12/18/24
March 28, 2012
Women's Volleyball Players Get Bikini Reprieve: In order to respect and accommodate the cultural beliefs of various countries, women volleyball players will be given more of a choice in clothing at the London Olympics this summer. Instead of having to wear bikinis, the International Volleyball Federation has announced that women will be allowed to wear shorts and tops with sleeves. The new rule permits “shorts of a maximum length of (1.18 inches) above the knee,” so I doubt we’ll be seeing any board shorts on the beach.
posted by preacher81 to olympics at 10:32 AM - 32 comments
I didn't realize that bikinis were a requirement. What is the justification for why there is a need for any specific clothing requirements?
posted by bperk at 10:45 AM on March 28, 2012
Does anyone watch women's volleyball for the sport?
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh are great Olympians. I would've watched them compete for gold even if they exposed 40 percent less buttcheek.
posted by rcade at 11:09 AM on March 28, 2012
Sepp Blatter's remarks to follow...
posted by JJ at 11:20 AM on March 28, 2012
What will this do to the viewer ratings in the male 13-? age group? Does anyone watch women's volleyball for the sport?
The idiotic bikini rule is exactly what contributes to this attitude. One might better ask, does anyone care if the removal of the cheesecake factor gets rid of a bunch of adolescent wankers?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:22 AM on March 28, 2012
lbb, pun intended?
posted by apoch at 11:27 AM on March 28, 2012
It's about time they woke up and addressed the extreme demands that are made on these athletes.
Full extension digs with hard landings are no longer frontally invasive if you're in a burqa.
posted by beaverboard at 11:32 AM on March 28, 2012
"Allowed" instead of "mandated." The NCAA mandates regular uniforms. Guess the idea behind bikinis was ... have you ever had sand stuck in tight shorts?
posted by jjzucal at 12:26 PM on March 28, 2012
Does anyone watch women's volleyball for the sport?
I'd watch even if they all played in burqas. Volleyball is my favorite summer olympics sport.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 12:40 PM on March 28, 2012
Volleyball is my favorite summer olympics sport.
Six-a-side? Yeah, that's fun to watch, and there's a genuine element of strategy.
But this is beach volleyball we're talking about, where the bikinis were mainly a distraction from how it's a severely dumbed-down version of the indoor game.
posted by etagloh at 01:47 PM on March 28, 2012
I still find it to be very entertaining. 2v2 is one of my favorite types of volleyball to play, despite the absence of some of the game's more strategic aspects.
On a different note, topics about bikinis bring out the best in Google side bar ads.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 02:40 PM on March 28, 2012
Which reminds me, for goodness sakes rcade, those side banner ads for international bikini beauties that have the heights and weights displayed in centimeters and kilos, can you please tell those people to convert the measurements to customary US pounds and inches?
At my age, having learned my first arithmetic lessons in an unlicensed in-the-home elementary schoolroom, there is no way for me to be able to tell how fetching a woman actually is by using the metric system.
posted by beaverboard at 02:56 PM on March 28, 2012
does anyone care if the removal of the cheesecake factor gets rid of a bunch of adolescent wankers?
I for one would. I hate those idiots and their stupid comments while they stuff their faces with cheesecake. Look man, I'm just trying to enjoy a nice bite to eat with my wife and some friends. I don't need a bunch of teenagers wanking while I'm eating. But you don't need to remove the whole restaurant.
posted by THX-1138 at 03:51 PM on March 28, 2012
How did you not go with "brief reprieve" for the headline?
posted by yerfatma at 05:01 PM on March 28, 2012
What will this do to the viewer ratings in the male 13-? age group? Does anyone watch women's volleyball for the sport?
I'm so sorry for your loss. I pray the world finds a way to again ensure that simpleton heterosexual men are the sole audience for everything.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:03 PM on March 28, 2012
I pray the world finds a way to again ensure that simpleton heterosexual men are the sole audience for everything.
Hollywood blockbusters?
/Took the kids to see John Carter last weekend. Dear God.
posted by owlhouse at 01:39 AM on March 29, 2012
Dear God, it was more entertaining than I expected despite the excessive media coverage anticipating a flop, and I'm among the 70 percent of moviegoers who liked it according to Rotten Tomatoes? I agree completely.
posted by rcade at 09:35 AM on March 29, 2012
It must be due to the fact that I grew up in sunny Southern California - the birthplace of beach volleyball - that I find many of the comments above not really offensive, just extremely ignorant.
Besides playing indoor volleyball (6 v 6) in high school, college, and afterward, I also played lots of 4 v 4, 3 v 3, and yes, tons of 2 v 2. Trust me, there is a LOT of strategy in 2 v 2. If you as the viewer does not perceive it (or the commentators don't explain it well), don't blame the sport. Generally, I like SpoFi because there is not the usual bashing of sports (like soccer) because people don't know any better, but this thread seems to be an exception.
Granted, there are more offensive possibilities with six a side as opposed to two, but then, for example, why is singles tennis so much more popular on TV than doubles?
posted by sbacharach at 11:22 AM on March 29, 2012
Michigan doesn't even have boys volleyball in high school. Only club teams at the college level.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 11:38 AM on March 29, 2012
I like the fact that the athletes now have a choice. It will be interesting to see how many of them opt to continue wearing the bikinis. Personally I like the bikinis and they add to my enjoyment of the sport but don't watch solely because of the bikinis. Volleyball is a great sport to play and very difficult to play 2 on 2 in the sand. Let the athletes wear what they want but I suspect the sexier they look, and dress, providing they win or play at a high level would only enhance their money making opportunities. This is not to say this is right and I don't consider it sexism solely directed toward woman. I am pretty certain that David Beckham's international appeal, endorsement contracts and player contracts all are increased in value because he is some sort of sex symbol running around in his shorts that has lead to him appearing in underwear ads and becoming some sort of model.
Beach volleyball as a sport exists on endorsements that promote a natural, healthy and athletic beach lifestyle, combined with the fact that most players have always worn beachwear while playing, makes me believe those Brazilian girls are not changing the way they dress or play. Most players make money from sponsors like sun screen companies, tanning products, and swimwear etc. Now the Saudi team can wear burkas if they like but I hope the American and Brazilian girls continue to dress in the traditional and culturally acceptable butt floss bikinis for the sake of the sport.
posted by Atheist at 01:15 PM on March 29, 2012
Personally I like the bikinis and they add to my enjoyment of the sport
Really? What type of bikini do you wear when you play?
Now the Saudi team can wear burkas if they like but I hope the American and Brazilian girls continue to dress in the traditional and culturally acceptable butt floss bikinis for the sake of the sport.
Oh, of course. For the sake of the sport.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 02:10 PM on March 29, 2012
Really? What type of bikini do you wear when you play?
He wears them backwards like on James Bond movie posters. Hot!
posted by rcade at 03:10 PM on March 29, 2012
Really? What type of bikini do you wear when you play?
I never said I played.
Oh, of course. For the sake of the sport.
Well for the sake of the sport and for the fact that I wholeheartedly support a woman's right to choose, regardless whether she chooses to wear a burka or a hot bikini. Frankly they can play naked for all I care, but I would then be much more selective on which matches I chose to watch. Must be tough keeping sand out of the burka or staying cool in it but hey one man's beach is another man's sand trap.
The male sport equivalent might be MMA or Boxing or Wrestling (real and "sports entertainment"). Some fighters wear shorts, some like ruffles and tassles on their shorts, some opt for athletic tights and some like to wear speedo type bikinis. Even the most brutal and violent sports can allow participants to exercise their sense of style while competing. Why not beach volleyball.
He wears them backwards like on James Bond movie posters. Hot!
NOT but if it intrigues you to think about it........
posted by Atheist at 05:18 PM on March 29, 2012
Really? What type of bikini do you wear when you play?
I'm thinking of entering in the beach volleyball event. I'll wear a speedo*, and that will be the last you ever see of beach volleyball as a public event.
* Maybe that's not a good idea. There are laws against scaring children and small animals.
posted by Howard_T at 05:20 PM on March 29, 2012
I never said I played.
I guessed not.
My thinking is that if your enjoyment of a sporting event is enhanced by what the players are wearing, you're enjoying something other than the sport. That's no knock on you in particular, but let's call it what it is. In pandering to that, beach volleyball is acting like it doesn't even care about being seen as a legitimate sport. The change is long overdue and quite likely too late for that.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 05:38 PM on March 29, 2012
In pandering to that, beach volleyball is acting like it doesn't even care about being seen as a legitimate sport.
It's kind of funny, it never occurred to me that the players had to wear bikinis. Call me naive, but I always thought that the skimpy bikinis worn to compete were just an organic development. The game is a beach game, and it is played in beach attire-i.e. bikinis. It will be interesting to see how many players switch to a more modest uniform, and how many stick with the traditional teeny bikini.
And when I play, I wear the traditional Kazakh garb. Me with my teammates in '09.
posted by tahoemoj at 06:04 PM on March 29, 2012
At home, speedos are known as "budgie smugglers".
posted by owlhouse at 09:47 PM on March 29, 2012
Dear God, it was more entertaining than I expected despite the excessive media coverage anticipating a flop, and I'm among the 70 percent of moviegoers who liked it according to Rotten Tomatoes? I agree completely.
It was rubbish, but not as rubbishy as I thought it would be. In that case I would agree with you. :-)
posted by owlhouse at 03:25 AM on March 30, 2012
speedos are known as "budgie smugglers"
Now I realize where the old maxim extolling the comparative value of a bird in the hand comes from.
posted by beaverboard at 07:51 AM on March 30, 2012
I never said I played nor did I say I didn't. Actually I have lived my entire life in So. Cal and have lived on a boat or on the beach for the last 3 decades. Played plenty of beach volleyball and wore board shorts. Also played co-ed 6 on 6 volleyball in high school. Like Tahoemoj surmised the attire was just an organic development as beach volleyball is a beach version of the game and developed that way. It was not developed as some conspiracy to eventually go global and professional with bikini wearing girls as entertainment value in mind.
They play beach volleyball the way they always have and I don't think there is anything wrong with the players wearing bikinis if they have a choice. Also call me weird but I don't think there is anything wrong with enjoying the sport and appreciating the beauty of athletic women in bikinis. Didn't the the ancient Greeks do naked Olympics? Are we so uptight that the human body in motion and performing athletically is something bad to appreciate?
LBB - FWIW I don't care what players want to wear but I do believe in offering a choice to allow players who are uncomfortable with the traditional bikini to do something else. To all those cultures that take offense at women in bikinis playing sports: my guess is those are the same cultures that take offense in women playing sports in general. Lets just keep defending their rights but at the same time not allow their intolerance of others to force us into giving up our bikini wearing rights to appease their bizarre sense of modesty. In some cultures it is completely acceptable to murder people for god's sake but unacceptable to teach a woman to read let alone show her body if she chooses.
posted by Atheist at 12:24 PM on March 30, 2012
At home, speedos are called "banana hammocks".
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 03:57 PM on March 31, 2012
They play beach volleyball the way they always have and I don't think there is anything wrong with the players wearing bikinis if they have a choice
Was it wrong when they didn't?
To all those cultures that take offense at women in bikinis playing sports: my guess is those are the same cultures that take offense in women playing sports in general.
Lets just keep defending their rights but at the same time not allow their intolerance of others to force us into giving up our bikini wearing rights to appease their bizarre sense of modesty.
Be specific, please. Exactly which "they" are you talking about?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:45 PM on March 31, 2012
What will this do to the viewer ratings in the male 13-? age group? Does anyone watch women's volleyball for the sport?