Sports should be about people’s athletic prowess, marveling at their strength and dexterity, and celebrating breaking the limits of what we thought the human body is capable of. What sports should not be about is putting athletes in suggestive outfits so that the audience can ogle them shamelessly. Well, the Germans have finally had enough, it seems.
This Sunday, Germany’s gymnasts wore full-body suits (also known as unitards) in the women’s qualification at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to protest the sexualization of their sport. Usually, gymnasts wear leotards that don’t cover the legs. The German team aims to take a stand against the sexualization of women, for comfort, and to help younger athletes feel safer in the sport. They believe that everybody should be able to choose to wear what they’re most comfortable with.
The debates about clothing and uniforms in sports can make you feel like you’re living in a bizarre version of Planet Earth. Bored Panda recently wrote about how the Norwegian women’s beach handball team got fined for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms. Meanwhile, there’s an ongoing heated discussion about whether or not to allow afro swimming caps in professional competitions.
Germany's female gymnasts wore full-body suits instead of leotards at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualifying round on Sunday
Image credits: Pauline Schaefer
The gymnasts took a stand against the sexualization of their sport and young women
Image credits: Pauline Schaefer
Their goal is to help female gymnasts feel comfortable and safe no matter what they choose to wear
Image credits: Elisabeth Seitz
Image credits: Sarah Voss
Image credits: Pauline Schaefer
Image credits: Elisabeth Seitz
Image credits: Pauline Schaefer
Image credits: Kim Bui
Image credits: Deutscher Turner-Bund
Image credits: Elisabeth Seitz
Here is what the German team's uniforms were like in 2016, in Rio
Image credits: Pauline Schaefer
Sexual abuse and the objectification of young women and girls in the world of gymnastics is a fact. AP notes that a former USA Gymnastics national team doctor, Larry Nassar, was sent to prison for 176 years for sexually abusing hundreds of gymnasts.
The difference between men’s and women’s uniforms in gymnastics competitions is striking. While women conventionally opt for leotards, men wear clothes that cover more of their bodies.
This isn’t the first time that the German gymnasts have chosen to defy conventions and take a stand against sexualizing women in the sport. They also wore unitards in April, at the European Gymnastics Championships.
The German team was the only one opting for unitards on Sunday. All the other teams wore leotards. Here's the Brazil 2020 team
Image credits: Sarah Voss
USA 2020
Image credits: NBCOlympics/
Image credits: NBCOlympics/
Image credits: NBCOlympics/
Image credits: Sunisa Lee
Japan 2020
Image credits: Aiko Sugihara
Italy 2020
Image credits: Lara Mori
Controversy over clothing in sports is nothing new. Very recently, the Norwegian beach handball team got fined for choosing to wear shorts instead of bikini bottoms
Image credits: Norges Håndballforbund
Image credits: Norway beach handball women
However, so far, none of the other teams have chosen to follow in the Germans’ footsteps at the Olympics. And opinions about which uniforms are the most comfortable seem to be split among some athletes.
For instance, legendary American gymnast Simone Biles said in June that she prefers wearing leotards because they make her seem taller. However, she pointed out that she fully supports the idea that gymnasts should be able to choose to wear what they’re most comfortable with.
Here's how some people reacted to the news about the German gymnasts wearing unitards
However, some internet users had a different opinion about wearing full-body suits
