n American hurdler was suspended for missing a doping test while recovering from a recent abortion. A South Korean archer faced massive backlash online over her decision to wear her hair short while competing for her country. And when she asked if she could bring her breastfeeding son with her to the Olympic games, a Spanish swimmer said she felt like she was forced to pick between her sport and her family.
The experiences shared by American Brianna McNeal, South Korean An San, and Spaniard Ona Carbonell represent only some of the misogyny that has been levied against women throughout this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. However, even before the Games commenced in Tokyo on July 23, the events were making headlines for sexist controversy. In February 2021, during the conception of the Games, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori resigned after apologizing for sexist commentary.
In the aftermath of Mori’s resignation, the Tokyo Olympics organizers picked Naoko Imoto, a UNICEF education specialist and former Olympic swimmer, to serve as the Games’ gender equality monitor. Since the games have begun, Imoto has reported that she hasn’t liked what she’s seen from Japanese media coverage of the event, saying that male and female athletes are discussed very differently. “Many of the channels look at female athletes as ‘female’ or ‘girls’ or ‘wives’ or ‘mothers’ and not really as pure athletes,” Imoto said during a daily briefing hosted in part by the International Olympic Committee.
However, as misogyny has persisted at the Games, some athletes have found a way to fight back. At a qualifying event in women’s gymnastics, Germany gymnasts made a statement against the sexualization of women in their sport by competing in full-body unitards. “Our message behind the unitard was to encourage young women and girls in all sports to feel good in their skin,” Germany gymnast Sarah Voss told NPR.
The Norwegian women's handball team were fined after refusing to wear skimpy bikini bottoms, claiming the rule was sexist. The International Handball Federation's rules and regulations require men to wear shorts that fall no longer than about 4 inches above their knees. The rules for women, however, dictate women must wear bikini bottoms with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg, with a maximum side width of approximately 4 inches.
And while misogyny has affected many female athletes competing in the Games this year, Black female athletes, facing both sexism as well as racism, have often been on the receiving end of unfair treatment. Several Black middle-distance athletes, most notably South Africa’s two-time 800-meter champion Caster Semenya, have been prohibited from competing in races ranging between 400 meters to 1 mile because of testosterone regulations. Under new guidance from track and field’s governing body, World Athletics, female athletes who have naturally elevated testosterone levels are barred from competing in middle distance events. Commenting on the issue in an interview with NPR, Johannesburg doctor Tlaleng Mofokeng said that the testosterone rules unfairly police Black women’s bodies.
Outside of the track and in the water, Black female athletes have also faced racist treatment. The International Swimming Federation (Fina) banned the use of a swim cap designed for athletes with natural black hair, meaning the caps would not be allowed at the 2020 Olympics. And in women’s gymnastics, the American Simone Biles, considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time, faced racist and sexist backlash after withdrawing from several events in Tokyo last week, citing mental and physical health concerns.
Although the Tokyo Olympics have proven that sexism is still a prominent component of the female athlete experience, as the games have progressed, sometimes, women have gotten the last laugh. When asked about mental health at the Olympics, Novak Djokovic, a prominent Serbian tennis star, said, “Pressure is a privilege, my friend.” The comment was seen as a dig at Simone Biles and Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka, who has also commented on mental health and professional athletics. However, just days later, Djokovic broke under pressure himself, abusing his racket several times during an eventual loss to Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta. The loss means Djokovic is leaving the games without an Olympic medal and will fall short of earning a Golden Slam, which would require that he win an Olympic gold medal alongside all four Grand Slam titles within the same year. If Djokovic would have prevailed, he would have become the first male tennis player to win a Golden Slam. To date, only one person has ever been able to handle the pressure of winning so many tennis titles in one year – Steffi Graf, a German woman who earned the honor at just 19.
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The Tokyo Olympics' Misogyny Problem
Photo by Ryunosuke Kikuno via Unsplash.
August 4, 2021
The Tokyo Summer Olympics has a misogyny problem, with female competitors being sexualized by the media and even Olympics institutions themselves. Some athletes are finding ways to fight back, writes Allyson Berri.
A
n American hurdler was suspended for missing a doping test while recovering from a recent abortion. A South Korean archer faced massive backlash online over her decision to wear her hair short while competing for her country. And when she asked if she could bring her breastfeeding son with her to the Olympic games, a Spanish swimmer said she felt like she was forced to pick between her sport and her family.
The experiences shared by American Brianna McNeal, South Korean An San, and Spaniard Ona Carbonell represent only some of the misogyny that has been levied against women throughout this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. However, even before the Games commenced in Tokyo on July 23, the events were making headlines for sexist controversy. In February 2021, during the conception of the Games, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori resigned after apologizing for sexist commentary.
In the aftermath of Mori’s resignation, the Tokyo Olympics organizers picked Naoko Imoto, a UNICEF education specialist and former Olympic swimmer, to serve as the Games’ gender equality monitor. Since the games have begun, Imoto has reported that she hasn’t liked what she’s seen from Japanese media coverage of the event, saying that male and female athletes are discussed very differently. “Many of the channels look at female athletes as ‘female’ or ‘girls’ or ‘wives’ or ‘mothers’ and not really as pure athletes,” Imoto said during a daily briefing hosted in part by the International Olympic Committee.
However, as misogyny has persisted at the Games, some athletes have found a way to fight back. At a qualifying event in women’s gymnastics, Germany gymnasts made a statement against the sexualization of women in their sport by competing in full-body unitards. “Our message behind the unitard was to encourage young women and girls in all sports to feel good in their skin,” Germany gymnast Sarah Voss told NPR.
The Norwegian women's handball team were fined after refusing to wear skimpy bikini bottoms, claiming the rule was sexist. The International Handball Federation's rules and regulations require men to wear shorts that fall no longer than about 4 inches above their knees. The rules for women, however, dictate women must wear bikini bottoms with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg, with a maximum side width of approximately 4 inches.
And while misogyny has affected many female athletes competing in the Games this year, Black female athletes, facing both sexism as well as racism, have often been on the receiving end of unfair treatment. Several Black middle-distance athletes, most notably South Africa’s two-time 800-meter champion Caster Semenya, have been prohibited from competing in races ranging between 400 meters to 1 mile because of testosterone regulations. Under new guidance from track and field’s governing body, World Athletics, female athletes who have naturally elevated testosterone levels are barred from competing in middle distance events. Commenting on the issue in an interview with NPR, Johannesburg doctor Tlaleng Mofokeng said that the testosterone rules unfairly police Black women’s bodies.
Outside of the track and in the water, Black female athletes have also faced racist treatment. The International Swimming Federation (Fina) banned the use of a swim cap designed for athletes with natural black hair, meaning the caps would not be allowed at the 2020 Olympics. And in women’s gymnastics, the American Simone Biles, considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time, faced racist and sexist backlash after withdrawing from several events in Tokyo last week, citing mental and physical health concerns.
Although the Tokyo Olympics have proven that sexism is still a prominent component of the female athlete experience, as the games have progressed, sometimes, women have gotten the last laugh. When asked about mental health at the Olympics, Novak Djokovic, a prominent Serbian tennis star, said, “Pressure is a privilege, my friend.” The comment was seen as a dig at Simone Biles and Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka, who has also commented on mental health and professional athletics. However, just days later, Djokovic broke under pressure himself, abusing his racket several times during an eventual loss to Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta. The loss means Djokovic is leaving the games without an Olympic medal and will fall short of earning a Golden Slam, which would require that he win an Olympic gold medal alongside all four Grand Slam titles within the same year. If Djokovic would have prevailed, he would have become the first male tennis player to win a Golden Slam. To date, only one person has ever been able to handle the pressure of winning so many tennis titles in one year – Steffi Graf, a German woman who earned the honor at just 19.
