Before the start of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, I chanced upon an article on the guardian that gave tips to those who wish to comment on female athletes. The author was very concerned about the disproportionate amount of attention the attire of female competitors receive, in comparison to men. This is a demonstrably true observation, so there was nothing to dispute. Her remedy to this, was to discourage people from talking about the attire of women, and encourage people to talk about their physical prowess instead. In essence, stop treating women like they are centre fold models on vogue, rather than Olympians (which is actuallly what they are).
Since then I have been watching the olympics quite a bit and have noticed that the Australian commentators have actually been remarkably silent on the attire of female competitors. But not so the political commentators on news outlets. The political commentators have been in full swing discussing one piece of female attire rather obsessively, the hijab. When Egypt hit the beach volleyball court donned in a Burqini (to compete against the Bikini clad Germans), the media decided to spend countless number of words analyzing the attire of both teams. Then there was the issue of Ibtihaj Muhammed, who was second choice as the U.S.A flag bearer (that honour went to Michael Phelps). The 32 year old Muslim American always wears a hijab publicly, including when she competes in fencing. No other American Olympian has ever worn the hijab, which is why so many people wanted her to be the flag bearer for the opening ceremony.
Let’s rule solely on attire
Ibtihaj Muhammed is a New Jersey girl, who was raised by two professionals in a loving intact family home. Her Mother always wanted girls to play sport, but in the end chose fencing for Ibtihaj, as it worked with the modesty requirements of their faith (fencers are covered up completely). Ibtihaj rose to become a formidable fencer, and at age 32 finaly got her chance to compete in the Olympics. She made a bid to become the Flag bearer, with the Guardian, the New Yorker, the Times, all strongly supporting that motion. Naturally, not on the basis of merit, nor because her life story was so full of hardship, not even because she was seen as a strong medal contendar, but because she wears a hijab. Suddenly, news outlets that purport to respect women for their ability, rather than their looks, only wanted Ibtihaj for her looks, not her ability. Her progress in the Olympics, unsurprisingly, has been underwhelming. She was defeated in the 16th round of the singles competition, and placed bronze in the teams competition.
Let’s politicize
As her supporters stated it wasn’t just because she wore the hijab that they wanted her to bear the flag. It was because her symbol as a Muslim-American would send a powerful rebuke to Donald Trump and his ilk. But let’s be honest, without the hijab, she would not be readily recognizable as a Muslim, and I doubt anyone would be strongly advocating for her then. And how exactly would this be a powerful rebuke to Donald Trump and his ilk? The International Olympic Committee (IOC) makes it clear that politics should stay at home. So, what her supporters want is the insertion of politics into the games (against the spirit of the Olypmics), and to choose a woman based on her attire (merit be damned). What this would result in, is the conformation that the establishment is out there to get to Donald Trump, even if it means sacrificing their own values. And then all Ibtihaj’s otherwise impressive achievements would come under scrutiny, and be belittled. For that is what happens when you are given an honour you don’t deserve. Just look at the criticism Obama received when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize unmeritiously and prematurely. It did not do him or his country any favours. And it would not have done Muslims nor America any favours either had they awarded this honour to someone like Ibtihaj. I am glad Michael Phelps became the flag bearer, after all he had 18 gold medals at the time and had yet received that honour. He earned it.
Burqini v Bikini
Armed with many photographs that provided a stark contrast between the attire of the Egyptian and the German Beach Volleyball team, commentators became rather intense and judgmental. One author wrote about how she was offended by both the Burqini and the Bikini, but didn’t know which one was actually more offensive. Several authors went so far as to claim it was a clash of civilizations (talk about melodramatic). But it should be made clear that the IOC does not dictate the attire of female beach volleyball competitors. This is their choice, and this is what they have chosen. However, the IOC is not the only thing that may impact the attire of female competitors. As the games are screened worldwide, those two Egyptian girls will have to return to Egypt at some point, and I am sure it will be easier if they return without having been seen in such skimpy attire. Whereas the Germans, they will be returning to a country that is far less opressive towards women, and where revealing that much amount of your body won’t make you a pariah. The other critical factor, is what do these two contrasting outfits achieve in terms of sporting advantage. The Burqini is used for modesty reasons, while the Bikini is used to combat extreme heat and to prevent sand getting everywhere.
Olympics is for sport only
However, it has been argued that if the Bikini style was so good, then men should be wearing speedos, instead of baggy shorts and singlets. Unfortunetely men are not allowed to (clothing restrictions), and the sponsors of the game do not want that to happen, because they would not have enough advertising space on just speedos. So again, the reason why women choose Bikinis is still sound, even if men don’t wear speedos.
But to be honest, I personally don’t care what the Egyptians wear, they suck at Beach Volleyball. And in my mind that is all that matters. But something about their outift did unnerve me a bit. The Olympics is about seeing who is the best, and if the Burqini gave some competitive advantage, as the Bikini apparently does, I wouldn’t mind. But it doesn’t. I don’t watch the Olympics to see peoples’ religion being paraded, I watch it to see who is the best.