How do Bikinis enhance Volleyball players performance?

[itsrobert]

I'm trying to figure out why Women wear skimpy bikinis playing Volleyball at the Olympics? Does anyone know what purpose this serves? Besides increasing male viewer ship like myself?

[BrklynLiberal]

1. That is it..They merely enhance the experience for male viewers...

[Bucky]

152. Which leads to higher viewership, which leads to greater ad revenues, which leads to higher salaries

Which means those poor dears can finally go out and buy a sandwich.

[TomInTib]

2. All I know is they do wonders for mine (performance, that is).

Textile Viagra.

[gristy]

3. They don't, of course

I read that someone (the Olympic committee? Their sponsors?) requires them to. I'd love to see one of them rebel. Show up in... shorts! Heaven forbid!

[kirby]

4. More aerodynamic and less restrictive.

[itsrobert]

8. Doesn't look like the male players agree

or they don't see the benefit.

[kirby]

13. Banana colored speedos for everyone! n/t

[jakem]

16. lol- aerodynamic? you jest i hope?

[The Straight Story]

5. Sometimes life is better off not questioning the good things in it

;)

[petronius]

6. I don't know - but indoor volleyball players wear tight short shorts too, right?

Perhaps less clothing to get soaked with sweat? :shrug:

[BlooInBloo]

7. By getting guys to watch, which generates the money to keep the "sport" in existence.

[cliffordu]

22. You should try two-person beach volleyball sometime. It's a sport.

[BlooInBloo]

25. (shrug) Fine - remove the scare-quotes. It doesn't materially alter my point.

[derby378]

9. Over the past ten years, I've seen professional female athletes gravitate towards skimpier uniforms

On the track, I have seen traditional jogging shorts give way to form-fitting jogging briefs in many cases. It's not just beach volleyball.

Ironically, the only female athletes I know of who are covering more skin instead of revealing it are swimmers, although this is partially due to space-age technology like the material used in those Speedo Lazer suits the US women's swim team is wearing.

[bklyncowgirl]

10. I was hoping for tight shorts and bare chests on the guys

Sadly no. No equal time for us straight women & gay guys. This is just not fair.

[Cleita]

18. I could go for that. n/t

[Cleita]

11. As a former bikini wearer,

two piece swim suits like bikinis actually move with your body and stay on better than one piece suits that can either pull up or pull down when you move in different directions. So I think in volleyball it would be a better choice considering all the stretching, jumping and bending that goes on. Otherwise I think there would be a lot of popping out of one piece suits, if you get my drift.

[alfredo]

39. It is a sport born on the California beaches. What they wear reflects the

history and attitude of the sport. It looks weird, but the athleticism is real.

[Cleita]

40. I know.

The daughter of a family friend was involved in it. She was on the one of the women's professional teams back before she got married and knows many of the present Olympic ladies.

[alfredo]

42. I see it as a sport that doesn't really take itself serious, like skateboarding.

[Cleita]

47. Uhm. Is there a skateboarding competition in the Olympics?

I don't watch it and I'm not keeping track so I'm asking.

[alfredo]

48. Not yet, but there is snow boarding and mountain biking.

[Indenturedebtor]

99. That entire post was exciting n/t

[woo me with science]

114. LOL nt

[Buns_of_Fire]

104. Fewer "equipment failures," in other words.

And we know how disrupting they can be to half-time shows, not to mention the national psyche.

[Lint Head]

12. I don't mean to be disrespectful but obvious is obvious.

Most of the players do not have much to cover up top side. I guess it would increase viewers if all if the female volley ball players had large ones upstairs.

[ismnotwasm]

107. Probably true

I'm not interested in volleyball, but I got stuck watching it a time or two. What struck me, when I could say awake, was the athletic build of the women. To me, they just about perfect in build, but I'm a bit of a gym rat so I very much admire shape and muscularity. It never occurred to me that the bikini wearing was for anything but the ease of movement. The outfits looked stretchy and comfortable.

Athletes with low body fat tend to have smaller breasts since breasts are fat, but the larger breasted ones are no doubt "binded" with a snug fitting top.

It's very sad and messed up that breast size, or even looks would be an issue in the popularity of woman's sports, but I can't say that you're wrong.

[dysfunctional press]

14. if they didn't wear the bikini, they'd get sand in their hoo-ha's...

duh.

[zanne]

17. But what's the diff.....never mind. nt

[Bucky]

153. Which could lead to yet a different olympic sport, "Freestyle hoo-ha desanding"

I think I could medal in that.

[zanne]

15. I demand to see Speedos! nt

[awoke_in_2003]

76. Beware what you wish for...

you may just get it :evilgrin:

[bemildred]

19. It would distract the officials if they didn't wear something. nt

[Canuckistanian]

20. I was wondering that myself

I just saw the men's volleyball teams - long shirts, baggy pants.... I guess it's more expensive for the men to do the bikini wax.

[cliffordu]

21. They have been dressing like that since the beginning

of the sport, in skimpy bathing suits.

As fashion has changed, the suits have gotten skimpier..

The first iterations of the pro sport were little more than excuses to get drunk at the beach.

There are big money prizes now and beach volleyball players are some of the best athletes around.

NO ONE could force Kerri Walsh or Misty May to wear anything they don't want to....

They have won something like 115 competitions in a row......

And, they make jocks appealing.

Really appealing

[DailyGrind51]

23. This is as much about real sports as professional wrestling,

only with considerably skimpier costumes!

[mcg]

145. Vollyball is not fake and even with a full team

it takes athletic ability. How is beach vollyball any less of a sport than say tennis?
What are your criteria for a "real sport"?

[DailyGrind51]

151. It's more about the "costume" than the sport!

Otherwise, they would be wearing shorts. I agree that the competition is real, but what percentage of the audience really watches for the competition? BTW, what other event features bikini-clad cheerleaders? http://news.ninemsn.com.au/olympics/article.aspx?id=610439

[mcg]

155. Teen male viewing ...

Olympic Networks Surprised by "Totally Unexpected" Spike in Teen Male Viewing of Women's Beach Volleyball



http://www.dailyprobe.com/arcs/082404/index.shtml

I just don't understand this unexplained phenomenon.

Here's something interesting...
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/07/18/Womens_volleyball_team_says_no_to_bikinis/UPI-80281216409394/

"Organizers of the event agreed to loosen the dress code rules, allowing the Indian team to wear long shorts and T-shirts instead of the required bikini, The Telegraph reported Friday."

I agree that bikinis should not be required.

also ...
http://ask.metafilter.com/98786/Beach-Volleyball-Bikinis

'According to an IOC official "...it's important that the Committee keeps on the program sports that are popular, attractive to young people, have an element of entertainment and are attractive to broadcasting,"'

The outfits using in Latin dance competitions are pretty skimpy too, and the guys are supposed to wear open chest shirts, for example:

I've done a bit of latin dancing and competed once at a lower level that doesn't practically require these types of shirts. I think I would feel embarrassed wearing one.

[Sanctified]

24. 10 out of 10 women prefer Bikinis to Burqas. n/t

[DailyGrind51]

26. 10 out of 10 men prefer women in bikinis over burkas too!

[Bonobo]

27. Are you kidding? Look how streamlined this bikini makes her!

It's all about streamlining.

[Bucky]

154. This makes me "streamlined" too

[malaise]

28. Patriarchy plain and simple

sponsors, fans and the dirty old men in the International Sporting Associations support this crap.
FIFA head Blatter even suggested that the female footballers must wear skimpy clothes to promote the sport.

sp.

[TahitiNut]

29. I must be really nuts ... 'cause I actually watch the SPORT! (sheesh!)

:crazy: :silly: :dunce:

[Robeson]

30. It helps with viewer performance.

[riverdeep]

31. I don't know about bikinis.

I don't care either way. It's hot, if they want to wear it, great, if not, they shouldn't have to. Some of them look great while wearing it, too.

But the sport itself, it just doesn't do much for me. It's pretty boring. They really need to get at least one more player in there. Because as it is, the points just go by too fast because it's too easy to score. There aren't many long rallies and after a while, the pattern just gets predictable. The bikinis serve as something of a distraction from the boredom. At least in indoor volleyball, where there's more people, there's some more variety and longer points.

Also, the blasting of loud music in between points gets old really fast.

[Texasgal]

32. Skimpy?

Are you serious?

Good GOD!

[maui9002]

33. Because the sport began on the beach (hence the name "beach volleyball")

where men wear shorts and sleeveless tshirts and women wear bikinis.

[riverdeep]

35. Your answer isn't conspiratorial enough for my tastes. Next! n/t

[Catherine Vincent]

34. The female swim team is more covered up than the female volleyball team. nt

[cliffordu]

41. Ever get sand in a bathing suit?? The more suit== more irritation.

[itsrobert]

46. That's probably the best answer

But would loose fitting clothing like the men wear let the sand fall out a little easier?

[cliffordu]

49. Not really - It sticks to everything and if you are covered even with loose fitting

clothing there is no way to brush it off your skin -

I've played a couple games in SoCal at Redondo...Sand in your loose fitting clothing is abrasive and miserable...like sandpaper....

[AngryAmish]

110. The swimming suit is more hydrodynamic than skin

More coverage = faster time. (But some gals find full body suit restricting - so they wear 1 piece. )

[1]

36. who the hell am i discussing this issue with?

do you actually think either misty or kelly have a problem with their CHOSEN outfits in their competition?

with those bodies? they could have chosen berka's. would that have pleased you more?

the outfits that have advanced the sport of "beach volleyball" from something you did on a santa cruz beach for fun to something that has made both of these women millionaires advanced many years ago. and it brought all of the other contenders into riches they would never know.

well screw them bitches. how dare they. wanting to make them millions. showing off a body i never, ever could have?

what is the problem here? women that now get the payoff and into the future MILLIONS OF DOLLARS for beach volleyball, because you don't? women that succeed and do beach volleyball, because you can't? then fuck them bitches? is that it?


wow. poor you...

[itsrobert]

45. Wow, you really take this topic to a new level

You're obviously a super genius. I bow to you're superior intellect. Please forgive me for even posting this topic.

[1]

53. what is this? i asked a question? don't be that way...

we were discussing the apparel of olympic athletes.

do you have a problem about my question?

if so, what is it?

[awoke_in_2003]

77. Yeah you asked a question...

but the tone suggests a lot of anger in the question. Chill out a bit. Oh, and when you use words like "driveby" as you have a couple of posts down, and couple that with angry questioning, it hints at a certain affiliation.

[Common Sense Party]

65. Damn. That was one of the more ridiculous posts I've read in a while.

Switch to decaf.

[Name removed]

75. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

79. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[uppityperson]

95. nice of the mods to leave it up though, so we can see the attitude.

[Richard Steele]

105. I agree completely. nm

[Common Sense Party]

111. Yes. I wish I could have seen the now-deleted sub-thread.

I wonder what uplifting things were said about me.

[lumberjack_jeff]

37. They enhance the performance tremendously. I understand there's some sort of contest involved? n/t

[sknabt]

38. Ahhhh... they don't. So what's your point?

[trumad]

162. Thats a cheerleader not a player.

[CrazyDude]

43. I say they should wear burkas

But that's just me.

[madeline_con]

44. They guarantee the sport won't be cancelled. n/t

[Tindalos]

50. So . . . anyone know how well they're playing?

I've seen lots of posts lately about what the VB teams are wearing, but nothing about how well they're doing. Haven't had time to watch. So, how's their game?

[cliffordu]

54. They are dominant.

They haven't lost a match in about 115 of them or so.....

Misty May and Kerry Walsh.

[Tindalos]

56. That's impressive.

They've worked hard to be there.

[DailyGrind51]

109. Does that mean their opponents are "submissive"?

[kirby]

59. I dont know, I've been too busy staring at their bodies

;)

[BlooInBloo]

51. self-delete

EDIT: My awesomesweet joke was already the #2 post. I fail.

[awoke_in_2003]

81. I also hate it when I get beat to the punchline. nt

[noamnety]

52. women are the sex class. still.

first google hit for "men's volleyball":



and for "women's volleyball" the first google hit is a closeup of a woman's ass.



Edit to add this photo:


Bush's antics aside, what idiocy makes a woman decide when meeting the president (or any man, for that matter) that a proper response is to bend over and offer her ass to be smacked?

[cliffordu]

57. It is a tradition among beach volleyball players.

As it is in Basketball and Baseball. Football, too.

But, since you're all about being the sex class, you wouldn't know that.

By the way - that's men's indoor volleyball, played with teams, the women are playing beach volleyball, played in doubles.

Vastly different sports.

[noamnety]

63. hey there.

1) yes, I'm aware it's a tradition for players to smack each other's asses. However, I'm having a hard time picturing a superbowl winner meeting Bush - even on the field - and reacting by turning around, sticking his ass out and asking bush if he'd smack it.

2) the gratuitous insult is just that - gratuitous

3) The google search terms I used didn't differentiate between indoors, outdoors, teams, doubles. It was simply a representative search to see what images are most popular for representing men's volleyball - and the result was an ACTION shot of men. The most popular women's photo, by contrast, featured much more revealing clothing, a nonaction shot, and a sexualized pose thanks to the zoom and camera angle up and into the crotch area. This is why I refer to it as an example of women being the sex class.

Also seems to be very popular for so-called photojournalists to feel it's newsworthy to do closeups of the women specifically when they are signaling.



Here, for another example, is a reuter's shot - obviously by a great sports photographer. :eyes:

[cliffordu]

66. Well....

1. The guys won't offer cause it would be interpreted as....get ready for it...gay.

But if the Prez just smacked one on the ass as he started to take the field, no harm no foul.

I think in this case Ms. May just got overenthused by the commander in chief.....

Sickening thought, but there ya go.

2. When you reduce women to "The sex class," it seems you'll have to include yourself in that perjorative, right?

Implying my wife - as a woman - as the sex class irritates the living shit out of her. Me too.

On the other hand, the Brad Pitt in Thelma and Louise is part of the sex class, now, isn't he??

As far as those photos - I wouldn't take them, and I'd say that the largest audience for them would be 14- 40 year old males with huge bandwidth and storage. Breeding stock, those males.

It's odd. Nature gave us eyes to differentiate possible mates/sex partners for desirability and availability and although we ALL use our eyes for just that purpose, some get demonized for it.

I wouldn't want my daughter (If I had one) to be a model and dress like that. If she were a professional volleyball player, I wouldn't mind. Go figure.

I think it has to do with being objectified as an adjunct to a profession, rather than being a professional object.

[noamnety]

72. When we refer to women as the "sex class"

it's a critique/perjorative of our culture, not a critique of the actions of your wife or of me.

It's an accepted term in the field of women's studies. It has to do with the historical role of women in our society, and what they were (and still often are) valued for. Their uniforms (even if the women picked them out) are a result of that. When you look at the work of the Reuters photographers, you can see it in their attitude as well - they are treating women as the sex class. I looked through a gallery of news shots and picked those - if you look at the full gallery, there are a ton of close ups of women's asses, sometimes when they are signaling, sometimes not. Sometimes they are lying in the sand, probably the result of diving for the ball, but the pose the photographer snapped at had the effect of making them, again, look sexualized. That gallery also included shots of men - apparently the men never signal to each other. I didn't notice any shots of the men where their heads are cropped off, but there are plenty of the women as headless torsos. The men's asses are not deemed by the media to be newsworthy. There is a much higher ratio of them performing athletic feats, versus hugging each other.

When I talk about what the women being the sex class, that's the perfect example - the media values the men for their athletic ability in this sport, and the photographic evidence suggests they primarily value the women as sex objects to be used as a commodity for sale.

Why would your wife be offended that somebody calls that out for what it is and complains about it?

[cliffordu]

78. My wife.....

"Why would your wife be offended that somebody calls that out for what it is and complains about it?"


Her take on this might be a little skewed...Mine might too....

My wife's mother was a stripper in the '50s and '60's. My lovely spouse spent her formative years in the dressing rooms of mobbed-up strip clubs playing with pasties and being babysat by women who had stage names like "Misty Wings." Gladys (my mother in law) is nobody's fool and nobody's object. She is unapologetic about taking money from men (who she said were little more than marks) in the most direct manner possible for her house payment, my wife's childhood expenses, and her retirement. I guess we could pity Gladys for having to do that, but I wouldn't do it in front of her. Gladys has said she couldn't have made that kind of money doing anything else.

(As an aside, she worked Jack Ruby's club in Dallas a year before Kennedy was killed. She thought Jack was a real nice guy.)

MY mother, for what it's worth, was what is called now a 'sex worker'. I am a byproduct of that trade.

There's a difference between playing volleyball in a bikini and tricking to pay the rent, I think.

I understand there's supposed to be a continuum of exploitation from one to the other, I am just baffled by the importance it seems to have at the shallow end.

*****

As irony would have it, My wife and I both became actors, and met while working in a play about pornographic theaters/bookstores.

Great play, by the way. Confrontational theater at it's best and most dangerous. Provocative without being prurient....well, alright, shocking and prurient........and pushed the boundries of what folks might call "Legitimate" theater. It was a scandal. An indictment of sexuality repressive society.

That was 27 years ago.

I don't know why I just committed all this to the innernets, except:

I guess she and I feel we both come from the real 'sex class', not the academic description of one.

Edit: I just re-read this - it sounds a little too edgy, I mean no hostility....:hi:

[A HERETIC I AM]

102. Lenny Bruce, is that you?

Interesting story.

[cliffordu]

137. No, But I love his work.

[DailyGrind51]

115. Women don't have to yield to media's or society's definition of their

primary value, by choosing a different professional wardrobe. I like a "T & A" show as much as the next guy, but it shouldn't be about what I or any guy likes, it should be about what women want as their professional image.

[Scout]

103. how can they stand having their suits up their ass cheeks and/or cracks like that?

who cares what the men think of it, i don't know how they can stand having that stuff riding up like that.

[snooper2]

123. That isn't a photoshop?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Now he has something to think about when popping his half hard drunk weee-wee in stepford laura

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: smack that ass!




:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:




GOBAMA!

[2Design]

55. the men were long shirts and long shorts so anything about the why seems

to go away or they should be in little speedos - I see the volleyball team girls have on this skimpy little bottoms too - it seems exploitative to me also - and great for the womanizers - they are being objectified it seems - must be good for the advertisers though

[awoke_in_2003]

83. One bad thing

(well some might consider it bad) is when a man is wearing a speedo and flopping all over the place, certain things can, well, flop out. Of course, that might help ratings :)

oh, and with increased activity comes increased blood flow, everywhere. Not uncommon to see chubbies in the gym.

[cliffordu]

84. And jockstraps look like shit under speedo's

[awoke_in_2003]

89. Yep. Jocks don't just keep things together

they keep them down.

[dysfunctional press]

133. they look even worse OVER them.

nt

[Vickers]

58. "I'll take 'Questions I'd Never Ask In A Gazillion Years' for $500, Alex."

:P

[girl gone mad]

60. In the age of easy access to internet porn..

it's hard to imagine that bikinis would actually entice more male viewers to watch voleyball.

[cliffordu]

61. Well, since we're all sex-crazed beasts with no compunction about pointing

our little thingies at anything in a two-piece bathing suit, the bikini is absolute overload.


:sarcasm:

:rofl:

[kirby]

62. I do not get exited watching Sumo... n/t

[cliffordu]

64. Well.....maybe you should speak to YOUR doctor and see if Cialis is right for you...

:rofl:

[awoke_in_2003]

85. Too bad there are no more

DUzy awards until sept.

[awoke_in_2003]

86. Women never understand it

mens' appetite (on the average) for new visual stimuli is ravenous. The majority of us are just dogs. Some are more well behaved than others, but we still are.

[girl gone mad]

101. okay...

my best straight male friend told me women in bikinis were "boring" and don't excite him. Maybe that's enough to get most guys off, but I still don't think masses of horny men are so desperate for masturbation material that they are tuning in to watch Olympic volleyball.

If you are trying to argue that women don't understand how hormones work, well, this might surprise you but women also like to look at attractive men. Lots of different ones. Shirtless. They even made a movie about this phenomenon not long ago called "Troy".

[cliffordu]

121. Or, easier still, ask them about Brad Pitt in Thelma and Louise.......

You know, with his shirt open.....

[girl gone mad]

140. It was completely essential to the plot.

Fortunately, his acting was brilliant enough that he was able recover from that career misstep and he never had to take his clothes off in front of the camera again. Oh, wait..

;)

[leftofthedial]

67. If they were to accidentally fall off the beach

the bikini would allow them to swim to safety. plus, it would dry more quickly than a baggy uniform.

[cliffordu]

68. And everyone knows that bikinis don't attract sharks.

[leftofthedial]

74. well, not in the water anyway.

[cliffordu]

80. I really set you up on that, didn't I....

:rofl:

[leftofthedial]

120. thank you! we'll be here all week!

tip your waitress. Try the veal.

[uppityperson]

96. Excellent, thank you. nt

[anonymous171]

69. I don't really know. But they sure do look nice.

[provis99]

70. what a sorry excuse for a "sport" beach volleyball is

What next in the Olympics? Cheerleading? Maybe shooting pool, playing poker, bowling, hacky sack, varmint hunting, and team Twister should be added to the list of "sports" for the Olympics. The Olympics becomes more like an extended Coors Light commercial every time they hold it.

[cliffordu]

71. ROFL.

You should play a set or two. It's really easy!!!

:rofl:

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

106. And let's run down the women we are supposedly "looking out for"

Way to marginalize the "victim".

[Atman]

150. Probably one of the most ignorant posts I've ever read

And that's saying a LOT on DU! Play a set of twos some time. If you survived five minutes I'd be amazed. It's an incredibly tough sport.

.

[Evoman]

73. Is it mandatory to wear skimpy suits? If not, then I don't find it a big deal.

At the beach, most women wear tight bikinis. The men do seem to appreciate it.

At the beach, few men wear speedos or tight shorts. The women do seem to appreciate it, lol.

[cliffordu]

82. And EVERYBODY is glad I don't wear a speedo.....

[awoke_in_2003]

87. "few men wear speedos or tight shorts"

and the ones that do tend to look like this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3786365#3786436

[cliffordu]

88. I am NOT going to click on that.......

:rofl:

[awoke_in_2003]

90. Where is your sense of adventure? nt

on edit: corrected my "working third shift" spelling

[cliffordu]

91. Is this one of those "pull my finger" thingies??

[awoke_in_2003]

93. I see you are male...

do you have any children (if I may ask)? If you do, you know the greatness of the "pull my finger" thing (although momma doesn't understand why my boy MUST be taught this. Men have been doing this since we lived in caves:))

[cliffordu]

122. Oh, Yes......Yes we have.

We are the keeper of the fart humor, We are the Uncle who knows the good swear words, the first man in our nephew's lives that ogle young women in bikinis playing volleyball....

The responsibilities are endless. The work never done.

[LisaL]

156. Isn't it a uniform?

So, then it probably is mandatory.

[ourbluenation]

92. I grew up on the socal beaches AND I have a volleyball family...

in my view this is a skimpy bikini



and this is not



I can't believe what a fuss this has created. Seriously. Where was the outrage when male olympians wore these skimpy bikinis?

[mhatrw]

94. It's a beach to figure stuff like this out. n/t

[cwydro]

97. Best thread ever!

:rofl:

[Monk06]

98. It's traditional beach volleyball wear..........

Vat's you problem

[retread]

100. Beach Volleyball = skimpy bikinis = MELANOMA. n/t

[leftchick]

108. at least they are not thongs

yet.....



I really do not see an advantage in having sand in one's crotch.

[theboss]

112. Would you watch two broads jump around like that if they were in a sweatsuit?

It's a beach sport so they dress like they are on the beach.

[Marrah_G]

117. ~blink~

:wow:

[theboss]

118. I know...Good times, eh?

Rock on.

[cliffordu]

131. Rofl.

[Freddie Stubbs]

113. Skimpy?

You obviously haven't been to the beach recently.

[tom_paine]

116. Bikinis enhance women's volleyball players' marketability and that of the sport.

Sex sells. Period.

I am in no way condoning this, just pointing it out as a fact of current life, maybe all of human history.

It is about the dollars, plain and simple. Bikinis and hot women attract viewership and fannies in the seats.

But I seriously doubt that bikinis enhance women volleyball player performance, and may hinder it.

I mean with all the diving they do into the sand, you'd think they would want to wear something that seals things up down there. I know I would.

[B Calm]

119. Why not! Girls on trampolines wear them too.

[cliffordu]

126. IS THAT going to be an olympic sport too???

Here, lemme tear up that suicide note....

[MsTryska]

124. Reduces the likelihood fo wedgies?

and provides adequate support for the boobage.

[Midlodemocrat]

125. Purely conjecture, but since it began on the beach,

I would 'assume' that the women who are playing are used to the movement of bikinis while they play versus having to get used to a totally new covering.

[blondeatlast]

135. Thanks for the sanity; the first time I saw it, they wore a lot less and the men

parctically nothing.

[ThatsMyBarack]

127. Closest thing to naked....

Which is how athletes played sports in ancient Olympic times! :)

[theboss]

130. Yea...but that was dudes

Naked wrestlers may fly at Nebraska....but not here on the east coast.

[bobbert]

128. I don't know if it's as much a bikini as it is a sports bra with a swimsuit bottom

If I were to choose my outfit for playing beach volleyball, it would be something to attract people of the opposite sex. Typically, girls go for the swimshorts and tank top/bare chest (current style has to do with the difference in outfits). I like the attention and confidence I feel when I am looking good out there. Confidence is a big part of any sport, and I think that the confidence you feel when you're wearing something that you know is sexy, that it can carry over to your performance. So yes, bikinis can enhance performance.
Also, the guys' outfits are not very baggy at all, a little loose for comfort and mobility reasons, but I would not say that they are baggy.

Girls in skimpy outfits are always a plus for ratings too :) Can't you tell that the whole olympics broadcast this year is based on advertising and the subsequent profits? That just means you'll see more beach volleyball than more obscure sports simply for the 'bikini effect'.

[hedgehog]

129. I understand the tops - wearing a sports bra makes absolute sense

given all the jumping going on. I don't understand wearing the bikini bottom.

FWIW - there was a flap at the local junior high a few years back. The girl's track team was running in sports bras because of the heat. The mothers of the football players complained that it was "distracting" when their sons were forced to practice near-by and tha the girls should cover up. I thought the girls were in the right.

[blondeatlast]

132. It's BEACH volleyball. I got no problem--and I'm a female ex-competitve athlete. nt

[NashVegas]

138. I Think This Is More About The Millions At Home

Who see the images of men depicted as high-powered athletes:



And women as something quite different:

[Atman]

146. I'm pretty bummed at the tone of this thread

I play beach volleyball, and playing "twos," the womens volleyball the op is about, is an incredibly grueling sport. Two people have to cover a huge amount of sand -- and it's deep, soft sand, and jumping and digging require an incredible amount of freedom of movement. I've played indoor league sixes in the winter and wearing a t-shirt and baggy shorts really sucks ass. Ask any volleyball player (except members of the Liberty University volleyball team) and they'll tell you, the less clothing the better.

(OOPS -- ON EDIT, this reply wasn't meant as a direct response to you; I just liked your post and it prompted me to post a mini-rant.)

.

[noamnety]

149. That doesn't explain the Reuters photographers, though.

what are your thoughts on that?

[Fuzz]

134. Like this?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

136. Well it sure isn't because...

they are an effective way to keep your boobs in, sand out of your privates, and wedgies out of your but -- the gals are just about constantly pulling at their suits. There was one side shot of Mandy pulling at the front of her bikini bottom after a full-face dive into the sand, and we were around a millisecond from finding out if she has a landing strip or goes full Brazillian. :D

If it were me playing, I would be in something that didn't require constant adjusting/dislodging -- and male viewership would drop by 90%. :D

[Bluebear]

139. I want to know why the men don't play bare-chested?

[ourbluenation]

141. They do, just not in the olympics. n/t

[Atman]

142. Personally, I prefer playing naked.

Even less restricting than shorts.

.

[Cronus Protagonist]

143. They should also include an evening dress event and ask them to display a talent

At least they would have parity with similar events that way.

[mmonk]

144. Less restricting and cooler?

[Better Believe It]

147. Why Does My Wife Seem To Enjoy Watching The Male Swimmers So Much???

I'm confused and puzzled!

[mmonk]

148. Me too. I can't figure that out.

I mean I like to watch women's volley ball for the non stop action. Men swimming is boring.;)

[comradebillyboy]

157. would you prefer them in burqas?

nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

158. I don't know but it seems to help the men as well.

?v=0

[UndertheOcean]

159. Because the Media caters for the sexual pleasure of men

more than that of women. Because most those in positions of power are men.

[tomreedtoon]

160. But these women are a different kind of sexy!

They are not siliconed creatures. They are slim, small-breasted, and not bothered about who looks at them. They are concentrating on their game, not on any guys drooling on the sidelines. At least in the segments I've seen, they're not trying to entice men. Or women, for that matter. They are acting professionally. Which is better than people wearing Coca-Cola, Polo or Wal-Mart symbols.

[seemunkee]

161. Sponsors like viewers