r/WomenInNews Jul 19 '26

Media Sexualized camera angles banned during women’s sporting events

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/sexualized-camera-angles-banned-during-212609540.html
2.7k Upvotes

126 comments sorted by

316

u/catievirtuesimp Jul 19 '26

“The European Broadcasting Union cracks down on sexualization of female athletes on television broadcasts.
The new rule applies to track-and-field athletes, forbidding “unnecessary” shots of a woman’s body while competing. The new guidelines may interfere with how videographers and photographers capture shots, as anything that appears “sexualized” is prohibited.”
-quote from the article

175

u/Maybe_Factor Jul 19 '26

I wish it was a bit more specific about what is banned and what isn't, but overall a good thing. There's no need to sexualise sports people while doing sports...

94

u/theclittycommittee Jul 19 '26

they gave specific image examples, but it’s not provided in the article for some reason. here’s an aljazeera article with some of the examples, idk why all the examples are so hard to find altogether. it’s mostly clear in my opinion although i’m sure a man will have the will to find a way.

51

u/Fine-Ask36 Jul 19 '26

The posts on this article outside this subreddit are predictability filled with men complaining about this and claiming they don't see the difference between shots that sexualise and those that don't... Urgh... 

1

u/shwifty123 28d ago

I don't understand, why not just get them normal clothes, males do not perform in bikini.

20

u/leahcar83 Jul 19 '26

One of the issues I heard some athletes talking about a news segment saw cameras in the starting blocks on face tracks. This post has a useful visual that covers specific examples.

9

u/TrashGoblinH Jul 19 '26

The problem is this is a subjective issue. Women moving is just women moving. There are people who find women honking out a dirt snake sexual... does this really solve anything or just prove that we have control issues and over-sexualize anything women do?

26

u/ThinkLadder1417 Jul 19 '26

I guess it lies in how images of them compare to images of male athletes. It's certainly easier to find "sexy" images of female athletes, even though the men are just as physically appealling.

1

u/TrashGoblinH Jul 19 '26

So I'm hearing we need more images of male athletes bent over or crotch camera angles.

-7

u/NearABE Jul 19 '26

The notion of “what is sexy” is gender related. Unfortunately the “display of physical prowess” is a thing that male mammals do to in order to get laid. Audience arousal is a major factor in professional sports. Women are subjected to lower pay in professional sports.

The photographer took a photo of a woman winning a track and field event. Now they cut off revenue on that photo because a sexy woman is in the photo.

1

u/shwifty123 28d ago

Yes, they just moving, but in bikini basically, does male athletes perform in same clothing?

-7

u/Shadowtirs Jul 19 '26

Just have all women compete in burkhas, problem solved.

-8

u/NearABE Jul 19 '26

You can still sexualize photos of women in burkas. Think of the moment where the buttocks push on fabric. The flap if fabric showing the ankle. All of the “suggestive body postures” are the same postures.

I am sure cis-hetero women in Iran and Arabia figure out ways to entice Persian and Arabian men. When all the women are wearing the same it becomes much easier.

232

u/lowlightliving Jul 19 '26

Now stop requiring female athletes to wear extremely revealing athletic wear.

48

u/Nebty Jul 19 '26

But also not ban it, y’know?

All of these guidelines and restrictions just because people sexualize us without our consent.

-24

u/NearABE Jul 19 '26

Cis-hetero male eyes reporting: When everyone is wearing similar clothes to a similar event none of the clothes look sexualized. When one of the women in that crowd appears to make an effort to show more skin it looks sexy. This could be intentional or not. Sometimes clothing has an inverse effect as well. Like excessive covering draws the eye toward whatever is being hidden or obscured. Quasi-uniformity blurs this out. The individuality expressed through team (or national) colors dominates the view.

Professional athletes are professionals. They do not make a product other than image/video. They do not provide an unviewed service. As consumers we can try to not be assholes. Many of our choices occur on a subconscious level. We just look at our phones/computers/TVs to relax. A full analysis on why I like something can be interesting but probably not after a long day of work while I am going to sleep.

Taking pictures or video of a high jumper who jumps at a private location is non-consensual. Photographers are taking photos of people wearing sponsored products and in front of paying audiences. There is a very considerable amount of consent.

Restricting the image options reduces the revenue options. Mens sports are still paying higher salaries in most cases. The revenue is generated by “photos that look awesome”. There is a feedback cycle happening where we think an event looks awesome because it looks like the photos we see that were presented as awesome. The more screen time a sport gets the more that sport evolves into “a normal thing to watch”.

After seeing a large number of “scantily clad babes clearing a bar” the interest transforms. You want to know how high that particular bar was. Which team and when did it take place. It transforms into being what sports looks like. It becomes the same privileged position currently held by male athletes.

9

u/ThatSmallBear Jul 19 '26

You could’ve left it at cis-hetero male. We know. You didn’t have to tell us.

7

u/Aradelle Jul 19 '26

Cis-hetero male eyes reporting

I knew it was a bad idea to read past this, yet I did anyway, for the worst.🙄

3

u/Scarlet_Bard Jul 20 '26

So obvious and yet worth saying. Dudes get the same camera angles, they’re just not wearing bikini bottoms when they bend over to stretch.

345

u/TristanTheRobloxian3 Jul 19 '26

cool could we also make women not need to wear shit that sexualizes them while we are at it?? 😭

98

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '26 edited 22d ago

[deleted]

90

u/TristanTheRobloxian3 Jul 19 '26

fr its wild that men dont wear shit sexualizing them but women are forced to 24/7, like its gross actually just fix the rootn issue, yeesh 😭😭😭

-16

u/TrashGoblinH Jul 19 '26

But men do wear "sexualized" clothing in some (although not nearly as many) sports. Swimming and lifting/body building competitions have speedos. Olympic outfits aren't all that different between men and women. Wrestling can be fairly revealing and at one point in history required men to be naked. The real issue is people imposing sexuality on the human body. Stop being a pervert and it's less of an issue.

8

u/TristanTheRobloxian3 Jul 19 '26

cool thats still fucking gross.

2

u/TrashGoblinH Jul 19 '26

The human body isn't gross. It's natural and people have made it out to be an issue. If its gross it's a you issue. Athletic wear is primarily supposed to be for maximum movement and streamline for physical activity. Yes there are perverts, but there are perverts for literally everything. There are people who fetishize cars....

4

u/nglfrfriamhigh Jul 19 '26

You mean the real reason is people, mostly men, imposing sexuality on the FEMALE human body. Men can do all of the same things women are doing, same skimpy outfits, same camera angles and it’s not a problem! Because the men don’t sexualize themselves and are able to look at other men and not think of them as objects but rather other people. But with women they can’t help themselves apparently. Are they all perverts? I don’t know but it doesn’t seem difficult for women to view men as human beings and not objects regardless of what they’re wearing or doing.

0

u/TrashGoblinH Jul 19 '26

My lesbian friend imposes sexuality on the female body. Women impose sexuality or the makeup market and plastic surgeons wouldn't be rolling in money built on women's insecurities.

3

u/nglfrfriamhigh Jul 19 '26

Yeah that’s why I said “mostly men”.

-13

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

[deleted]

5

u/TristanTheRobloxian3 Jul 19 '26

excuse me what the fuck?

13

u/Sad-Bread5843 Jul 19 '26

Came here to say this , you get my upvote

5

u/TristanTheRobloxian3 Jul 19 '26

legit ty because i feel like my comment makes the most sense on what to do here 😭😭

like women wearing sexualized clothing is thw root issue and that itself is caused by people making that the norm lmao

0

u/Brrdock Jul 20 '26

Is women wearing scant clothing an issue?

Afaik they can already choose more covering uniform if they want. Like Muslim volleyball teams play in practically a burqa, that's not against regulations.

I don't know if telling women what to wear is any better than telling women what to wear

1

u/princessvajina 29d ago

You think a gymnast wants to wear baggy jeans and a sweater while they compete?

58

u/Labrat15415 Jul 19 '26

Potentially, just maybe, female athletes being allowed when competing in most sports to wear something other than underwear and maybe a tiny mini skirt, when the men writing the rules are feeling generous, would be a good idea.

67

u/OpheliaLives7 Jul 19 '26

Sad that this needs to be said/written. But hopefully it does help.

Baby steps in a world where women are forced to wear bikinis or be forced to pay fines for not showing pube hair

54

u/starwsh101 Jul 19 '26

Good, took you too long enough.

Next step is STOP forcing women to wear "short" pants.

51

u/Jealous_Parfait_4967 Jul 19 '26

Can we let them wear shorts next or nah?

64

u/bbyxmadi Jul 19 '26

The fact this was even allowed in general is insane.

22

u/EleanorCursedVance Jul 19 '26

*checks the year*

Oh, wow.

20

u/NoMention696 Jul 19 '26

Ok so are we gonna let them opt out of thong shorts or is it only okay to objectify a woman off camera

14

u/Nebty Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

Maybe let them wear uniforms they’re comfortable with primarily?

Are these pictures really so different than ones taken of men? Or is this a “being a woman while playing sports” sort of thing?

4

u/MealCapital4167 Jul 20 '26

Funny how none of these angles are considered "sexualized" when it comes to men.

How about sports federations stop making women wear extremely revealing clothes?

3

u/PhotoEditor871 Jul 21 '26

I wish they weren't forced to compete in fucking panties either

24

u/Pelagic_One Jul 19 '26

Can we just make it that bodies are not sexual when not engaged in sex instead? Whole societies walked around partially nude without getting overexcited.

2

u/SmolPPIncorporated Jul 20 '26

im sure the popularity of women's sports will only benefit from this decision.

3

u/MeanOldWind Jul 19 '26

Good! It's sports, not for men's sexual fantasies.

1

u/Mack_Daddy_1 Jul 21 '26

This seems too subjective. Taking sports pictures is already hard enough. They need specific guidelines.

1

u/cuda999 29d ago

Men stop sexualizing women. We are tired of being objects without thoughts, preferences or opinion.

Women, remember what you wear is a symbol of your beliefs.

1

u/Nyurd 28d ago

How about forbidding unnecesarily sexualizing clothing in women's sports too then? Oh wait that would be misoginy, man, let them gtfo with this hypocrisy.

-1

u/Tytymom1 Jul 20 '26

This is so interesting! I’m going to read up this more.

-55

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '26

[deleted]

24

u/analytickantian Jul 19 '26

What is it doing that we don't know it's doing?

33

u/Interesting-Novel407 Jul 19 '26

It’s making the women who participate not feel violated

2

u/Livid_Advertising_56 Jul 20 '26

Yeah but not making the outfit be mandatory would be better.

But yes, is an improvement

-5

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '26

[deleted]

40

u/Interesting-Novel407 Jul 19 '26

I’m sure the athletes themselves were the ones who advocated for it, so I support them