Cries of sexism greet Nike Olympics reveal

The sports giant offered a sneak peek at its track and field outfits for Team USA, and an unexpected reaction ensued.

Since the Norwegian women's beach handball team made it known that they had to wear tiny bikini bottoms to compete in a cause celebre competition, a quiet revolution is brewing in women's sport. It challenges received conventions about what female athletes should – or should not – wear to perform at their best.

It struck a chord women's football (why the white shorts?), gymnastics (why not a jumpsuit rather than a leotard?), field hockey (why a low-cut tank top?) and many others, including running.

So it probably shouldn't have come as a shock to Nike that when it offered a preview of Team USA's track and field uniforms during a Nike Air event in Paris celebrating its Air technology on Thursday (which also included looks for other Olympic athletes). , like the Kenyan athletics team, the French basketball team and the Korean break dancing delegation), they encountered less than enthusiastic reactions.

You see, the two uniforms Nike chose to distinguish among the models a compression tank top for men, a mid-thigh compression short and a bodysuit for women, cut particularly high on the hip. It sort of looked like a sporty version of a 1980s workout leotard. As displayed, the bodysuit appeared to require complicated intimate maintenance.

Citius Mag, which focuses on current events, published a photo of the uniforms on Instagram. , and many of his followers were not amused.

“Which man designed the women's cut? » wrote one.

“I hope the U.S.A.T.F. pays for bikini waxes,” wrote another. This is how most of the 1,900+ comments went.

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