Why do female athletes wear skimpy clothing?

originally posted by: grainofsand
a reply to: cavtrooper7 Do female athletes get more hot than men then?

They ARE more hot than men, definitely.

originally posted by: Soloprotocol
Because they would look bloody stupid running in a duffel coat.

I just had this image of a field full of sprinters all in head-to-toe burqas, like a dozen Cousin Its. (shakes head)

a reply to: grainofsand

Female MMA fighters pose nude, people don't care about female athletes otherwise (casual fans).

Because they don't have dangly bits that look ridiculous when squished into tight fitting clothing. If you don't believe me, look for images of a male pro-cycle team in tight fitting pink coloured cycle shorts. I saw that image once, and needed brain-bleach afterwards.

Ah found the image again.

i115.photobucket.com...

Click at own risk, now pass me some more brain-bleach.

To be more aerodynamic and build a fan base on televised events.

a reply to: grainofsand

Why do female wear skimpy clothing? Because they are not allowed to run in the nic

a reply to: learnatic

Meant to add that I have seen women wrestle in the nic.

Allow me to reply as the female I am:

SEX SELLS.

That's the reason.

I don't consider fashion to be about sex, but about freedom. Even more than that, its about presence. Those who think they can control others and hide them or diminish them, are abusive. Clothing is a man made artifice, and I don't value anyone thinking they have any rights to determine what is decent or normal. People need to make their inner reactions to others normal, not try to control them.

a reply to: BMorris

Well, you can certainly tell who's left and right handed. Lol. Pass the brain-bleach, please and thanks. Lol

originally posted by: Unity_99
I don't consider fashion to be about sex, but about freedom. Even more than that, its about presence. Those who think they can control others and hide them or diminish them, are abusive. Clothing is a man made artifice, and I don't value anyone thinking they have any rights to determine what is decent or normal. People need to make their inner reactions to others normal, not try to control them.

You are absolutely right Unity99! clothing is just to keep one war. It is time that we stopped being such prudes. PEACE, my love up to you all in Canada.

Thanks for all the interesting replies folks, I've quoted a selection of points which grabbed my attention:

Television ratings and corporate sponsors

That's exactly what I think as well. There is absolutely no practical performance based reason for female athletes to show their midrift and wear knickers instead of shorts. Here's a pic of Sweden's Abeba Aregawi, left, as she crosses the finish line ahead of United States' Jenny Simpson in the women's world championship 1500-meter final in Moscow 2013.

Because ESPN says to. End of story.

Again, I am drawn to thinking the same thing. Sex sells.

There clearly inviting men to have sex with them. Women dont do physical activities or sports for health, its clearly just so they can be noticed by men. /sarcasm.

Who suggested they are inviting men to have sex with them? Not me, I'm just wondering why show the skin when it does not offer any performance advantage? The picture I posted above shows that the physical differences of females does not require the midrift to be shown, or is Sweden's Abeba Aregawi somehow unique?

Well they look a lot better than if they were wearing Burqa's, and I don't think that wearing what amounts to a non skimpy bathing suit counts as scanty. I wore far less when I was younger. Don't like any clothing nazi's.

Why mention the extreme example of a burqa, this thread was asking the question why female athletes show more skin than men when it has absolutely nothing to do with performance. Male athletes would obviously do the same if it reduced times by even a tenth of a second?
I hold the same opinion of "clothing nazi's" as you do, I'm all for women to show as much skin as they like, indeed I'd probably watch female football (soccer) a lot more if they wore knickers and crop tops like track and field athletes.
But while there is no technical reason for it I can only assume it is because sex sells.

The reason that men wear actual jerseys or shirts and women do not is because the material that the women use must be sturdier, so the girls don't go bouncing all over the place.

I don't agree, and refer you to the image I posted above. There is no performance/practical reason to run in knickers and crop top so it must be a fashion/image/sex sells thing as far as I see it.

Most if not all male athletes also wear as little as possible with tight fitting clothes to avoid rubbing sores - I do Ice races in skin tops and speedos to keep clothing levels to a bare minimum to avoid chaffing

Do you wear a crop top showing your midrift as well? No didn't think so, for some reason that is a female only thing isn't it.

Female MMA fighters pose nude, people don't care about female athletes otherwise (casual fans).

I agree. It's fairly obvious that viewing figures are higher in relation to the amount of skin female athletes wear, one only has to look at the ratings for female beach volleyball to confirm that.

Because they don't have dangly bits that look ridiculous when squished into tight fitting clothing.

What has that got to do with showing the midrift and wearing knickers, men don't have dangly bits on their stomach's or thighs.

To be more aerodynamic and build a fan base on televised events.

If aerodynamics came into it then male athletes would show their midrifts as well...I agree about the fan base for television though.

Allow me to reply as the female I am: SEX SELLS. That's the reason.

What a refreshingly honest answer, thank you, I am in complete agreement.

I don't consider fashion to be about sex, but about freedom. Even more than that, its about presence. Those who think they can control others and hide them or diminish them, are abusive. Clothing is a man made artifice, and I don't value anyone thinking they have any rights to determine what is decent or normal. People need to make their inner reactions to others normal, not try to control them.

Why do you mention controlling others? I haven't noticed anyone in this thread advocating such a thing.
As I said, I'm more than happy to see female athletes showing as much skin as they like, but as it is not about increasing performance, I wonder why feminists bleat about popstars wearing similar skimpy clothing which equally has no relevance to their singing. I see no real difference with female athletes sexing up their image to gain sponsorship and/or boost TV ratings. Long may it continue though, and as I mentioned with the huge ratings for female beach volleyball, it clearly works.

Team GB female & male beach volleyball teams...

...nothing to do with performance, or is it?

It is time that we stopped being such prudes.

Who's being a prude in this thread? Certainly not me, I'm all for women showing as much skin as they like. It is a contributing factor for the reasons why I watch female athletics.

Same. Well, personally I don't like to wear too skimpy of outfits. But that's personal preference. A good friend of mine dresses really skimpy and she looks super hot doing so. She's quite sexy haha And she has some of the biggest boobs I've ever seen. But yeah the reason really is because sex sells. Not just to men. To women who want to look like those women, too. It's just the simple truth.

Skimpy/tight outfits are the only reason people watch women's sports.

If the WNBA played in sports bras and tiny lycra shorts, people might actually watch.

originally posted by: rukia
A good friend of mine dresses really skimpy and she looks super hot doing so. She's quite sexy haha And she has some of the biggest boobs I've ever seen.

I'm having trouble understanding what you're trying to say. Perhaps a photo or 10 would make it easier.

originally posted by: grainofsand

They just made her wear that in hopes that it would slow her down enough to give the white runners a chance.

a reply to: Answer

xD

while I can totally hear what you're saying, it also made me lol a bit irl because I thought on the other hand of how racist it sounded. Why would you think that? jk

a reply to: grainofsand

How does it not offer a performance advantage?

When you run, you sweat, sweat is absorbed by clothing which makes it weigh more and have more resistance against the body and more wind resistance.

Less clothing = faster PB. It's basic physics.

Showing one picture of a runner in a normal top doesn't mean it has no advantage, it just means that particular runner is better. Look at swimmers, the males wear far less than the women for obvious reasons.

Men dont wear boob tube tops as we don't have boobs and have broader shoulders so that design of top would be restrictive to movement. It's also extremely painful for men to run in y fronts and women run the risk of yeast infections etc... if they pile on clothing down there.

As I said in my post I run topless in ice races to avoid carrying water weight/being cold. While at lower levels it may be about fashion, at olympic levels people aren't going to throw away a lifetime of training just to look good on camera for a few seconds. At least give them some credit.

originally posted by: Brotherman
As a man you wont hear me complain =D

Besides that lol have you ever seen USMC green on green in the summer? LOL I used to think it was uber gay then one day I realized it is a perfect reflection of the Corps, its simple, its ugly, and it gets the job done.

AH, yes, "silkies" don't leave much to the imagination.

originally posted by: bastion
Men dont wear boob tube tops as we don't have boobs...

Your lips to God's ears...