Running skorts- absolutely ridiculous and unecessary. They are just another way for the clothing manufacturers to branch out and sell more product. I understand wanting to look somewhat put-together and decent to run, but this is not a freaking fashion show out there- who are these women wearing the skorts for? I'm pretty sure most guys are not thinking that's a good look- are they??
I think the running skirts, Triks brand specifically, came into play from the triathlon side. Women not wanting to run with their Speedos riding up their booties for all the world to see. Something easy to slip on in transition and be on their way.
[quote]self esteem police wrote:
I would file this discussion under "don't give a sh*t about what other people think." It's a sports uniform. Women always think they are being viewed as sex object and are the center of attention. Guess what? The world doesn't revolve around you, toots. Us guys have own problems.
I agree that we should not make decisions based on what people think. My point is why do people make young girls wear them? They have enough body issues (both young guys and girls do!). I have worn buns as a post-collegiate runner and am considering not wearing them anymore because I don't want to feed the "you look more professional when you wear buns" argument. It is not just caring about what other people think, but knowing that young girls are looking up to you and you want to help them be healthy and just enjoy running...not how they look running.
As for the shimmels, they are more modest than a straight sports bra, but so much warmer than either singlets or a sports bra. I'd rather just race in a sports bra or a singlet. Again, why are women's uniforms not "practical" when the guys seem to revolve around what is confortable?
i am a hurdler so the tight fitting tops and short spandex shorts are great for me... many of my track friends still feel uncomfortable in spandex shorts, but coming from a gymnastics background i have become extremely comfortable in these. Our coaches would never make us wear anything that we didnt' feel comfortable in, except for one girl on our team (sprinter) who wore basketball shorts that went down past her knees, she was told that the shorts had to be above the knees.
I agree! I wear bun huggers and I like how it is a uniform that looks different from the everyday practice gear. I know when I put those tight things on...I gotta rock and roll! It just wouldn't be the same if I was throwing on a pair of loose shorts...
that's one thing that I really enjoy about college running versus hs. at first I didn't think I'd like them, but now I encourage my coach to order them for us!
1km wrote:
too ashamed to say wrote:I feel empowered wearing something sexy and competing at the same time.
You feel empowered because you are getting people to judge you on a sexual level? I hate to tell you, but that's the opposite of empowerment (unless your idea of empowerment is getting someone to buy you dinner a couple times and say nice things to you so they can get in your pants).
Nope. It's about power and one-upmanship. A lot of men naively assume that women dress or act in a particular way in order to attract or impress men. Actually men don't even figure much in the equation. This is why you seldom see men on the covers of women's magazines.
Women show off to and compete with other women.
And of course there's the pleasure of looking good when you see yourself in photos and reflections.
Obviously it's not something you can pin on uniforms. Look at what runners/joggers wear for training. I bet 95% of the women jogging in their "underwear" every day have never been in a race where they wore a uniform.
If women's bodies are objectified, then blame the women. I know you probably have some angry feminist need to blame some male-dominated establishment, but it just doesn't hold water.
too ashamed to say wrote:
I really dislike the fact that these the bun huggers obviously serve no purpose other than to be sexy on a woman, but I admit that I actually like wearing them. As much as I value myself as an athlete and try to be all business on the track (no hair ribbons, no makeup, none of that s***), I feel empowered wearing something sexy and competing at the same time. It's funny...I spend so much time training and sweating and wearing t shirts and shorts to class because I have practice afterwards, and looking unlike my girlfriends b/c I'm not curvy...that looking good while I compete is a little bit satisfying. I'd die before I'd admit this to anyone in person, but I don't have a problem with my uniform, and I know a lot of other women like to wear them too.
Well said. The purpose of a woman is to please the man. I'm glad you realize that.
I'm a guy and I love wearing spandex. It shows everybody how big my package is. I've picked up chicks at 5K's before because of this.
Multisport participants and other aerobic lifestylists go for them.
Deena and numerous superb Japanese women don't need huggers to be 'professional', so why would US college or high school hacker girlies? It's entirely mental (ego) and contrived.
self esteem police wrote:
I would file this discussion under "don't give a sh*t about what other people think." It's a sports uniform. Women always think they are being viewed as sex object and are the center of attention. Guess what? The world doesn't revolve around you, toots. Us guys have own problems.
Self confidence isn't about "feeling good." Self confidence is knowing that, no matter what happens, you will be able to give your task, no matter what it is, all of your effort. If you're worried that what you're wearing is affecting you, you weren't going to win anyways because your mind is too cluttered with useless crap. NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE PERFECT FOR YOU TO RACE YOUR BEST. What if it rains? What if a coyote comes out of the hills and attacks you on the second water pit? If you're having self doubts because you don't have an extra inch and a half of fabric on your butt, you're beat from the get-go.
If you're running the 10,000, you're only going to be out there (hopefully) for no more than 40 minutes. And guess what...no one watches the 10,000, so you'll be fine if you're worried about guys gawking. No, that's not a knock on women's sports, I'm a guy who ran the 10,000 and am fully aware that everyone's goes and gets a snack or takes a nap during the 25 lapper. When a girl runs, she thinks every pair of eyes in the stadium is looking at her. When a guy runs, he runs.
But that's not too fair of a description. Back when I was in college, there were two types of girls on our team. One group was made up of the dedicated athletes. They would be the ones who did morning runs, long runs on Sundays, watched what they ate, won races, made nationals, and wore bunhuggers without comment. They could've worn pink frilly tutus when they raced because they were confident in their ability and realized that the uniform you wear for 2-40 minutes a week MAKES NO DIFFERENCE on how fast or slow you are. The other group was there for the social aspect. These were the folks who may have been in the top half of their state in high school, but were not winners. They would miss practice, party too much, gain the freshman 15, and usually not make it three consecutive seasons. From day one, they always had problems with the bunhuggers. They always thought the coach was trying to sexualize things even though the coach was female and the uniforms had been the same design for over 20 years.
In college we always wore tight shorts for our men's DMR. These expose a whole lot more of the guy's anatomy than bunhuggers do for girls. Did we care? No, we went out, got the job done, and qualified for nationals.
Again, I'll repeat this for emphasis. It can also be used in other aspects of life: DON'T GIVE A SH*T ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK.
You make a good point in that the uniform itself doesn't make a difference in how fast or slow you run. So why should you be made to feel uncomfortable in the least on race day? That does impact how you run. And there will always be girls who are uncomfortable in them, and so they should never be mandated, in my opinion.
I have had a different experience in the division between the dedicated girls and the non-dedicated girls. On my team our fastest runner (D1 national qualifier) refuses to wear them, and so does our 3 and 4. It's the people who think that they will look more professional (the ones who care what they look like when they run - what you deplore) who wear them.
As you so eloquently put it, I don't give a sh*t about what other people think; I care about what I think and I don't like them. I, myself, feel uncomfortable in them. This has nothing to do with anyone else.
Luckily, my college coach feels the same way about this that I, and most other girls do, and give us the option. If you want to wear them, fine, if you don't, fine. I just don't see what the problem is with that.
Anyway, just my 2 cents.
I don't have a problem with buns, in fact I like them. It seems sensible to me to wear form-fitting clothing for competitive sports (our volleyball team also wear them) because they avoid chafing, wind resistance etc and are so comfortable.
OK, when I first joined my HS team (I'm now at college) and found out we'd be required to wear them I felt nervous and we were all really self conscious at the first meet, especially around the guys. But it's no worse than being in a swim squad, better in fact, and if all the girls are in them then I realized it's not like they'd all be looking at me.
The OP said maybe buns are sexist because they guys wear longer shorts. However I don't think physical differences between men and women can be ignored here - OK, men's track in Speedos would be a popular spectator sport among women but very uncomfortable for the guys. And as for CC, I know how cold it gets in midwinter in buns and what happens to guys' extremities in those conditions... I'm sure no-one would want to put them through that kind of embarrassment...
Apparently you have never been to a triathlon. Men race in "speedos" all the time.
The real problem is that the "athletes" that are attracted to men's distance running are terribly insecure. Compare and contrast with sprinters.
Popping out? Distance runners are the biggest bunch of pencil dicks in all of athletics.
American boys and men are amongst the most insecure on the planet. Please, don't even get started on the knee length "swim trunks" with 4 pockets. You look like insecure fools.
Lame Arguement wrote:
Apparently you have never been to a triathlon. Men race in "speedos" all the time.
The real problem is that the "athletes" that are attracted to men's distance running are terribly insecure. Compare and contrast with sprinters.
Popping out? Distance runners are the biggest bunch of pencil dicks in all of athletics.
American boys and men are amongst the most insecure on the planet. Please, don't even get started on the knee length "swim trunks" with 4 pockets. You look like insecure fools.
Stop projecting.
We need pictures. many.
There's something about that insecurity, that's for sure. Go run a marathon in Europe and you'll see half the male runners wearing tights. Tights are the bottom of choice in Europe, for training as well as racing. Of course, if you ask any American about that it's because they're all gay. Yeah, whatever.
But I'm not sure it's about showing the package, I think it has more to do with waist sizes. US fashion is designed to hide fat. Americans spend twice as much time at the gym bulking up their upper bodies so their guts and asses don't look so big by comparison. A size medium in the US is a large in Europe, but Americans are not taller. When Americans wear shorts, they wear knee-length basketball shorts. Again, anything shorter is "gay". I guess thighs are fat too.
But why do skinny runners have to subject to the fashion trends of their fat fellow Americans? That seems to make no sense. I can only assume it's because runners are different enough already. And they still need to have something derogatory to say about those rich pretty-boy triathletes whom they envy so much.