• cattywampas@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    As 2012 London beach volleyball silver medalist Jennifer Kessy explains it, the two-piece outfits make total sense from a performance perspective: “Our suits need to fit just right so they don’t move places we don’t want them to move. So how about this: Let’s call them competition suits or competition gear — then perhaps it won’t make people uncomfortable or there won’t be a stigma attached.”

    As a pro athlete, everyone has a different comfort level with either a bikini or one-piece bathing suit. Playing in a one-piece was never comfortable for me. It was restricting and limited my movements…

    It’s totally a personal choice. [A one piece] wasn’t comfortable for me. Way too sweaty and too much sand. But, in certain situations leggings could be a good option — just not in the heat. There are also certain times of the month that wearing a bikini isn’t always such a comfortable option, especially when you’re on TV. So it’s important to have the freedom to choose what works best for you. Players should be able to wear what they want and what makes them perform the best — and for me it was a bikini.

    Emphasis mine.

    https://www.today.com/news/why-do-women-s-beach-volleyball-players-wear-bikinis-today-t226134

    • Warl0k3@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      I am aware they have options. That has never been in question. But, like your emphasis calls attention to, it’s important to have the freedom to choose what works best for you. So in the spirit of that, why are men not allowed the same freedom? Again, if it actually is a blanket improvement to a player’s performance like the above person implied, you’d think that men would have adopted a similar outfit.

      • cattywampas@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I don’t know. You’d have to take that up with the IOC. Males and females have different body types and maybe it’s just not comfortable or practical for males to play volleyball in a banana hammock, or maybe they’d all love to, who knows.

        My thesis statement here is that the female athletes who choose to wear bikinis are choosing to of their own free will, and whatever reasoning a person has to wear what they wear is their own business. Though I suspect that at the Olympic level everyone is going to wear what they feel most comfortable and capable in, just like the player interviewed above.

        • Warl0k3@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          My thesis statement here is that the female athletes who choose to wear bikinis are choosing to of their own free will, and whatever reasoning a person has to wear what they wear is their own business.

          Ah, I see. Unfortunately for this conversation, it’s never been in question that since 2012 women’s beach volleyball players have had the option of several less-revealing outfits. So in light of that, could you please tell me why you felt it was appropriate earlier to insult me when your cited article was evidently provided entirely to address your own thesis, but did not in any way address mine?

          • cattywampas@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            I didn’t insult you. Somebody else called you a dingus. But anyway here’s a bunch of female volleyball players saying “we wear bikinis because we want to, they’re more comfortable, etc”

            https://www.today.com/news/why-do-women-s-beach-volleyball-players-wear-bikinis-today-t226134

            https://www.businessinsider.com/why-do-women-beach-volleyball-players-wear-bikinis-olympics-2016-8

            https://people.com/sports/beach-volleyball-olympians-react-bikini-controversy/

            • Warl0k3@lemmy.world
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              2 days ago

              Ah, my apologies - I did not realize someone had lept in for one comment.

              And while abstractly interesting, those all continue to not address my thesis. They’re addressing yours quite well, though. I applaud you for having such a well supported thesis. I do invite insight on this - perhaps the journal of ergonomics would be a better place to start looking than Business Insider though.

              • cattywampas@lemmy.world
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                2 days ago

                I’m not sure what you’re looking for. If it’s some kind of scientific paper on the effectiveness of different types of clothing on volleyball performance, you’re not gonna find that.

                You said you were skeptical of two pieces being better for performance than other clothing. I gave you, from a two minute internet search, a half dozen high-level female volleyball players who have all said they prefer to play in two pieces because of comfort and performance. Comfort itself is an advantage. Do you think that they’re wrong?

                • Warl0k3@lemmy.world
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                  2 days ago

                  You said you were skeptical of two pieces being better for performance than other clothing.

                  Where did I say this? It has never been the question I asked, but it has been the one you’ve answered and I’ve repeatedly clarified that it was not my question. It would be nice if that was my question - indeed, I think it even requires far less than two minutes to find an answer to. But it’s not my question, nor has it at any point been.