Why do Girls Get the Short End of the Inseam?
“Her butt cheeks are showing,” my son noted about a nearby girl as we waded into the spray park kiddie pool. Several years later, the same twin commented, “She must be cold,” as a figure skater twirled on TV.
Well, yes, son. You’re right. I’m raising twin boys and riled up about girls’ athletic attire. Why is it that girls get the short end of the inseam?
The same could be said for what I wore in college. For four years, I competed in basically a sports bra and underwear. My butt cheeks showed. I was cold. I grabbed my sweats as soon as my races ended.
I listened in horror to the testimony during Larry Nassar’s sentencing. I wondered what all enabled the former USA Gymnastics team doctor to go unchecked for so long. Pre-pandemic a friend posted on Facebook her fury over the dress code at her daughter’s gymnastics class. There the boys got to wear baggy shorts and t-shirts. Girls were sent off the mat or to the lost and found bin if wearing anything more than a leotard. They’re preschoolers.
Why is it that girls have to wear crotch exposing uniforms? What function does this serve? How does this improve performance? The elite gymnasts I follow on social media practice in bike shorts and tanks and pull off all the same moves while appearing encumbered. Did Larry Nassar like it that the girls…
