If there's one thing I was excited for this summer it was definitely the Olympics. This year we've seen athletes from all over the world break records and become Olympians. The summer Olympics have always been my favorite. Between women's gymnastics and synchronized diving, the things these athletes can do is incredible.
Something, I think everyone has noticed this Olympic Games, is the unnecessary comments from the commentators. Particularly their sexist comments toward the female athletes.
Before I divulge into the topic, let me just remind you that 53 percent of this year's USA team is made up of women athletes, making it the most female-dominated team in Olympic history.
The commentators have been making sexist remarks not just about females on the USA team. When Hungary's Katinka Hosszu broke the world record in the 400-meter individual medley, announcer Dan Hicks credited her coach and husband by saying he's "the man responsible" for her performance. Obviously there is some credit to be given to the coaches of Olympic athletes because without the coaches, the athletes wouldn't be able to learn how to improve their skills. In this instance though, to give her coach all the credit is outrageous... last time I checked he wasn't the one in the pool or the one who shaved off two seconds from the world record.
Something that caught my eye on Twitter was a tweet from the Chicago Tribune. It read:
Where's her name? What sport does she play? Why is her husband relevant at all in her win? She won this medal on her own. In my personal opinion, here's how I believe the tweet should've been written (I didn't write this tweet):
It just doesn't make sense to me as to why men need to be brought up at all when discussing a female athlete's win.
Lastly, while Simone Biles was soaring on the uneven bars, NBC commentator Jim Watson said, "I think she might even go higher than some of the men." I'm unsure why he felt the need to compare her to the men... it was almost as if watching her be absolutely incredible wasn't enough for viewers to understand just how great she was. There's no reason to compare the two at all.
Overall, hearing interviewers, commentators, and even some news articles about the women's makeup or uniforms for their events is unnecessary. Honestly, who cares about how they did their hair? I'm pretty sure no one is watching the Olympics to see what the latest makeup trend is among female athletes. These athletes are executing skills that more than half the country can't do and yet somehow, people are still fixated on their looks and what they're wearing.
At the end of the day, these female athletes are out there winning gold, silver, and bronze medals while we all sit at home and watch them. We can all clearly see they're much stronger than the media is portraying them.
