Dress code: the uniform of the American team at the Paris Olympics criticized and this is not the first time

This year, Nike revealed the uniforms for Team USA track and field runners for the Paris Olympics. A women's outfit has been criticized for being “skimpy and revealing” and called “sexist” on social media. The unitard, a red, white and blue striped garment with a high bikini line, is deemed inappropriate for the sporting event.

Female professional athletes also mocked the unit. » wrote Lauren Fleshman, a former American track and field athlete, in an Instagram post. Women's kits must be at the service of performance, mentally and physically. If this outfit was truly beneficial to physical performance, men would wear it. This is not an elite athletic kit for track and field. This is a costume born from patriarchal forces that are no longer welcome or necessary to bring attention to women's sports.

But unlike the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where only briefs were offered, Nike this time offered athletes wetsuit options including both briefs and shorts. American track and field sprinter ShaCarri Richardson even modeled a compression short suit with fuller coverage at the brand's launch event last month. However, Nike's chief innovation officer, John Hoke, told the New York Times that designers created “nearly 50 unique pieces” for the U.S. teams, including a dozen competition styles tweaked for specific events. .

Not just at the Olympics but across all sports, female athletes and their uniforms have faced unexpected backlash and questions about the amount of body they display. For example, tennis star Serena Williams. Everything she wore on court, a jumpsuit at Roland Garros and a tutu at Flushing Meadows, was criticized. But wearing it made her feel like a superhero, she once said.

Williams' suit was banned after the 2018 French Open. Bernard Giudicelli, president of the French Tennis Federation, said: “I think we sometimes went too far. Serena's outfit this year, for example, would no longer be accepted. You have to respect the game and the place, while Williams won her first match after her pregnancy wearing the suit not for comfort reasons but for medical reasons.

Tennis star Sania Mirza's short skirts and badminton player Jwala Gutta's on-court attire have been criticized for being inappropriate outfits.

Time and again, sports uniforms have been questioned for their design and style. LVMH and Berluti have revealed the French team uniforms for the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Olympic Games. Navy blue tuxedos with tie-dye silk lapels reflecting the country's colors are sets for both male and female athletes . But women's tuxedos were sleeveless and criticized for rewriting the rules for athletes' outfits and compared to the uniforms worn by flight attendants.

Ralph Lauren made uniforms for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team's opening ceremony, and the committee faced public criticism for making uniforms in China. Ralph Lauren then announced that for the next games, the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, the uniforms would be made. made in the USA.

In contrast, Haitian-Italian designer Stella Jean, a champion of diversity and inclusiveness in fashion, made uniforms for the Haitian team at this year's Paris Olympics. Jean's uniform will be worn by the team of 15 athletes during the opening ceremony, showcasing Haitian painter Philippe Dodard, whose work titled Passage will be incorporated into the uniforms. The women's version features a full skirt adorned with Dodard's artwork paired with a chambray shirt, woven in Haiti as part of the country's tradition of spinning what is called bleu. cotton, a heritage gradually disappearing. On top is a sleeveless blazer made from recycled fabric with the Haitian Olympic emblem pinned to it.

In fact, France has decided to allow participants from other countries to wear the hijab if they wish, but has banned its own female athletes from wearing the hijab. Athletes from other nations will be free to wear religious symbols as they wish in the Paris 2024 athletes' village.

This position has been criticized by some international bodies such as the United Nations Human Rights. Amnesty International issued a statement saying that banning a Muslim woman from wearing a headscarf in public places violated her rights.