(1) AbigailJHess. “US Viewership of the 2019 Women’s World Cup Final Was 22% Higher than the 2018 Men’s Final.” CNBC, CNBC, 10 July 2019,

Background: The US Women’s soccer team beat the Netherlands in the 2019 World Cup Final, with approximately 14 million Americans watching. Streaming peaked at 20 million, making it the most-watched men’s or women’s soccer game since the 2015 women’s World Cup. For the past three years, women’s soccer has generated more viewership in comparison to men’s soccer according to Nike. 

How I used it: I used this source to state how women’s sports are capable of generating just as much viewership and revenue as men’s sports. Men and women wear relatively similar uniforms, so it’s proof that sexy uniforms are not the key to women’s viewership.

(2)Anderson, Eric. “The Changing Relationship between Men’s Homosexuality and Sport.”

Background: Gender identity in sport is very herteronormal. It’s painted as very black and white, with masculine and feminine attire. There is an aspect of hyper femininity when it comes to women’s uniforms, because sports themselves are seen as masculine, and women are told they need to set themselves apart from it from society.

How I used it: I used this source to try and explain why there is such a push for women to look feminine and sexy in sports. If women look too strong or powerful when it comes to sports, they are no longer seen as women. This source strengthens my argument that attire like skirts and bras are only present to titillate TV audiences.

(3)BULLENS, Lara. “Tokyo Olympics: Female Athletes Face Double Standards over Uniforms.” France 24, France 24, 22 July 2021,

Background: The International Olympic Committee is responsible for organizing the Olympic games and does not have the authority to establish or enforce uniform regulations. That responsibility belongs to International Federations for each individual sport to regulate what’s appropriate to wear in each gendered group. The criteria they have for uniforms are not public

How I used it: If you know the perpetrator of the sexism in the Olympics, then you can see their inaction and silence as a clear answer that they don’t care, and want women to be sexualized. This source showed me that the Federation is the one making the decisions that I have a problem with, and they are the ones who need to be addressed when making my arguments.

(4)Golen, Jimmy. “Bikinis Here to Stay in Beach Volleyball.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 9 Apr. 2012,

Background: This ESPN article is assuring readers that women will not stop wearing bikinis in sports. It states that it’s traditional to wear these bikinis, and most women prefer it. They also go to say that it helps with televising, as the cameras are often zoomed in on their rears. This article is in respond to the rule change, stating that women can chose to wear what they want. They celebrate this change, but assure everyone that the bikinis aren’t going anywhere.

How I used it:

This source is a great insight into the other side of the argument, stating that women prefer to wear bikinis. I used several sources that stated women going against the bikinis, in order to topple this argument. I used this to show how shameless people can be in admitting that the media prefers them to wear bikinis. 

(5)Harrison, Frances Rosseland. “Volleyball, but Make It Sexy: Mediated … “– Duke University.

Background: Women were often excluded from sports as it was seen as mainly masculine. To compensate, sports media portrayed them as sexual objects to push heteronormativity. This capstone paper analyzes beach volleyball uniforms and it’s media representation, mapping the patterns through history and discussing the impact it has on female athletes.

How I used it:

I used this paper to explain how women’s uniforms have become sexualized in order to set them apart from the masculinity of sports. One of my main points on why uniforms are sexist was because of the forced heteronormativity, and the context of this paper really strengthens my argument. 

(6)Ilchi, Layla. “A Closer Look at the Tokyo Summer Olympics Uniform Controversies.” WWD, 27 July 2021, 

Background: This article discusses many of the controversies that happened at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, mostly with the uniforms. Germany’s gymnastic team wore full body suits, taking a stand against the leotards. Norways Volleyball team also took a stand and wore shorts, but they were heavily fined for it. The soul Cap, a special swim cap for black hair, was banned causing lots of outtrage. Finally, paraolympic athlete Olivia Breen was shamed for wearing too short of shorts, which were in regulations.

How I used it: I used several of these controversies to show just how present this issue still is today. Olivia Breen’s story was especially helpful, as it goes to show that even when women follow the rules, they are still put down for it. The Olympics still have many issues when it comes to uniforms that need to be fixed, like the tiny shorts and tight leotards.

(7)Jefferson Lenskyj H. The Olympic Games : a Critical Approach. Emerald Publishing Limited; 2020.

Background: Uniform decisions are based on practicality, tradition, and gender differentiation. Federations say their decisions are based on fairness and performance. Sports judged on aesthetics like figure skating have clothing rules consistent with judges’ often stereotypical views of what a ‘feminine’ skater should look like. Women’s beach volleyball uniform regulations are based solely on heterosexual sex appeal

How I used it: I used this source to explain where the rules and regulations for uniforms come from so that I and the reader can understand where the problem comes from. This source tries to explain the reasoning behind certain rules, like how small and tight the uniforms need to be but it calls out these rules are only to push heterosexual sex appeal.

(8)Liang, Emily. “The Media’s Sexualization of Female Athletes: A Bad Call for the Modern Game.” Inquiries Journal, Inquiries Journal, 1 Oct. 2011, 

Background: Female athletes have made multiple strides in improving their status, however multiple issues still need to be addressed. Females are sexualized in all media, even in sports. Their athletic abilities are often overlooked over their sexuality. This degrades their accomplishments and diminishes their abilities. 

How I used it: This source told me that critics may say that athletes can increase their self-esteem by becoming empowered in their sexuality, the idea that an athlete needs to cater their bodies to the masses in order to be empowered directly contradicts this idea. By emphasizing female athletes’ sex appeal over athleticism and encouraging the athletes to do the same, the media’s sexualization takes away self-esteem and individuality from women’s sports.

(9)Pickhartz, Eric Michael. “Look Good, Play Good The World of American Sports Uniforms.” Texas Scholar Works, 2011

Background: This paper discussing how American Sports Uniforms came to be. It talks about the history of baseball, basketball, and football uniforms. It also mentions the revolutionaries for the time, including Under Armour and hockey goalie masks, which both had a huge impact on sports wear.

How I used it: I used this paper to explain how certain uniforms came to be, and how elements were designed for specific purposes, like safety, comfortability, and performance.I also used it to show how things like skirts and skimpy shorts had no evolutionary reason, and only became the standard because of sexist traditions.

(10)Radnofsky, Caroline. “Norwegian Women’s Beach Handball Team Fined for Not Playing in Bikinis.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 20 July 2021, 

Background: In the 2021 Euro tournament, the Norwegian women’s beach handball team was fined for refusing to wear bikini bottoms during their game. The team was fined 1,500 euros, $1,700 USD for “improper clothing”. According to International Handball Federation regulations, Women are required to wear midriff-baring tops and bikini bottoms “with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg” and a maximum side width of 4 inches.

How I used it: This source is one of the greatest examples of sexism in sports that i could find. The women were fined for taking a stand against their skimpy uniforms. I used this article to show just how crazy it is that women are forced to wear these type of uniforms. In comparison to what the men wear in the same sports, theres no way you can say it is not sexist, as the men get to wear shorts and actual tank tops. 

(11)Reid, Heather Lynne, and Michael W. Austin. “The Olympics and Philosophy.” University Press of Kentucky, 2012. Warner, Patricia Campbell. “WOMEN ENTER THE Olympics: A Sleeker Swimsuit.” When the Girls Came Out to Play: The Birth Of American Sportswear, University of Massachusetts Press, 2006, pp. 84–103. JSTOR Accessed 17 Oct. 2022.

Background: This book is on the early days of female sports uniforms. It talks about how old swimwear used to try and mask the curves of women, because it was thought to be shameful to show your bodies. 

How I used it: I used this book to explain how sport uniforms standards today show off the body compared to how they used to try and cover them up. Instead of hiding women’s curves, now the media wants female athletes to show off their athletic forms. It might be the opposite approach, but it’s still unfair to all female athletes. 

(12)Robinson, Hailey. “Does Femininity Matter in Women’s Sports?” The Daily of the University of Washington, 8 Apr. 2018, 

 Background: In field hockey and lacrosse, women still wear skirts. While it’s been tradition, the only reason these skirts actually came about in the first place was to make the sport more feminine. Theres a male perception around sports, so forcing women to wear skirts sets them apart. 

How I used it: i used this source to talk about how skirts are still present in sports to this day. Skirts are a big part of lacrosse and field hockey, and it has been since the sports began. It’s almost a way to remind the viewer that it is women participating, and this source helped me articulate just how backwards this idea really is. 

(13)“The Evolution of Sports Uniforms.” Dynamic Team Sports

Background: the Olympic games were first established in 776 BCE, in ancient Greece. The traditional attire was loin clothes tied with a rope, or more often than not, completely nude. Nudity in the Olympic games was also meant to differentiate the ancient Greeks from neighboring civilizations and societies they considered barbaric because they believed that nakedness was shameful. As time went on, for the winter Olympic games, uniforms became legging and stockings. It wasn’t until later that safety was taken into consideration.

How I used it: I used this source to analyze how the Olympic Uniform was not a thing at the very start, but slowly evolved first into leggings and stockings, and now into synthetic suits built for performance. If I’m able to explain every aspect of the uniform, it becomes obvious that the direct objectification of women has no actual purpose except to be objectifying. 

(14)Wang F, Cai X, Zhang C, Shi W, Lu Y, Song G. “Assessing the performance of a conceptual tight-fitting body mapping sportswear (BMS) kit in a warm dry environment.” Fibers and polymers.

Background: Professional uniforms now are made of synthetic materials that are mapped specifically for the body. You see this type of uniforms in baseketball, biking, running, and many other movement essential sports.when comparing bodymapping sportswear to traditional cotton uniforms, the bodymapping sportswear is better for athlete performance.the moisturewicking shirt lowered the core temperature during the exercise and the highly permeable shirt can also help in lowering the core temperature. The cooler temperature keeps the athlete safe.

How I used it: This source explains why some uniforms are so tight fitting, and why that sleek type of material is used. When discussing the evolution of olympic uniforms, it’s important to note where they are today, and now the bodymapping material is used in almost every sport. It’s important to justify why this type of material is used, so that I can better justify or argue other decisions in the uniform process. 

(15)Yu, Christine. “We Need to Talk about Body Image in Female Athletes.” WebMD, WebMD, 

Background: Many females suffer from body image issues and eating disorders. That percentage is even higher in female athletes. Athletes are often judged on the way their body looks, and feel pressure to look a certain way. 68% of women feel pressure to be pretty, and 30% are scared of looking too muscular. 80% of female athletes are conscious of their body images.

How I used it: I used this information and statistics to show that female athletes are already conscious of the way their bodies look, and almost all of them struggle with the pressures of society. I used this to determine that skimpy uniforms are only adding to the issue already at hand. Sports and body consciousness sadly go hand in hand.