As we mentioned a few blogs ago (specially here), although it wasn’t latex, when the world was treated to a long look at the new “nike kits” to be worn by the U.S. track and field team for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, things got a little nutty! You might recall how the new clothing came under a scorching blowback, when running publication Citius posted an Instagram image of a female mannequin wearing the female unitard, alongside with a male mannequin wearing its sone-piece uniform with longer legs. Although Nike declared a “function over fashion edit,” the new pieces were deemed to be sexualizing the female form via their high-cut bikini line.
Now with the Olympic trials under way and the world waiting for the games to start, as always with our modern news, sweeping as it does like brushfire across the web, the above sartorial concerns are barely rating on any cultural radar. You know how quickly a tweet or click bait passes us by for some new story that will be gone just as quickly the next day.
From American runner Sha’Carri Richardson wearing one of the outfits in a proud pose during the opening controversy, to the sheer bravado (in a good way) of athletes, female or not, taking on these games with their prowess and poise, what is worn becomes secondary to performance…or it damn well should.
And if a lady wants to wear one of the new ‘nike kits,’ (and surely Nike is presenting quiet a few outfits this time around, fifty in fact) and indeed she feels good doing so (not to mention she can move for the physical feats asked of her) all the better.
As we asked when we first reported this story, if the new Nike outfits are good for Sha’Carri, shouldn’t they be good for us all?
Enjoy what you see, of all you see, of the Olympics.
