Olympics Vows To Refrain From Airing Hypersexualized Imagery Of Female Athletes
Image via Photo 79646133 © Prazis | Dreamstime.com
With all the pushback surrounding the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, its latest decision to protect “the integrity” of athletes might be one of its most positive so far. However, there are still some loose ends to tie up in the system, as other actors continue to impose dress codes that could conflict with these objectives.
The Associated Press reports that, on Monday, the Olympic Broadcasting Services outlined its plans to forgo images that could put female athletes in an overly sexualized light. The hope is to promote “sport appeal, not sex appeal,” so as to level the playing field for all, regardless of gender.
Olympic Broadcasting Services chief executive Yiannis Exarchos expressed determination to capture the Summer Games in a more inclusive manner. “You will not see in our coverage some things that we have been seeing in the past, with details and close-ups on parts of the body,” he shared.
Even with new filming guidelines in place, though, it can be difficult to control what ends up on television. At present, some female uniforms—including those of gymnastics, swimming, and beach volleyball teams—continue to bare a lot of skin. The Associated Press notes that the International Olympics Committee (IOC) doesn’t oversee these rules for individual sports.
Taking matters into its own hands, the German women’s gymnastics team replaced the usual scanty leotards with full-body suits, or unitards, to advocate the freedom of choice in attire. “As you are growing up as a woman, it is quite difficult to get used to your new body…” one of the teammates, Sarah Voss, explained in a statement via Reuters. “We want to make sure everyone feels comfortable and… show everyone that they can wear whatever they want and look amazing, feel amazing.”
The gymnasts aspire to lead the way in banishing sexualization in the sport. “We want to be a role model… to make everybody have the courage to follow us,” Voss added.
The uniform change unintentionally refutes a recent incident—albeit one unlinked to the Olympics—that saw the Norwegian women’s beach handball team being fined by the European Handball Federation for refusing to play in bikini bottoms, and opting for skintight shorts instead. The New York Times reports that each woman was made to pay up €150 (US$177), amounting to a total of US$1,770.
While organizers of the games cannot guarantee that all imagery perceived as sexual would be excluded, they believe that they can eliminate some by ensuring “our coverage does not highlight or feature in any particular way what people are wearing,” said Exarchos.
In the updated Portrayal Guidelines, the IOC discourages “[focusing] unnecessarily on looks, clothing or intimate body parts” in order to keep broadcasts “gender-equal and fair” and “to respect the integrity of the athlete.” In addition, “wardrobe malfunction[s]” are to be reframed or removed from footage to protect athletes’ modesty.
Naoko Imoto, a swimmer at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and now Greece Education Chief at UNICEF, remains skeptical of the guidelines, which seem to right the standards of an oft-sexist Japanese media. “[The Japanese media is] really biased when it comes to gender,” she detailed in a statement obtained by the Associated Press. “Many of the channels look at female athletes [as] girls or wives or mothers and not really as pure athletes… Most of it also really gives attention to the looks saying... ‘they are beautiful or sexy.’”
Imoto added, “They are powerful and they are also beautiful, but they are not just women. They are athletes.”
[via Associated Press, Reuters, and The New York Times, images via various sources]
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