Stripping off shirt in public

As the US Open tennis wires down to the end, I reflect on the past 2 weeks of good ol’ tennis action. I’m a huge tennis fan and watch all 4 grandslams on tv. Sometimes I’m lucky enough to be able to attend one of them, the Australian Open. The US Open has had some great games, and some great players have been taken out pretty quickly. There’s been all around, good sportsmanship and not too much controversy.

However, during the first week, I remember reading in the newspaper an editorial here in Australia about Alicia Molik (an Australian tennis player) who happened to take her shirt off to change them during the duration of her game. Someone was writing about how they agreed that tennis should be equal in all aspects, but the line had to be drawn when it came to allowing both genders to change shirts. Also on the news, on the radio, Alicia Molik was also mentioned. In reading the newspaper articles (not editorials) Alicia was simply saying that she was hot and sweaty, she needed to change her shirt. She spends thousands of dollars on sports bras a year, why not do some advertising for it. But she was going to take her shirt off to change it, no matter what. It wasn’t as if she was trying to make a scene.

So why is there a double standard in tennis when it comes to people taking off their shirts? People believe that Alicia taking off her shirt was “revealing.” How much more revealing could she get, aside from taking OFF her bra? What she was wearing underneath her shirt, probably had more covered than what many of us women wear as bathing suits. In the media, they have advertisements for lingerie, bras and panties that are visible to everyone, either on tv or in magazines. So how come people are not writing editorials about that? What makes a female sports figure a target when ever she reveals her bra? What else is she revealing? And why is it more socially acceptable for a woman to be wearing something skimpier than her bra and panties on the beach? Sure, the media isn’t there, but it’s far more revealing than what Alicia Molik revealed.

I remember way back a few years ago, or a number of years ago, one of the US women’s soccer team players took off her shirt and revealed her sports bra, after they had won a major event. That again, was a HUGE controversy. I can remember the headlines, and how taken aback people were. I just don’t understand the whole reason why people have to be so modest. Like I’ve said, it’s not as thou these players were showing off something. They were either simply changing their shirt, or they were celebrating. Their actual body parts are hidden. Do people think that showing off bras is something that is to be kept hidden? That bras are a private matter? Bras are a part of everyone’s life, why do we need to be ashamed of them, or cause an up roar if one is revealed?

Personally, I thought to myself “who cares?’ Good on Alicia for changing her shirt. She may have had people google at her, but just as people google at Andy Roddick when he’d take off his shirt. If skin is going to be revealed, people are going to look, it’s going to attract attention. I believe there was another female tennis player that did the same thing. It just doesn’t make sense to me why people even care!! But then again, anything to cause a story right??

-current mood-EXCITED, FOR FOOTY TONIGHT