Women's Rights Groups Offended By Olympic Beach Volleyball Uniforms
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 28: Fernandez Steiner Liliana of Spain and Soria Gutierrez Paula of Spain gestures during Beach Volleyball women's preliminary phase - Pool A on Eiffel Tower Stadium - Centre Court during the Paris 2024 Olympics Games on July 28, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo By Alvaro Diaz/Europa Press via Getty Images)
Beach volleyball has become one of the most popular sporting events at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The sport made its debut at the 1996 Games in Atlanta and has been growing in popularity ever since.
This year, the games are being played at Eiffel Tower Stadium underneath the Paris landmark. The stands are packed to the brims and the male and female beach volleyball players are big stars, with massive followings on social media.
But some women's rights groups are not happy with the "sexist" uniforms that the women's players wear.
"They are using women's bodies as sex," Annie Sugier, spokeswoman for the International League for Women's Rights, told Forbes.
"It is all about money. It makes women look like objects and it is a clear case of sexism."
Compared to the men's teams, they are quite skimpy. But after all, this is beach volleyball, on the sand. There are some women's teams that choose to wear pants, in the leggings category, but they're probably hotter and less comfortable than bikinis.
U.S. beach volleyball player April Ross, meanwhile, is OK with the extra attention.
"Once they see the athleticism of our sport they're hooked on it," she told Forbes.
Many women, after all, prefer the two-piece swimsuit while playing. They say it's more comfortable. Jennifer Kessy, a retired player, told "Today" that she prefers it.
"Imagine diving chest first and lodging more sand than you care to think down the front of your suit," she said.
'You can’t keep it in there and it is not easy to get out. I found myself adjusting my one-piece all the time and while it was embarrassing, sure, it also took my focus off the match I was playing."
What do you make of what the women's beach volleyball players wear?
