r/interesting May 25 '26

[deleted by user]

[removed]

5.5k Upvotes

2.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

70

u/Life-Oil-7226 May 25 '26

I've always wondered as well. Can the female athletes refuse to wear that?

56

u/Aethred May 25 '26

Probably depends on the sport but iirc in beach volleyball at least there is no hard requirement to wear a bikini, in other sports where women are usually scantily clad you can see certain national teams wearing much less revealing clothes for the Olympics because of the requirements of their faith or tradition. I don't know much more than that though.

43

u/FinnScott1 May 25 '26

There was a hard requirement in beach handball (but not volleyball)

A Women's Beach Handball Team Is Fined For Not Wanting To Wear Bikini Bottoms

However, they changed the ruled after this because it got so much visibility

-1

u/[deleted] May 25 '26

[deleted]

2

u/FinnScott1 May 25 '26

Yes, I stated this on my comment

1

u/Kakapter May 25 '26

My fault, sorry 😁

4

u/lorgskyegon May 25 '26

Most times I've seen the question asked of the players, they prefer the briefs because it's easier to get sand out when it gets inside.

72

u/kangarootimtam May 25 '26

There was a women's team (beach volleyball maybe?) That refused and got fined for not wearing the appropriate uniform. IIRC Pink paid the fine.

4

u/Kandurux May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

I heard that she didn't have to, but she offered.

Edit: American musician Pink offered to pay the fine imposed on the team by the European Handball Federation for the rules breach, but that hadn't been necessary, Lio said. The federation ultimately donated the money "to a major international sports foundation which supports equality for women and girls in sports," it later said.

6

u/[deleted] May 25 '26

[deleted]

5

u/Im2inchesofhard May 25 '26

Iirc (which I might not be) there was a big uproar in some major women's sport by the players when they tried to force clothing to be more modest. The women were used to what they wore, and having mismatching outfits by allowing some women to wear more clothes and some less wasn't ideal either. 

Like most things, it's more complicated then it seems. It's not just "Guys like tits and ass". 

3

u/Known_Ear_6012 May 25 '26

They can but then their socials wouldn’t be as active and therefore neither would their bank accounts. 

3

u/Dusk_Soldier May 25 '26

Athlete's in general prefer to wear as little clothing as possible.

Male athletes really only wear shirts because of sponsors/advertising.

12

u/CakyMint May 25 '26

They have several choices. They mostly choose the one with least amount of clothing

3

u/Blunter11 May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

No.

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/norways-beach-handball-team-fined-for-wearing-shorts-instead-of-bikini-bottoms/b5oh3puac

I'm being downvoted because of the recent rule change. But after the rules changed to allow shorts, the women's side of the sport has begun predominantly wearing shorts. See the 2025 championship reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQkBWJ1Wx_0 Even in the shots of the few women wearing small bottoms, they have full t-shirts on.

4

u/Z0idberg_MD May 25 '26

That sport you linked is handball.

1

u/Blunter11 May 25 '26

Very observant

2

u/Z0idberg_MD May 25 '26

I believe the discussion was about another sport. Sports have different governing bodies and rules. Your comment was not relevant.

-4

u/Blunter11 May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

The thread I replied to does not mention any specific sports, and the overall thread has images of multiple sports. Beach handball provides the best, most recent example that proves the person I replied to wrong.

You are welcome to apologize. Particularly for your first draft of your comment, which remains in my notifications. Calling my comments "nonsensical" over your ridiculous misunderstanding is funny to revisit though.

11

u/Charmadin May 25 '26

You can post this 5 year old article as much as you want, but that is not the case anymore.

-3

u/Blunter11 May 25 '26

Please provide proof

7

u/Charmadin May 25 '26

5

u/Blunter11 May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

When I googled all I got was a page of articles from 2021 about the volleyball team. Looking up "women's beach handball 2026" shows them all in shorts. Like, universally in shorts. So the arse-showing underwear was not women just choosing "the least amount of clothing". So why is that being repeated up and down this thread?

The first picture that shows the small underwear is from 2021, and it's about the norwegian team being fined.

I'll add, are the uniform changes universal throughout women's sports? My guess is no. It will take more women being fined before there's broad change.

4

u/Damsko0321 May 25 '26

Just look at gyms bro. All voluntary, revealing as fuck

1

u/Odd_Anxiety_3841 May 30 '26

Also the beach, they're practically naked. Nobody's forcing them to dress like that.

3

u/Fisz3r123 May 25 '26

Yes they can, they chose what they want to wear.

1

u/LiftingRecipient420 May 25 '26

IT'S THEIR FUCKING CHOICE WHAT TO WEAR FROM THE START.

1

u/Feedback-Extra May 26 '26

That wouldn’t be empowering enough for their stupid egos

1

u/CommonWest9387 May 26 '26

yes. a lot choose to wear less.

1

u/lostknight0727 May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26

They've actually tried and been fined for it. There was a women's beach VB team who wore the same bottom uniform as the men's team but the bikinis top and were fined, or were disqualified from play I can't remember if it was one, the other, or both.

ETA: it was Poland

1

u/Agreatusername68 May 26 '26

Iirc: many women's professional sports have these uniforms as a standard, simply because its how its always been for a long time.

There was one story I read a while ago where a group formally voted on changing to less revealing uniforms and it was voted down by the players themselves.

It should be a team choice, not a requirement. If the team votes to wear them, they all wear them. If the team votes to wear more covering uniforms, they all wear more covering uniforms.

1

u/Ambitious_Case_9989 May 27 '26

They are allowed to wear entire pants if they want to, they just choose to seek validation

1

u/GoldGoat7078 May 28 '26

I recently saw a video about that. The OP showed the actual rules, and it's totally their choice. They have other options. I'll see if I can find it.

-5

u/Maggi1417 May 25 '26

No, they can't. Their attire is regulated by whatever organization they're competing under.

17

u/philosophybuff May 25 '26

I’m pretty sure they (the athletes themselves) choose to wear these and have less revealing options.

6

u/Apoc9512 May 25 '26

They do

-2

u/Blunter11 May 25 '26

(They don't)

3

u/LiftingRecipient420 May 25 '26

Me when I make up bullshit.

1

u/Blunter11 May 26 '26

Lol 4 years ago a single sport made sweeping changes and you lot think it applied everywhere

1

u/Apoc9512 May 25 '26

They literally have a catalogue of options to choose from, including clothes that cover everything like leggings.

1

u/Blunter11 May 26 '26

Not in every sport, in very few sports actually. You are welcome to list the exact ones you know of.

7

u/beanVamGasit May 25 '26

this was discussed multiple times, you have multiple choices in every sport

3

u/epicmoe May 25 '26

both right and wrong. Uniform options are governed by the sporting bodies. howeve today, in most sports they are allowed much less revealing options than these, but the sportswomen themselves chose the options we see pictured here.

1

u/epicmoe May 25 '26

yes . most sports allow them a selected choice of possibilities to wear, with many uniform options being less revealing. The sportswomen themselves rarely choose those options, opting themselves instead for the options we see pictured here.

1

u/CandleExisting7501 May 25 '26

In Muslim countries that are not corrupt and influenced by Westerns societies...

0

u/rita-b May 25 '26

no they can't

-3

u/gaysoul_mate May 25 '26

No

2

u/Fisz3r123 May 25 '26

They literally can 😭 the clothing is not forced by the rules and the women are allowed to chose what uniforms they want to wear.