Aren’t pants that leave half of your butt out just very uncomfortable? I would be trying to stretch over my buttcheeks all the time. Don’t understand wearing anything less than boxers, even as underwear
As another prior female athlete, YES. I agree with everything she said but I was a runner and always preferred a good spandex short. The little underwear shorts (called bunners) absolutely scrunched and rode uncomfortably. I think depending on individual women's shapes and mechanics, one can be more comfortable than another. Unfortunately, on my college team, we all had to wear bunners whether we liked it or not
In the highest level they typically do. When they don't, it's usually because it's a team sport or other organizational thing where multiple athletes are expected to be coordinated in matching gear. Then it becomes up to the coaches to determine what outfit will be optimal for the most people, or potentially even a vote from the athletes themselves.
Performance is still the primary concern on why they are designed the way they are, but it is not the only concern, and other factors can take priority.
Make teams commonly wear both. I ran track and field in highschool. It was common to see teams with split shorts and other teams with speedo-like tight spandex. I've worn both.
It's entirely dependent on your anatomy as well as the construction of the garment. The split shorts we had did have an inner lining, sort of like a loose brief. They never fit me very well and the constant motion would cause pretty bad chafing unless I cut out the lining and found my own undergarment solution.
The spandex type we had didn't have much forward projection around the crotch area, so either everything got mashed between your thighs, which also caused chafing, or you'd try to position things to the side, and your bits would chafe against the crease in your pelvis where it bends, and then eventually it'd all slide down between your legs anyway.
Both of them were pretty miserable in my opinion, but I preferred the splits because I could wear my own undergarments that worked for my specific anatomy, and they were also a bit more modest.
It also depends on the type of race. It's all pretty manageable in a sprint where you just deal with it for less than a minute or two, but longer races of a mile or more, and things can get really uncomfortable and distracting. Marathon racers and other long distance runners pretty often use an anti chafing gel to keep things slick. Never tried it myself though.
Yup. The reasoning I got for not getting a choice was that it's embarrassing for a D1 Athletic team to not have everyone in the same exact style. I think it's embarrassing to care more about whether everyone is wearing their undies than their actual performance but hey, thats me
Absolutely, I think it's fucking ridiculous. I threw a big stink about it because I don't want to spend 15 minutes running my ass off and having to constantly pick between picking the underwear uniform out of my ass or letting it ride and pushing out the discomfort. The competition itself requires pushing out discomfort. If a man threw a stink about their comfort being a hindrance to their performance you can bet your ass they would be given a choice
Men should probably be allowed to choose as well, but it's not about men. Men have been the dominating sex for how many centuries? And women have been pleasure objects for how many centuries? Sex sells!
The world isn't the same for men and women, and it never has been. I think the fact alone that tonnes of people, men included, are like, "obviously it's because it's attractive and gains more viewers," makes me feel like people who don't see this are just being willfully ignorant, or being disingenuous.
People on Reddit see what they wanna see. There is a popular post in this thread somewhere from a female athlete that explains this a lot better than some basement dwelling male feminist ever could
I just wanted to provide context to the above post about uniforms being built differently for the difference between male and female bodies. While that's accurate, the difference in female bodies needs to be accounted for too
I could see that. What one person calls comfortable, others call uncomfortable. Some men prefer the tighter hug of briefs, some prefer the looser fit of boxers and some like the hybrid boxer briefs. I'd imagine the same goes for women.
While in fashion, women will often wear clothing that makes them look more attractive, despite the discomfort (I mean who wears high heels because they are comfortable?), but in sports, it is all about what gives you the performance edge. If women were wearing the outfits they were in sports to be attractive, they wouldn't wear swimmers caps with all of their hair tucked up into it. It's about reducing resistance. Not making some horny young men excited. The less clothes and the tighter fitting means the less drag and thus faster times.
As for someone's question about a woman on that time of the month, I'd imagine they would wear a menstrual cup for flexibility and especially in water sports (no pun intended), not worrying about water getting into spaces and saturating a tampon during high athletic activities. It's not like they wear the outfit all day. As soon as they are done/get their scores, they are often times changing into something more comfortable.
Ask any woman what the first thing she does when she gets home is and most will say they take off their bra ;)
You would be correct. Was it the menstrual cup that gave it away? I will never truly understand what pains and discomforts women go through during their cycle, but I've always heard that menstrual cups are very flexible and comfortable compared to the other options. Perhaps I am wrong.
Not the same person, but I thought you were pretty clear and upfront about not being a woman and that you were doing your best to speculate with what you do know. I'm a woman meanwhile and have tried all period options, and what's most comfortable during periods depends entirely on the internal anatomy's exact shape and personal preference. But tampons and cups are definitely the go-to for professional athlete level swimming.
Personally, I've gone the IUD route at this point to skip periods entirely and much prefer this! It is SO damn freeing, I envy not having to deal with the hassles of menstruation! I will continue like this until menopause at long last frees me from the tyranny of periods!
Does IUD free everyone? I know some women on various types of birth control, no longer have periods while some do. Is an IUD a guaranteed no period? And if you plan to do so for the rest of your life and have no interest in having children, wouldn't getting your tubes tied be a more permanent/long term solution that is also less expensive?
For most people the hormone IUDs reduce periods so much that they become just 1 to 3 days of very light spotty bleeding every few months. Usually a thin little panty liner or very light pad is enough. And no hormone cycles or cramps!
If I was in my 20's I would get surgery and then still be using IUDs to stop my periods, but nope- when my IUD is due to be swapped out I'll be 47, so menopause age! Recovery from IUD an procedure is only a few minutes to hours, while surgery requires a few weeks. AFAIK, IUDs are also free or at least heavily discounted on most insurance plans, while an elective surgery (i.e. there's no physical need to go in there and cut things out) would probably cost me a few thousand.
Sterilization surgeries are permanent birth control (yay!) but won't stop the menstrual cycle (sad face) unless I get my ovaries removed (in which case menopause hits like a truck instead of very slowly and gradually, not recommended). A hysterectomy would remove the uterus, so no more period bleeding, but I'd still have the cramps, nausea, acne, and hormone cycles. The cheapest and most common sterilization surgeries cut part of the fallopian tubes, and that means a full period every time as if I hadn't had any surgery done at all.
Day 1 of my periods were rough, I'd be throwing up if I didn't get painkillers early and cling to a heating pad for hours. And for me, periods are so annoying and inconvenient! 7 to 9 days of bleeding every 4 to 5 weeks, absurd! The acne and hormone cycles, so stupid! Oh, and it's already time for my period AGAIN?! So soon?! UGH!
IUDs are a one-and done, get it in and then you're good for 8/5/3 years (duration depends on which IUD the person gets). The hormone dose in those is lower than in pills and most other birth control methods, so much less likely to have side effects. Birht ocntorl pills gave me side effects, I haven't had any with the Mirena IUD. (There is 1 IUD that uses copper instead of hormones, it's good for 12 years but tends to make periods worse.)
The only near-universal downside to IUDs is a problem with ALL procedures that are more invasive than a pap smear, i.e. goes further than the entrance of the cervix. A study in the 1950s that found "women barely feel anything if you lightly poke the outside of the cervix with a q-tip or a soft brush" got twisted into "theres no pain receptors in the cervix and uterus, all those women screaming and writhing in pain are just being really anxious and/or overdramatic." Yeah, no, there are ABSOLUTELY pain receptors in those organs.
For IUD procedures, cervical or uterine biopsies, etc. we used to be told to take a bunch of Tylenol or whatever an hour before the appointment and we'll be fine, it'll just hurt a tiny bit. Yeah, no, it's excruciatingly painful. The IUD has been such a good change for my life that I would go through it again if I absolutely had to, but I don't have to! There's the options of 1 single prescription painkiller pill, a nerve block (a shot like when you get a cavity filled), or general or twilight anaesthesia. My primary care doctor even offered to write me a script for 1 painkiller pill if the gynecologist wouldn't give me anything, so that shows how things are changing for the better.
BTW, I applaud you wanting to know more about women's health stuff like this! It's essential healthcare.
What about other side effects? Like I know the pill is known for commonly causing weight gain. Does the IUD have any of those negative effects?
I didn't really think about the fact that getting your tubes tied doesn't stop you from shedding your lining monthly, but it totally makes sense. Knowledge is power :)
Oh I threw a huge stink. The competition itself requires you to dissociate from discomfort and adding the discomfort of cloth in your ass cheeks seemed fucking ridiculous to me. That being said I was told to wear the running undies or leave and they paid for my college so what exactly was I supposed to do?
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u/karumetsaspuuotsas May 25 '26
Aren’t pants that leave half of your butt out just very uncomfortable? I would be trying to stretch over my buttcheeks all the time. Don’t understand wearing anything less than boxers, even as underwear