Fred Richard’s New Uniform At Winter Cup

[makam]

If he started a groundswell of guys asking for a change it would read as more authentic than his lone warrior stance. And the posts about it do feel pretty navel gazey.

I'm all for uniform updates at the request of the athletes competing but I'm not sure Fred has really thought through the approach or the style. It would be nice if gymnasts had as many options as track athletes and eliminate the requirement for perfect matching across teams so different athletes could wear what they perform best in. But it feels like there are better ways to achieve the change. (But maybe lots of people in small competitions wearing something different is the way to bring it about, what do I know)

 

[MaryClare]

If he started a groundswell of guys asking for a change it would read as more authentic than his lone warrior stance. And the posts about it do feel pretty navel gazey.

I'm all for uniform updates at the request of the athletes competing but I'm not sure Fred has really thought through the approach or the style. It would be nice if gymnasts had as many options as track athletes and eliminate the requirement for perfect matching across teams so different athletes could wear what they perform best in. But it feels like there are better ways to achieve the change. (But maybe lots of people in small competitions wearing something different is the way to bring it about, what do I know)

Yes, I think the whole you can wear a unitard but only if the whole team wears it is ridiculous. As long as the body design is the same, athletes should be able to choose the sleeve length and whether or not they want it as a unitard.

I think that MAG does need to be clearer in its attire regulations though. I am equally annoyed by Bartolini’s ridiculously low cut neckline as I am by Dolgopyat’s excessively baggy uniform

 

[wishfulgoddess]

Comfort is one thing. I'm all for finding a way to accomodate the comfort of the athletes. I'm not a big fan of the unitards with long pants in WAG, but I support the cause 100%. I have no doubt there is a practical way to do it. To change things because a guy got called "girly", though... I feel like the solution to boys being bullied for being too "girly" should be to fix the perceptions of society, not to make the victims of bullying more "macho". Everything is thought to be either feminine or masculine, even if it is actually neutral. What's more is that things deemed feminine are automatically considered weaker and less important. That is the root of the problem. Not that boys wear tight uniforms.

 

[CameliasFingerpaint]

I appreciate that Fred is taking a page out of Noah Lyle’s book to popularize the sport in unique ways, but this just doesn’t sit right with me.

I just reeks of masculine insecurity in that men in tight clothes=gay girly man. Meanwhile, no one is having that perception of Michael Phelps in a speedo. I don’t think that the perception that MAG is somehow feminine is what is working against the sport’s popularity.

 

[MaryClare]

I appreciate that Fred is taking a page out of Noah Lyle’s book to popularize the sport in unique ways, but this just doesn’t sit right with me.

I just reeks of masculine insecurity in that men in tight clothes=gay girly man. Meanwhile, no one is having that perception of Michael Phelps in a speedo. I don’t think that the perception that MAG is somehow feminine is what is working against the sport’s popularity.

Exactly. It’s all nonsense and all Fred, Fred, Fred.

I don’t think MAG has ever been more popular in the US. Stephen becoming the unlikely star of Paris had gyms inundated with calls from parents who wanted to get their sons into the sport.