodies this is a winning combination. My key point is that the looks of female athletes is talked & commented about publicly & in media whereas you’d never never the looks of male boxers for instance being discussed. Yes you might hear that Lochte is good looking but you’d never hear oh that male gold medalist is ugly etc. The female Australian silver medalist being called fat in media, a story also mentioned in Irish media, is a clear example of how this debate is relevant. Who are we judging these athletes against, female models? They are fit to super human levels yet it is ok to call them fat in public! I think it’s all a good example of how skewed our perception of female beauty has become.

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    Mute Sinead Kiely
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    Aug 10th 2012, 9:46 AM

    Very well written article Lisa. Pity people are not really seeing the point and making skewed interpretations.
    Whether male, female, fat, thin, 14yrs old, 64 yrs old, black, Muslim etc …. the sport is about skill … and the beauty is in how that is executed.

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    Mute Gaius Gracchus
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    Aug 10th 2012, 8:40 AM

    The problems that plague the minds of the bourgeoisie

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    Mute Deborah Byrne
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    Aug 10th 2012, 9:31 AM

    Great article.

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    Mute Leila Jane
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    Aug 10th 2012, 10:19 AM

    Physical strength isn’t just a masculine trait, the sooner we stop saying that they look unfeminine the better. They are strong, incredible people who have achieved things regardless of their gender. Strong, healthy women are hot.

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    Mute Tom Barry
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    Aug 10th 2012, 9:56 AM

    This is a tough one to comment concisely on. On the subject of male athletes being generally handsome while the female athletes are not always pretty. This is because to compete at the highest level you need large quantities of the competitive hormone testosterone. Having high levels of testosterone (relative to your sex) in your system will give your body and face “male” characteristics. As 80-90% of the population are heterosexual, then a woman with “male” body type is going to be considered less attractive than women with a “female” body type. Strength sports also require larger levels of testosterone than flexibility sports. Thus female hammer throwers are generally not as “attractive” as female gymnasts.
    Foot note: As there are 10,500 athletes in the Olympics there will always be exemptions to the above.

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    Mute Ferg Breen
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    Aug 10th 2012, 11:32 AM

    A good article in that it is terrible that female athletes should be subject to criticism on how they look.
    However, Katie Taylor IS a sweetheart. Her being a sweetheart doesn’t take away from her being a hero. She appears to be a particularly kind, gracious, humble and down to earth girl which in my books makes her a sweetheart. Nothing to do with her looks; it’s her countenance and how she handles herself. She is also a hero.

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    Mute Adrian De Cleir
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    Aug 10th 2012, 12:16 PM

    The reason I dont like the article is because I dont think its relevant enough. The examples are weak and few and far between compare to the bigger picture, which is

    a: Women in general are far more secure than you are giving them credit for here, and simply see remarks like the ones you’ve highlighted as cowardly anonymous nonsense.

    b: The vast vast vast majority of people watched and commented on the sport , be it mens or womens, as oppose to commenting on the types of things you are mentioning.

    c: You could probably find an equal number of silly comments towards men, they just go unnoticed. The amount of footballers that get called fat once they pack a couple of pounds on. But we dont see it as an attack on men, because we simply dont care.

    Im sorry but it just feels like the article is written for the sake of writing the article.

    It demonstrates something else too, that some women, thankfully the minority these days, need to stop being so insecure and taking this stuff so personally and as some sort of derogatory attack on their gender. And instead see it as some clowns talking crap online or in a rag Aussie paper.

    In the same way , when we see racist remarks on twitter, we dont think that black people should have to defend themselves, we think “what idiot clowns writing that nonsense”

    The best feminist article Ive read in a long time was one here recently that talked of men looking stupid in adverts, and how that needs to change. It was contemporary and up to date with current thinking. This one seems dated. The vast majority of people commented on how hot Jessica Ennis is,

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    Mute Geoff Dolan
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    Aug 10th 2012, 6:46 PM

    “English weightlifter Zoe Smith had to put up with sneering tweeters telling her she looked like a “bloke” and a “lesbian”. ”

    What can I say? Internet forums are toilet paper for the intellectually stunted to wipe their cognitive excrement off on…

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    Mute Patrick Lyons
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    Aug 10th 2012, 9:59 AM

    It is unfair to comment on their looks but Zoe Smith can pick me up anytime.

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    Mute Nydon
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    Aug 10th 2012, 5:24 PM

    There is a generally accepted male body shape and a generally excepted female body shape. This is not by accident or human design but by sheer weight of numbers occurring naturally. Until such time as a third sex called ‘athlete’ is created then saying that female athletes look like men – if they do – will continue. It shouldn’t be taken as an insult if it is a fact. Just as it would be likely that the very best competitive male drag artists would look feminine even when not engaging in their chosen field of endeavour, it is simply down to the necessity to exaggerate the traits that give them the best advantage. While it could be argued that female athletes are not trying to ‘be’ the opposite sex unlike drag artists, the reality is that in many ways they are – by emulating the physical traits of the generally accepted male physique that give them the most advantage. Singular driven pursuit of excellence has a down- side which is a deviation from ‘normality ‘- either physically, mentally or lifestyle .

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    Mute Nick Beard
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    Aug 10th 2012, 6:17 PM

    The question is why is it generally accepted? Why are muscular arms considered masculine? It’s neither a primary nor secondary sex characteristic. Saying that this is a trait of men is something that should be examined, rather than just taken for granted.

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    Mute Tiarnán Byrne
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    Aug 11th 2012, 2:44 AM

    Lisa I have to say that was one of the most poorly constructed opinions I have read on this site in a long time. I don’t necessarily disagree with the thesis that conforming to a certain perception of beauty is a pressure felt far more by female athletes than male, but what you have written above does a terrible job of asserting that particular view, or any one view for that matter.

    What exactly is your thesis?

    You seem to be trying to argue that women in sport are being judged not only by they’re sporting performance but by they’re appearance, and that is wrong. Then you change tac by saying that it is the measure of that beauty that is flawed, that muscular physics should be appreciated as much/more than as those of super-models. Amongst all this you make a generalisation about the appearance of the male Olympians the ‘Adonis stuntmen’. Was that not a judgement of their beauty? Perhaps it was meant sarcastically? In any event the argument was either poorly communicated or the sarcasm poorly used.

    Later you describe the judgement of female athletes by their appearance as a norm belonging to a different era, but then almost immediately argue that Ireland has got behind Katie Taylor in a way that we pressume you believe is the ‘right way’, thus contradicting the early assertion that the ‘wrong way’ is in fact the norm in our society.

    Lisa in short, I’m afraid that I can neither agree not disagree with your opinion since in order to do so it has to be first communicated unambiguously to me.

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    Mute Adrian Martyn
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    Aug 10th 2012, 12:08 PM

    Yeah but in fairness herself and just about all the other women are hot.

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    Mute Paul Carr
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    Aug 10th 2012, 2:39 PM

    Ok, Lisa, let’s return to some facts. You claim that, prior to the Olympics, officials were debating whether to make the wearing of skirts mandatory for female competitors. What officials were they? Saudi Arabian officials?

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    Mute Nick Beard
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    Aug 10th 2012, 4:35 PM

    Amateur boxing officials actually.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/aug/09/womes-boxing-adams-equality-olympic.

    To be honest, any articles about the process of bringing women’s boxing to the Olympics have mentioned it (and many have mentioned Taylor’s opposition to skirts), so I have no idea where you’re getting the idea that she’s misrepresenting facts?

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    Mute Nick Beard
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    Aug 10th 2012, 4:37 PM

    That link doesn’t seem to be working, so http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/boxing/15452596

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    Mute Paul Carr
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    Aug 10th 2012, 5:48 PM

    Nick: I wasn’t accusing Lisa of anything. I was asking her questions.

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    Mute Harry
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    Aug 10th 2012, 6:01 PM

    I can’t remember if it is in the Guardian article but I did read that they didn’t actually ask them to wear the mini skirts, they just sort of distributed them as the new uniforms, as if they thought no-one would kick up a fuss! I also read somewhere (sorry about my crap referencing) that female pro boxing is a lot more about appearance (with the women doing magazine spreads etc) because they need to draw the crowds in, unlike the amateur boxing. Maybe that will change as it gains a higher profile. The mini skirts story is beyond belief though and I can understand why you might have questioned it!!

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    Mute Nick Beard
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    Aug 10th 2012, 6:16 PM

    To be honest, I think these articles speak volumes about Lisa’s point. The reason they wanted women to look skirts is that they didn’t look “feminine” enough. As if femininity is defined by legs alone!

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    Mute Paul Carr
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    Aug 10th 2012, 10:15 PM

    According to the BBC article, only Poland forced their female amateur boxers to wear skirts. Poland is hardly a country at the vanguard of gender equality.

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    Mute Nick Beard
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    Aug 10th 2012, 11:09 PM

    Right, only Poland forced. However, if you read the BBC article, officials from the international amateur boxing association were considering forcing ALL women boxers to wear skirts (prompting Taylor’s kickass reply). In the end they didn’t, but the facts don’t really bear out your idea that this was a few officials from a backwater.

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    Mute Paul Carr
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    Aug 11th 2012, 9:06 AM

    I read the BBC article and it says no such thing. The article even states that AIBA considers the wearing of their skirts to be optional and that they have no plans to make them compulsory.

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    Mute Padraig Chaomhánaigh
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    Aug 25th 2012, 6:33 PM

    Here, Here. One day the world will wake up and unite in gratitude towards those who gave so freely of their time, efforts and true dedication to what they believed in.

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    Mute Padraig Chaomhánaigh
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    Aug 25th 2012, 6:33 PM

    Here, Here. One day the world will wake up and unite in gratitude towards those who gave so freely of their time, efforts and true dedication to what they believed in.

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