Is it really necessary?

The other night hubby and I were watching TV and a program came on. It started by showing women is quasi football uniforms. They were wearing those really short shorts, crop tops and had belly jewellery and of course lots of makeup. They were pretty scantily dressed. playing what looked like touch football. I said to my hubby that I found it offensive and got up and started to walk away, when he told me it was a CSI show. REALLY? You could have fooled me. As a result I haven't watched a show since. I digress.

Seeing those women dressed as they were got me thinking about women and sport. For some reason it seems women need to show as much skin as possible to get the masses to watch our sport. Case in point, women's beach volleyball and tennis. I remember a few years back and the whole hoopla about the women having to make their already skimpy beach volleyball uniforms a little leaner. That just didn't seem right to me. Of course much dialogue went on about it, but in the end the promoters got their way and the women had to make their uniforms leaner.

Back to the CSI and the football...why did these women have to wear those outfits? If it was truly meant to be a sport, why then weren't they covered as completely as their male counterparts? Do they think women don't need the extra coverage? That we don't deserve the protection that the extra padding would provide us? Can you imagine seeing a NFL player running around the field in little shorts and a cropped jersey? I don't think so...it just wouldn't happen. So why then is it alright to expose all of the female body?

Don't get me wrong, I am not a prude and I believe that if a woman has a body that good, she has the right to show it off if that is what she wants to do. But to use the female body to sell a sport to me is just wrong, and it detracts from the women as athletes. These women have worked hard and it is that hard work that has resulted in theses women having the sculpted bodies they have. I ask you aren't women athlete's as worthy as their male counterparts to be taken seriously for what it is they bring to the sport? Being appreciated for the expertise they bring to the sport and not just their bodies.

When I was searching the interent I came across this:

"Olympic beach volleyball uniforms: Why are the women wearing bikinis?

I've been watching both men's and women's beach volleyball and can't for the life of me figure out the practicality of the women wearing the skimpy bikini outfits. As a woman who has worn a bikini or two at the beach, in the sand, I am looking at them and thinking it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. I'm just imagining them spending hours digging sand out of the nooks and crannies after the matches, thinking about 'sand burns' and other various hazards from being barely covered. If this is the optimal performance uniform, why are the men not shirtless and in Speedos? I have to wonder if the women are just flaunting their perfect bodies and 6-packs of abs and whether it's merely part of the beach culture rather than a requirement for the sport."

Men and women's uniforms for beach volleyball

What's your thoughts?