@acer621 I think it’s important for women and girl athletes to have autonomy over what they wear, and I’m cheering for this shift. But I hope that like me, you will keep in mind that there is no winning option for women and girls under patriarchy.
Suggesting that women and girls are safer from sexual objectification and assault by virtue of being more covered up is definitely a hop, skip and a jump to victim blaming, because it links the behavior of predators to the appearance of victims. *Insisting* that gymnasts be more covered up probably sets off alarm bells (I hope!), and insisting that these athletes continue wearing leotards (or in other sports: bikini bottoms, etc) also seems like a poor choice. So given that, it might seem like the best option is letting women and girls choose for themselves, right? Sure, except… don't forget, the house always wins, and the house is patriarchy! For instance, just fast forward and imagine this gains traction and then… guess which athletes will be labelled as attention-seeking sluts for opting to be sexualized vs serious athletes? There are ultimately no winning options for women and girls looking to reason their way to a solution for patriarchal violence while existing within a patriarchal framework. Our bodies, conduct, garb can change, but they aren’t what *needs* to change.
Again, I personally would be wearing whatever option I could that meant leggings or shorts—but I don’t have any illusion that “just add shorts/leggings/some other garment” = undoing the system in which someone like Larry Nassar (and so many others! So many.) was (are still) enabled and protected as a horrific predator for yeeeeeeaaaars.
Also, I regret I don’t have time to look it up and provide a link, but if anyone is curious, I recall seeing some fascinating discussion of this on (I think) the gymnastics subreddit a few months ago. Current and former gymnasts were reflecting on this option. Just about all were supportive of it as an option, but many were reflecting on how they were personally fine with wearing leotards at competitions because that had been what they had always worn, and was simply how they dressed as a serious athlete in that sport. I was glad for this reminder. Not letting women/girls wear unitards if they choose is bullshit, but we also have to be cautious of the power dynamics at play in seeking to liberate others from what we personally feel to be their oppression (ie, many of the athletes themselves might prefer otherwise). So yay for unitards, sincerely, but *lots* of footnotes on that yay.
