Using sports as an excuse for immodesty

This archived article was written by: Josie Sue Slade

Spandex, sports bras and other tight clothing items adorn women sports teams. It is difficult to go to a game, practice or gym without being subjected to more skin than you want to see. These sports uniforms worn any other time or by anybody else would be seen as inappropriate, yet, students don’t bat an eye.
At USU Eastern, the uniforms between male and female teams are starkly different. Why do women’s uniforms promote immodesty while men’s do not? There’s no equality in the amount of fabric used for the genders. If we look at the soccer teams, we can see a difference even in the same sport. The shorts the females wear are tight and rise far above the knee. The shorts the males wear are baggy and longer.
The volleyball shorts that the females wear on the team are tight and often looking like they are uncomfortable. Though the jerseys are often baggy and modest, the shorts they wear can nearly be classified as underwear. If you stay to watch a game, you can see the shorts riding up and women pulling at the fabric in an attempt to keep them in place.
When looking at Olympic photos, it is obvious to see that the females often wear clothes that barely cover any skin. Female distance runners wear uniforms that could be their underwear. The swimmer’s swimsuits are more modest than many other uniforms. If this isn’t an obvious problem, I don’t know what is.
The uniforms offered for females are often less modest than they should be and there isn’t usually another option. Some female teams have had to order from men’s lines in an attempt to preserve modesty.
This bad habit begins to translate in everyday life. We begin to see females walking around campus in their workout clothes to class and work. Spandex is becoming a normally accepted piece of clothing even though it’s intended for underneath clothing. Women wear large muscle tees that show off their bras and panties. Leggings are used as pants and show off underwear lines and leave nothing to the imagination.
While not all students use that as an excuse to dress inappropriately, many do. Being immodest during the sport is terrible enough, there is no need to bring the same immodesty back out into their day-to-day lives.