Why do female athletes wear skimpy clothing?

With all the feminist discussion around sexual objectification of women these days I started wondering why female athletes at the highest levels wear skimpy clothing such as briefs and sports bra's while male athletes do not.





I considered a possible improvement in aerodynamics, and wondered why male athletes do not take advantage of the same tactic if that were really the case. Fashion considerations would certainly be ignored if it were proven that even a 10th of a second could be gained by males showing their midrift.

So, if the choice of skimpy clothing has nothing to do with performance, why do female sprinters & pole vaulters show more skin than their male counterparts?
I considered comfort, and the different 'shape' of female bodies, but again I couldn't see any practical reason to show the midrift and wear sports briefs/panties. Supportive sports tops do not have to stop just below the breasts, and I can't imagine that females have some unusual condition that requires lycra bottoms to be briefs instead of shorts due to discomfort.

It left me with only one conclusion, fashion and image, but with a further question, who for?
Perhaps the relatively lower paid track and field female athletes gain more sponsorship showing a bit of skin?
If that is the case then I wonder what is the difference between a 'popstar' using her body image to sell records, and an athlete doing the same to gain sponsorship?

For the record, I'm not complaining at all, I love the female form and part of the attraction of watching female athletes to me is the skimpy clothes they wear showing off their fit bodies. I just wonder why females show the skin and males do not.
Oh, and this topic is about skimpy clothing, not tight clothing, so if you want to mention tight revealing lycra shorts of male athletes I respectfully ask you to please start your own thread as that is a totally different issue. This is about women unnecessarily showing skin in sporting activities, and why.

All opinions welcome, especially from any strong feminists who may have thoughts on the issue as sexual objectification, female empowerment, or neither?

Regards,

GoS.

Thoughts?

How can you leave off volleyball shorts?
Get with it man!

I'm gonna need substantially more pics of female athletes in skimpy outfits to better prepare my response.

You've got plenty of the guys, just need more girls.

Volleyball players would be most helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Better start polling the athletes.

They choose what they wear, as long as it fits inside the governing body, of the applicable event's, rules.

The adaptation to enhance performance starts at that point.

Because it's hot to work out and more comfrortable.

a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71
Lol, do an image search and the women wear skimpy volleyball shorts as well

a reply to: grainofsand

Well a man wearing what they wear would would look rather silly in the eyes of some.
If not the competitor himself.

I see your point though.

As a man you wont hear me complain =D

Besides that lol have you ever seen USMC green on green in the summer? LOL I used to think it was uber gay then one day I realized it is a perfect reflection of the Corps, its simple, its ugly, and it gets the job done.

Why question it? Just enjoy the view before they change their minds.

a reply to: peck420
Who said they don't have the choice? not me.

originally posted by: grainofsand
Why do female athletes wear skimpy clothing?

They dooooo? I never noticed.

a reply to: grainofsand

Freedom of speech?

It's on advantage...just like swimmers shave their body athletes that compete in certain events are looking to cut down on weight/resistance as much as they can...and guys would look horrible flopping down the track in a sports bra and bikini briefs...

a reply to: cavtrooper7 Do female athletes get more hot than men then?

We wear them because we can

And like someone said because it's hot.

a reply to: grainofsand

ATS, an equal opportunity website:

Um..this one pretty self-explanatory

originally posted by: grainofsand
With all the feminist discussion around sexual objectification of women these days I started wondering why female athletes at the highest levels wear skimpy clothing such as briefs and sports bra's while male athletes do not.

I don't know.
You tell me.

Bevan Docherty top level triathlete






Oh, they don't leave much to the imagination, do they?

Television ratings and corporate sponsors. Would you watch figure skating if the contestants wore burkas?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus
Hahaha I don't believe you!

a reply to: grainofsand

LOL.

If all athletes competed totally nude, would we really have to ask why everyone looks away in horror when the men's high hurdle team runs by?

Where are the feminists on this?