Beach volleyball: unfair, I say!
I hereby object to the obvious pulchritudinous inequities of the Olympian sport of beach volleyball.
To wit: why is it that the women’s torsos are relatively unclad while the men’s are coyly covered in tank tops?
Cases in point:
I hereby demand that men take off those shirts and show their formidable abs, just as the women must. It’s only fair. It’s perfectly all right with me if the men wear little bra thingees just like the women, since the alternative type of equality—topless women—wouldn’t quite work out.
Although it turns out the ancient Greeks actually did something of the sort.
Just leave things the way they are.
I for one vote for the women to be clad in Jello!
All nude female volleyball players works for me.
Nude men, much less so. Like Obama there’d be too much flip-flopping.
Neo:
As you know, women were barred from attendance at the original male Olympics. Hence men competed nude, including (ahem) ‘flip-flopping’.
There were only one winner and five events, with wrestling as the tie-breaker.
HOWEVER, women had their own ‘Olympics’, games dedicated to Hera, wife of Zeus. I recall that it was a foot race, with the athletes running (I think) about 200 meters, the standard length of the male foot race.
Women competed in a short version of a tunic, with the right breast exposed…and I supposed ‘flip flopping’ in its own distinctive way.
Pretty much same story w/ track and field competitors. i keep wondering how much the encumbrance of a traditional tank top and short shorts — as opposed to bikini-like briefs, might lower the speed of female racers, or perhaps add weight and thus hinder the female pole vaulters’ aspirations to the heighest heights; ditto re; volleyball players who need to constantly be light on their feet and jump high for great blocks and spikes and so forth.
But….then again……gymnasts…& trampoline competitors wear long sleeve leotards despite all the above applying to their achievement of their goals…. Even swimmers — not only are they not wearing bikinis, but many — both male and female — are switching to Speedo’s new Fastskin LZR Racer fabric “long johns.”
Go figure…..
Good Old Charlie: I go into that history in the link in the last sentence of the post.
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ah.. to expand (ahem) on neo..
the men often were turgid… as men get erections while fighting (check out some of the art on differnt pottery).
nudity was not the issue of separating men, such things were not in greece
and the wrestling.. is a lot different than we have wrestling today… it was brutal… and it included hitting as well.. the men were forced to keep near and at each other…
as far as the women and shirts…
they can wear tops, there is nothing stopping them.
however, many of them are bucking for money after the games, and given a choice between a hardbody that will expose, and one that covers up that no one is interested in, well you know who is more commercial.. i submit kornekova (bad speling sorry), as an example.. how many competitions has she won? how hot does she look?
as far as the men, they play with shirts on, because both women and men have to wear tops..
and here is the kicker i think neo missed.
if the men take off the shirts, then the women take off the tops (like the femnist protesters in ny)…
or would you rather see the men in very short halter tops, or ‘bro’s’, bras for men?
in other words, but have to wear tops, and men dont have micro mini pec covers to wear instead of tank tops..
i guess the men can take off the shirts and the women can wear pasties… (no tassles please).
🙂
Ahem, yes, Neo, you’ve unearthed an issue. I volunteer to lead a commission to inspect the gear for women’s beach voleyball.
In defense of classical liberalism — a refreshing topic 🙂
I was saying the same thing to my wife while watching the event.
Artfldgr: Actually, I did “cover” that kicker already, here:
It’s perfectly all right with me if the men wear little bra thingees just like the women, since the alternative type of equality–topless women–wouldn’t quite work out.
I don’t know. I think if they was all nekkid, the ratings would go sky-high. Now there is something to be said for participant comfort. I’m pretty confident that the “stuff” of both men and women would become rather uncomfortable after a time.
😉
No, no–the men’s synchronized diving was gay enough.
Neo,
The problem, and the inequality, comes down to money. Men can (in profitable sports) make a comfortable living from straight men and their sons. Women can’t yet earn a comfortable living from straight women and their daughters.
Hence the dilemma: how much skin do you show to attract the straight men and lesbians?
(Yes, I suppose gays watch male athletes with a keen sexual interest, but their impact on ratings and ticket sales isn’t a major factor).
Women’s beach volleyball is the only Olympic sport that matters.
– it don’t matter as long as America gets cheap chinese t shirts and sandals at Wal-Mart. Ain’t freedom grand- i can buy any color i want!? woo-hoo! we’re number 1 !!
point well taken.. 🙂
[though usually women (and men) dislike mens appearance when they wear feminine type things. which is why a lesbian can be fashionable, but a male, tends to be seen as comedy, unless he passes. how many women divorce their husband for wearing cloth that is shaped differently? when most cross dressers are hetero, not deviant, and dont wander the neighborhood but keep it private. meanwhile that same wife will wear his shirt to bed, or buy womens boxers, or wear ann klein… what an odd world we live in]
Artfldgr:
Jeff Foxworthy used to point that out in one of his routines; it always cracked me up. “Women can look sexy wearing men’s clothing, can’t they? You know, like a woman wearing a man’s button-down shirt, with her bare legs sticking out?… Now, men can’t do this in reverse!”
Neo: sorry, but I have little sympathy for you here. I’d think you would have seen all the uncovered rippling male physiques at the various swimming events. Sure, some of them wear concealing suits, but many don’t.
To me, women’s beach volleyball evens things out a bit. Bring it on!
(As for all-nude events: well, I wouldn’t mind. And if you wanted to bar Muslim and Arab states from the games, I can’t think of a better way.)
cheers,
Daniel in Brookline
Mostly I wasn’t looking high enough to tell if the women were wearing shirts.
> Although it turns out the ancient Greeks actually did something of the sort.
I don’t think the ancient Greeks ever played Beach Volleyball.
I might be wrong on that.
when i was still younger i used to play volleyball near the beach front, what a great sport*`,