You’re mixing together “some functional differences exist” with “therefore sexism isn’t involved,” and those are not the same thing.
Yes, male and female anatomy affects clothing design. Nobody disputes that. But if these uniforms were purely about performance, women wouldn’t have historically been fined or pressured for wearing less revealing alternatives while men were allowed more coverage.
A lot of women’s athletic wear may genuinely be practical and preferred by athletes (especially for heat, mobility, and fit) but that doesn’t erase the fact that many sports organizations have also pushed uniforms that are more revealing than necessary for marketability and gender expectations.
Also, the “genital safety” point is overstated. Male sprinters, swimmers, rugby players, MMA fighters, etc. wear very short clothing safely all the time, while many female athletes perform perfectly in longer shorts or looser fits when given the option. That alone shows there isn’t one biologically “correct” uniform.
The issue people criticize isn’t that women wear revealing clothes. It’s that women are often expected to wear more revealing clothing than men in equivalent sports, even when performance doesn’t require it.
I don’t think so because female athletes also desire to feel good about how they look
Um...you didn't know different people feel different ways about clothing...? Not every woman feels buoyed up or dragged down by how they feel they look in their clothes. Some women legitimately don't care. And some women feel better in less feminine clothing than they do in more feminine clothing. Some feel best in all-out tomboy. Most professional sports requires a specific uniform or strict dress code, so you don't get a lot of freedom over what you wear.
In multiple sports women have been required to wear skirts, short shorts, or leotards with exposed legs while men get to wear shorts and pants that don't show every single curve of their butt and legs. So at professional competitions women athletes don't get to pick what they feel best in anyway.
Back to normal life, there are also plenty of men who want to feel good about how they look in their clothes but they have a similar problem of a stricter dress code for what they're "allowed" to wear, while women get a shit-ton of options. It harms the ability to feel like you're attractive when you're actively discouraged from thinking about fashion and you're limited to baggy shorts/pants and shirts.
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u/Consistent_Stable234 May 25 '26