Excerpt:

“Nearly every time the Russian team appeared onscreen, one member of the NBC crew of commentators hurled “diva” at them like it’s an insult. Yet for all the discussion of “diva,” the trio never backed it up with any examples of truly negative, un-sportswoman like behavior.

Instead we’re shown images of them crying after they lose a competition they hoped to win — and they weren’t depicted as snubbing their opponents. Or we were shown a lone fluff segment in which head coach Alexander Alexandrov was interrogated about how “difficult” his gymnasts are. While he admitted they possess challenging personalities, he didn’t seem to mind it all that much. In fact, he indicated that he believes that it’s part of what goes along with being great. And as former head coach of the Soviet program, Alexandrov has guided many of the champions. He knows what he’s talking about.”

Female boxers had to fight back an effort to force them to wear skirts while they are competing. The idea, the Amateur International Boxing Association argued, was to help viewers distinguish between male and female boxers. Most of us can do that by simply looking at the differently-shape bodies of the athletes. Or, one can just take notice of how much coverage is given to the performances, since women’s sports are covered so much less. But of course, that wasn’t the idea at all behind the skirt dress code (which the athletes successfully stymied). It was to diminish female sportswomen and sexualize their competitions to attract male viewers-who, the boxing association presumes, don’t really think of women as actual athletes and just want to watch their breasts and behinds bop up and down in a ring or an arena. (click link for more)