[bigmadwolf]

If the team likes the new outfits (which look good) and are more comfortable in them, that's great. Likewise I see some other athletes have specified a preference for leotards which is also fine. All good as long as the athletes have a choice. Not sure I agree with labelling bikini-cut leotards as 'sexualized' though.

[greenbamboo]

The sexualization happens downstream on social media. See for instance the pole vaulting videos on YouTube.

[duxup]

So this is largely a concern tied to the internet?

Man I don't know what to think about that making folks change how they dress. It's their call but just not sure how I feel about that.

I saw some celeb announce that they were tired of nasty internet comments about their size and they wouldn't appear in any revealing scenes for now.

I'm all for their choice... but I couldn't help but think that there's some extent that they're engaging with / dictating their own choices based on some assholes on the internet who aren't going to go away...

[krapp]

> So this is largely a concern tied to the internet?

No, it's a concern largely tied to the male gaze[0] as capitalism. Social media just happens to be the popular medium for expressing it. But the exploitation of female athletes as sex objects [1,2] goes back much further than social media.

[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male_gaze

[1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25658173

[2]https://www.cnn.com/style/article/edgar-degas-ballet-dancers...

[bigmadwolf]

Yes that is what saddens me. I haven't seen those pole vault videos and find it disappointing that people would go to the trouble of making them.

Anyway, the fact these athletes have the choice to wear a competition uniform they find comfortable in the olympics without being penalized is a good thing.

[CapricornNoble]

>>>Yes that is what saddens me. I haven't seen those pole vault videos and find it disappointing that people would go to the trouble of making them.

Men are attracted to beautiful women, even moreso when their beauty comes not from plastic surgery but natural physical fitness. I have near-zero interest in athletics/competitive sports. There's no way I would ever know who Fatima Diame is if I hadn't clicked on her butt on a YouTube thumbnail. Those "sexy athlete" vids get MILLIONS of views.

[nicbou]

Or publications sharing galeries of the sexiest athletes.

[llampx]

Gawker for example

[AnimalMuppet]

It's sexualized, or not, depending on why the choice was made. If the bikini cut was chosen because the media wanted them to wear it because it was causing more men to watch, that's sexualized. If the team chose it because it gave them higher scores, then it's not (unless the judges are judging on sexiness rather than technique, which, while possible, would be highly unprofessional).