Culture

Here Is A Revolting Compilation Of Olympics Commentators Being Extremely Sexist

"Female Olympians are sexing it up more than ever by wearing makeup!"

by Sinead Stubbins  18 August 2016

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There have been some great stories to come out of the Rio Olympics (and many of them have something to do with American gymnast/superhero, Simone Biles) but there’s also been some not-so-great casual sexism to come out the media coverage.

There’s been a rash of marriage proposals to female athletes, some of which have pretty much overshadowed the female Olympian’s winning moment and were treated as more enviable than a literal gold medal (“an even bigger prize!” a British commentator exclaimed). When U.K swimmer Laura Trott won another gold — making her the most decorated female athlete from Britain — a commentator joked that her husband’s first question to her after her win, was “what’s for tea?”.

And then there was this headline:

Women’s advocacy group UltraViolet, have made a video compiling the most sexist Olympic commentary moments, which unsurprisingly, heavily features Fox News. It’s depressing to think that this isn’t even the tip of the iceberg, but it’s also important to acknowledge how easily a female athlete’s achievements can be minimised.

I need to lie down.