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The bizarre case of the fine to the Norwegian women’s handball team

It looks like the title of a novel but it is not: surreal stories of sexism more real than ever (once again)

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You know those memes with the image of beautiful city, super-futuristic but surrounded by nature, accompanied by a caption like “society if [insert the name of something negative you wish didn’t exist]”. Right now it would probably be a more beautiful and shiny world without stupid stories of sexism, so stupid that they don't seem real. And instead.

 
 
 
 
 
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Un post condiviso da Norges Håndballforbund (@handballandslagene)

It is not an article by the Onion or Lercio: during the European Handball Championships, the Norwegian women's national team decided to play the match for the bronze medal against Spain without the canonical bikini-uniform, because they considered it sexist.

Result: a fine of 1500 euros to the team by the International Federation (each player will have to pay 150 euros), for "improper clothing", as reported by the Disciplinary Commission of the European Association and a risk of disqualification.

Because it seems absurd, but the uniform of handball players requires a bikini. And not just any bikini, but a swimsuit defined in the smallest details, with the bikini bottoms with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg, the sides must be no more than four inches”.

It’s not like we are designing the floor plan of a house. And the effect is even more ridiculous if we observe that the regulation for men prescribes a simple tank top + shorts below the knee combo, where the shorts are not defined down to the last centimeter, as long as they are not too baggy. And seeing the women's and men's national teams side by side makes us understand how absurd this contrast is.

 
 
 
 
 
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Un post condiviso da Hear Her Stories 📣 (@hearherstories)

And here an abyss really opens up. Because we are absolutely not talking about issues of practicality or greater sporting performance: these rules are simply ridiculous.

The Norwegian Federation expressed solidarity for its athletes, offering to pay the fine and hoping for a future with a more inclusive clothing, while the International Federation announced with a statement that it had raised the situation last April, but then nothing has been done.

Here several issues come into play. In the first place, the unequal treatment, totally unjustified. The total absence of practical rules related to the uniform: we are talking about athletes, professionals who train hard to get a good performance, to be strong and powerful.

Yet when it comes to female athletes, the aesthetic factor inevitably comes into play. Before being capable and winning medals they must be attractive, otherwise, OMG.

Raise your hand if you have not stumbled upon the various galleries dedicated to the “sexiest athletes” while browsing the internet, especially during the Olympics or various and eventual sports tournaments?

Far from making moralistic arguments, here we are talking about judging athletes for their abilities, as it should be. To definitively untie the idea that every woman is first of all a body and that's it.

There is also a very interesting matter regarding body shaming. We could say that it is almost the opposite side of the same coin: the female body is always under a magnifying glass, whether it is to sexualize it or to denigrate it, because it does not conform to an alleged mythological aesthetic standard.

Martine Welfler, one of the Norwegian players told the New York Times: I don’t see why we can’t play in shorts. With so much body shaming and stuff like that these days, you should be able to wear a little bit more when you play..

The Norwegian Federation has long been very attentive to these issues, so much so that in 2006 they had already written a letter of protest to the International Federation, noting how many athletes feel uncomfortable wearing such skimpy clothes and how they were considered disrespectful for some cultures.

The self-determination of being free to feel at ease, doing something that you love and to which you dedicate your life. Women or men, who cares. What matters in the end is the game.