Women's beach handball team refuse to wear bikini bottoms at Olympics, get fined because of sexist rules

In 2021, the Norwegian women's beach handball team ditched bikini bottoms and wore shorts instead for a match in Varna. While they just wanted to be comfortable, their bold decision met criticisms from the European Handball Federation. The incident that took place during their match against Spain at the European Beach Handball Championship reportedly violated the regulations of the International Handball Federation (IHF), which required players to wear "fitted, low-cut bikini bottoms," Euro News reported. 

Following the uniform violation, the Disciplinary Committee of the European Handball Federation (EHF) imposed a fine of €150 ($1,700) on each player. But why did the Norwegian team decide to go against the rules? Well, they said the uniform isn't really practical for sports like beach handball that constantly require women to dive into the sand. While the IHF also has a designated uniform for men — shorts that fall no longer than 10 centimeters above their knees — the rules for women are way too sexy. "Female athletes must wear bikini bottoms with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg. The side width must be a maximum of 10 centimeters," the rules said. Calling out the officials, Katinka Haltvik, the Norwegian team captain, said, "First, we were told about a fine of 50 euros per person per match, something that would have landed us a fine of about 4,850 euros. We accepted that. However, just before the match, we were told that we would be disqualified if we played like that. So we had to go with the bikini bottoms." Meanwhile, Valérie Nicolas, French national team manager, supported the Norwegian players and explained how players often felt uncomfortable during the game. "There is also discomfort associated with menstruation and not least religion," Nicolas added. 

While the incident did affect the Norwegian players, they eventually won the fight over sexist uniform rules, according to NBC NEWS. As per the new regulations, published by the International Handball Federation, from January 2022, players were allowed to wear "short tight pants with a close fit" and a "body fit tank top" while competing. The Norwegian team stood against the sexist rules and won the battle, but not all women get to go against the suppressing rules. In fact, at work or otherwise, women are often asked to dress a certain way to attract eyeballs. Emphasizing it, research from law firm Slater and Gordon found that in a poll of 2,000 office-based staff working from home, 27% of women employees were asked to dress more provocatively for video meetings by their employer. The survey also found that 34% were asked to wear more makeup or do something to their hair, perhaps to look more appealing. But wait, it gets even worse. Among those who were told to dress more provocatively, 41% confessed that their boss justified the request by saying it could help them win in business. 

Meanwhile, the whole controversy received a mixed response on social media. While most supported the handball team, a few said their ask was baseless and unnecessary. For instance, @nathfrance commented, "That rule is just ridiculous. It has nothing to do with sport or results. It's voyeurism." @bobdollar937 said, "Hopefully this will lead to an end of the objectification of women in organized sports." @youngminds2384 pointed out, "Here is the sad truth: If the dress code is changed to shorts, viewership ratings will DEFINITELY drop. I said a parallel truth about the WNBA before: change their uniforms to more ‘revealing’ or ‘sexy’ designs and watch the viewership ratings skyrocket! Tragic. But true."

@boolxor said, "The Olympics is sports entertainment. You sign that contract, and you are signing up to play by their rules, which comes with sponsorships and a number of other things that get tied to the clothing. They can't simply change things because of certain sentiments. If they don't like what they are supposed to wear by contract, work out a new one that allows longer shorts." 

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