The issue here is that a female tennis player, being interviewed after a big victory, was asked to "do a twirl" to show off her tennis dress. She was not the only player in the tournament who was asked - in fact, Serena Williams (arguably the most famous tennis player in the world) was also asked to show off her skirt with a little pirouette. The reporter who asked for the twirl was slammed for his "blatant display of sexism".
First off, I am not really a tennis fan. I used to play, just a little bit, but I was never very good, and I don't think I could ever sit through a match as a spectator. I DO, however, absolutely love some of the cute outfits women in tennis wear. Tennis is a sport in which women can get away with looking absolutely fabulous while still being an absolute BEAST on the court.
I can't even manage to look that good when I go to fancy parties!
And let's not even focus on just tennis. There's an entire industry built on "looking good while working out" - the days of sweaty-pitted t-shirt and ratty gym shorts are over. The fitness fashion industry is growing rapidly, and it's for the same reason ANY facet of the fashion industry grows: people (especially women) like to be noticed for the way they look. I sure do. Getting a compliment for my outfit always puts a smile on my face, and I guarantee I'm not the only one who feels this way.
So why, when a woman wears a cutesy outfit that is by design meant to be eye-catching is asked to show off that outfit, are we up in arms over sexism? No, reports aren't asking male tennis players to "do a twirl", but they also aren't wearing outfits that, well, twirl. Here's the thing about women in sports like tennis: it's an individual sport, you're not in a uniform - you get to CHOOSE what you wear on the court. You can choose to follow the fashion industry and wear outfits that are designed to be feminine and noticeable, or you can choose to wear something more modest or unisex. Making that choice can certainly affect the way you are seen when you are in the spotlight - but it's a choice that is on your shoulders. If you don't want to be noticed for a girly tennis skirt, don't wear a girly tennis skirt. It isn't really "sexist" for a person to pay attention to the attention-grabbing outfit you pulled out of the closet in the morning.
Of course, there are lines that can be crossed. Asking her to lift up her skirt and show her undershorts? That's a little more over the line. Asking her to twirl in her skirt? I'm struggling to see the sexism there. In fact, I sometimes wear twirly skirts for the sole purpose of getting to twirl in them! It maybe girly, but it's hardly sexist.
Because all of us stop to pose in the middle of EVERY workout.
What do you guys (and gals) think? If we're going to build multi-million dollar industries around fitness fashion for women, is it fair to then bash the people who call attention to the fashion aspect of fitness? Was this reporter crossing the line, or just making a cute play to the fans? I'd love to hear other opinions on this one!
I would feel like it was just a cute play to the fans--that outfit looks like it was designed to look awesome if someone were to do a twirl in it. :] (I'm probably also a little biased though, because I feel like most people are just overly sensitive these days.)
ReplyDeleteI am a major fan of cute fitness clothing, and I alternate between that and the whole t-shirt/sweats combo throughout the week (I'm not rich enough to deck out my whole week, haha). Since one of my favorite forms of fitness is pole dancing, I can't argue that the clothing I wear for that is sexist. The guys are even more scantily clad than we are. :O
Agreed on the overly sensitive thing - there are some things that *are* offensive, no matter what, but there are TONS of things that people just kinda decide to be offended by, and really, they're just digging for reasons to hate.
DeleteIf fashion brands make trendy sportswear and professionals choose to wear it or endorse it, it is all right. But asking a player to show off her dress - especially after a game - is very absurd, if not sexist.She is a player, not a super model.
ReplyDeleteI agree that women's clothing attracts way too much attention in the media. Even those women who are in no way related to the 'glamour world'. Indian tennis player Sania Mirza was criticized (yeah) for wearing short skirts on the court. She slammed "Focus on my game and not my clothes".
The caption on the last pic is spot on. LOL !
I agree that it's more important to focus on the athleticism, not the fashion, and that the industry that has grown out of the fashion concern is way overblown. And I do think it's a little silly to ask her to twirl - but I'm not sure it's implicitly *sexist*. Movie stars on the red carpet are often asked to twirl and show off their dresses, which are conscious fashion choices just like fitness attire, but no one is calling sexism on any of those instances.
DeleteIt WAS a little out of the blue, and that definitely makes the situation a little questionable. I'm certainly not gonna say the reporter was "business as usual" in that interview, and there's nothing to say he wasn't maybe a little attracted to the gal (which perhaps compromised his interview a little), but I'm still on the fence as to whether I think this instance is an abuse of gender stereotypes, or just a misguided focus on fashion over athleticism.
I thought the whole thing was blown right out of proportion. I ended up turning off the to in disgust at the rant of the female reporter on The Drum on Abc24. The player in question looked gorgeous. She giggled nervously but if she didn't want to "twirl" I'm sure she didn't have to.
ReplyDeleteYeah, she had the option to say "no thanks", and the situation, while awkward, doesn't necessarily need so much criticism. As Apoorva mentioned above, the focus definitely SHOULD have been on her athleticism, but we live in a fashion-obsessed culture and sometimes we pay attention to things that don't matter so much. *Shrug*
DeleteJust like these tennis pros, I wear dresses/skirts to work all the time. Sure, I could wear boring pants, but I choose to dress in a stylish/cute manner. However, if someone asked me to twirl while they were supposed to be asking me about my work, I'd be pretty offended. Just because I'm dressed cute while I do my job doesn't mean I'm some prop to entertain others.
ReplyDeleteOf the comments so far, this is the one that is making me think the most. Here's how I'm thinking of this one: I know I, personally, wear something like a "twirly skirt" because I LOVE that it's twirly. If I'm wearing it, it's probably because I want an excuse to show it off. But I'm not everybody, and some girls wear cutesy clothes because they feel comfortable or good about themselves in that outfit, not because they're trying to show something off. Is it sexist to assume all women are dressing to show off? Maybe that's where this reporter is crossing the line. I hadn't seen it that way before. Thank you for some fresh perspective.
DeleteI haven't seen this interview, but it sounds like the interviewer was just trying to make his interview standout above the rest. I'm assuming he was a sports interviewer (not a fashion interviewer), and he was probably looking for a fresh prospective to make his interview more popular than all of the other sports interviews that day. And, it paid off, his fashion questions and requests for twirls got him an article on Yahoo! Do I think it was sexist? No. Do I think it was cheesy? Yes. Would I have liked the interview better if he asked the men to twirl too? Yes, that would have been funny!
ReplyDeleteHaha DEFINITELY cheesy! And I would have loved to have seen the men twirl too!
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