Almost 123 years from today, on May 14, 1900, began the first Olympic event in which women were allowed to participate. Out of the 997 total contestants, 22 were women. Even if there were only 22, seeing women participating in a male-dominated area was a ginormous step towards gender equality and opened up athletic opportunities for more women around the world.
Now, huge numbers of women from all over the world participate in athletic games, making up almost half of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic event. Gold medal by gold medal, women have made it clear they are capable of amazing athletic feats, yet to the public, they are still struggling to prove themselves equal to their male counterparts.
As many of you may have heard before, the Olympics originated in Ancient Greece as a religious event in honor of Zeus, the almighty god of the Ancient Greeks. Men from all of Greece’s city-states would come to Zeus’ temple to participate in athletic games, in anticipation of fame and a sacred laurel. However, these games, due to their religious meaning, were abolished when the Roman Empire took over Greece, intending to spread Christianity.
After years of absence, the games were finally revived in the late 1800s by Frenchman Baron de Coubertin. Unlike the Greeks, De Coubertin’s purpose was to showcase masculinity and the “manly virtue”; thus, women were not allowed to participate. Although many women requested to participate, athleticism was seen as a manly attribute. Nevertheless, women persisted, even forming their own resistance olympiads. Finally, they won their battle and were permitted to join the Paris 1900 Olympics.
Female athletes had finally made their way to the competition, but unfortunately, this opened the door to more hardships. Having a woman compete athletically at that time was seen as unfeminine and ridiculous, something that combated the fragile nature of women. The Olympics were intended to show off masculinity, but now that women were participating, it was made sure that their femininity was preserved. Additionally, The International Olympic Committee (IOC) worried that allowing women to participate in such sports would take away their masculine nature of them. As a result, women were strongly policed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), only being allowed to compete in sports deemed feminine enough (such as croquet, tennis, skating, and equestrianism).
To much dismay, women were banned from participating in more “masculine” sports, such as track and field. In addition to sports, women’s clothing was policed as well. Clothing that highlighted their bodies in a way that fit societal gender dressing standards was enforced in the dress code. In the 1900s, skirts and dresses were thought to be the pinnacle of femininity, and so the first female gold medalists competed in them.
On the left: Queenie Newall, (1854 – 1929) Archer
On the right: Briton Madge Syers, Figure Skating Gold Medalist (1881 – 1917)
After winning countless gold medals, women had proven their athletic ability. Unfortunately, society continued to ignore the fact that women could excel in an area meant for men. To make sure the image of femininity would not be disrupted, the media started highlighting female athletes’ appearance rather than praising their athletic feats. When Magda Julin, a Swedish Olympic athlete, won the gold medal for skating in 1919, the accounts about her discussed her beautiful dress rather than her accomplishment. After this incident, the message to female athletes was sent: they would continuously be struggling with the public to prove that athleticism did not have to be a manly attribute.
Gradually, women were allowed to compete in more Olympic sports, even ones that had originally seemed too masculine. The contribution of women in World Wars I and II contradicted the idea of their fragile nature, and so they were permitted to compete in sports such as track and field. However, women were only just recently permitted to participate in all Olympic sports, at the London 2012 Olympics.
Women could now play whichever sports they wanted, but the issue of their femininity being emphasized persisted. This was executed by dressing them up in ultra-feminine attire. Since the 1900s, the women’s dress code has changed several times, updating itself to what fits societal gender-dressing norms, ranging from hoop skirts to bikini bottoms. In this century, having emphasized curves are seen to be the pinnacle of femininity, so women are enforced with a dress code that follows this standard.
While resolved for other sports, this issue continues to be a problem for specific sports such as track and field, swimming, gymnastics, and volleyball. The Norwegian Beach Volleyball team was fined for wearing tight shorts instead of bikini bottoms, which made no sense, as their male counterparts wore shorts with no backlash. In regards to gymnastics, Simone Biles, an American Gold-medal gymnast, said that it should be anyone’s choice whether to wear a unitard or a leotard.
Although an athletic dress code is necessary, it should be composed of outfits that ensure the best performance, rather than a societally favorable appearance. However, female athletes themselves usually don’t have a say in what costumes will allow them to perform the best. Ever since the 1900s, spectators and the media have been focused more on the qualities that make female athletes conventionally beautiful, rather than their athletic achievements. Female athletes are more times than not made famous for their looks, which is disheartening to women who have trained hard for their success. What’s worse is that with today’s beauty standards, public focus on their appearances almost always leads to hyper-sexualization. Female athletes are often asked to pose in suggestive ways and are constantly hearing comments about their bodies.
Societal norms have held up a relentless war against female athletes by forcing them into a feminine cookie-cutter mold. Despite that, women are still determined to break out of that mold. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics is proof of that, with female athletes taking a stand against the dress code, and being almost 49% of competing contestants.
Throughout history, sports have always been a showcase for masculinity. However, it’s time for the public to let go of gender roles and realize the success of female athletes.
— Writer Ishi Kulshrestha can be reached at ishikul25@gmail.com
Sources:
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— Writer Ishi Kulshrestha can be reached at ishikul25@gmail.com.
