The Olympics have a unique ability to bring together countries to compete in sports. My interest in the Olympic games stems from my dad, who competed in two games representing the Netherlands. The Olympic games were founded in 1894 and intended to be reserved for male athletes. The first Olympic games happened in 1896 in Athens, Greece. At these games, women were banned from participating, in part due to the misogynistic founder of the International Olympic Committee. The founder, Pierre de Coubertin, argued that women’s Olympic sports were indecent and uninteresting. He maintained that the games were meant for male athleticism followed by female applause as a reward- highly sexist. Over a century later, we still struggle to establish equitable representation at the Olympic games.
Women first competed in the Olympics in 1900, but only in sports men felt were compatible with femininity. In 1900, women made up only 22 of 997 participants and could only compete in 5 of the 19 Olympic sports included in the program. The presence of women became mandatory in every sport in 2007. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games, women made up 49% of participating athletes and an increase of 5% from the 2016 Rio Olympic games. Women’s participation has continued to increase, with record numbers of women of all ages participating and earning medals. There’s still a lot of work regarding women’s access to opportunities and representation. Women and people of color struggle to be equitably supported and represented in the Olympics. Gender disparity has been very evident in the 20th century, even in the IOC itself, which is primarily male. The IOC was notability exclusively male until 1981.
Women’s silent struggle in competing at the Olympics has gained more interest over the past decade. Recently, The European Commission defended sports equality pressuring the IOC to add gender parity to the 2020 Olympic agenda. Tokyo 2020 was billed as the first gender-equal Olympic games ever; due to similar levels of participation and coverage during prime time. The numbers may be more equal; however, the experiences are still very different. The current issues facing the IOC include sexualization and testing testosterone levels. An example of women’s struggle is women having to fight to bring breastfed children into the pandemic restricted games – not a decision for men or the IOC to make.
The Olympics hasn’t always been an inclusive place for women. Struggling with the right to bodily autonomy (sexualization), the Norwegian Beach Handball team was fined for wearing shorts rather than bikini buttons. In men’s Beach Handball, they can wear loose shorts at least 4 inches above the knee, which is sexist. The International Swimming Federation (FINA) is reconsidering its ban on a “soul cap,”; a swim cap designed for Black hair, often more voluminous and textured. Black women and their hair should be protected and respected. New legislation like the Crown Act aims to end hair discrimination in schools, pools, and workplaces. Aiming to create an environment where Black women can proudly and safely wear their hair in any fit style.
It is disappointing that women in the 21st century still struggle to feel respected and represented. Women continue to fight about what they feel comfortable wearing. It is their body and should be up to them what is comfortable. Policing and judgment, especially from men, is unnecessary. Major sports organizations’ sexist and culturally insensitive decisions exemplify how much work we have to do.