Beach Volleyball first appeared in the Olympics at the Barcelona Games as an introductory sport in 1992. And became an official event four years later in Atlanta. Making Paris 2024 the ninth Olympics to include it. Currently 24 countries compete, making it truly a worldwide phenomenon. And it has long enjoyed front-and-center status, with picturesque venues such as London’s Horse Guards Parade off Whitehall and of course this year, right at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. When the Olympics assign you the kinds of locations that are typically the first to get destroyed by aliens or natural disasters in a Roland Emmerich movie, you know you’ve reached the peak of international popularity.
Which, the world being a terrible place, guarantees somebody somewhere is going to be cheesed off about the fact lots of people enjoy watching it:
Why DO female volleyball players wear skimpy bikinis? History behind the controversial uniform revealed as fans reignite ‘sexism’ row over double standards with the men’s kits https://t.co/YpYtguFjcm pic.twitter.com/rlo2LrQZaj
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) August 5, 2024
MAURO PIMENTEL. Getty Images.
Source – Beach Volleyball is one of the most popular sports in the Olympic Games each year – and often the most talked about.
The stark differences between uniforms for men and women are often pointed out, with the latter wearing figure hugging high-rise bikinis, whereas their male counterparts don loose loose tank tops and shorts. ..
[In 2012] the International League for Women’s Rights held a protest in the capital city against gender discrimination in the sport.
At the time, Annie Sugier, spokeswoman for the International League for Women’s Rights, told Forbes: ‘They are using women’s bodies as sex.
‘It is all about money. It makes women look like objects and it is a clear case of sexism.’
At the time, female athletes said that while people may tune in to view them in tight swimwear, they will stay for the sport. …
Aussie Natalie Cook said she was ‘OK with it’ as it is the ‘only sport where women dominate,’ whereas Misty May-Treanor added that ‘what you see is what you get’.
Some women actually prefer wearing bikinis as they say two-pieces prevent sand from getting trapped in their uniform, as they dive into the ground to save the ball.
Retired player Jennifer Kessy told Today that that sand was ‘restricting’ and ‘limiting’ her movements. …
Female volleyball players are now allowed to play their sport in leggings, with Marie-Sara Stochlova from the Czech Republic recently taking advantage of the changes.
French players Alexia Richard and Lezana Placette donned shorts and t-shirts under their bikini tops last week.
OK, so to compete in this Sport of Queens, you’re not required to dress like you’re working a Champagne Room off the Vegas Strip? So it’s Case: Closed then, right? The official policy is “You do you,” which should pretty much end the conversation. The Natalie Cooks, Misty May-Treanors and Jennifer Kessys of the world have long hated sand more than Anakin Skywalker. The Czechs and French prefer covering up. To each her own.
And sure, we could go all Toxic Masculinity on this topic, with cheap, low-hanging fruit jokes.
The only Olympic sport I like to watch is the women’s beach volleyball 🥵 https://t.co/fyKMlVCofr
— Karen From Finance (@BoredomDidIt) August 2, 2024
no one supports women’s sports more than me
i am the biggest beach volleyball in the nation.
i will not apologize pic.twitter.com/lxHopWqfO5
— Seltzy 👑 (@SeltzerKing_) August 1, 2024
Women’s Beach Volleyball is the best Olympic sport…change my mind pic.twitter.com/30JJsaxgZ9
— Garrett Holt (@garrettwestholt) August 4, 2024
Hear me out: what if we boycotted all the Olympics except for women’s beach volleyball? Then everyone boycotting would watch only this event, boosting its ratings and signaling that this is what we want to see. 😜 pic.twitter.com/slu2NZef5u
— Jason X (@Real_JasonX_) July 28, 2024
Like this one that has been shared 6,400 times, with about half of those texted to me:
