The Hard Truth of Women Volleyball Attire and the mixed opinions of what should be worn.
Courtesy of provolleyballshorts.com
Volleyball attire varies from all around the world. The shorts vary from spandex to even bikini bottoms. The attire is a leading concern for parents who want to allow their child to play the sport. The 2021-2022 National Federation of State High School Association Volleyball Unifor states the following:
“The Uniform Top does not allow bare-midriff shall hang below or be tucked into the waistband of the uniform bottom and any visible garment worn underneath the uniform top shall be unadorned and of a single solid color.”
The NFHS Volleyball uniform continued.
“ The Uniform bottom can vary between multiple styles which include: shorts, spandex, pants or skirt. Also, a visible undergarment may be worn under the uniform bottom. It shall be unadorned and of a single, solid color similar to the predominant color of the uniform bottom and may extend below the uniform bottom.”
History
The issue for many is the tight spandex bottoms that are worn by the players which is also known as “Bun Huggers” . The spandex shorts became a new trend in the 1970s and later changed to bikini bottoms in the 1990s. Then Volleyball reverted back to the 70s style shorts. I have provided to images below.
Courtesy of StatsDad.com (Youth Volleyball: why are the girl’s volleyball Shorts so short article?)
Courtesy of StatsDad.com (Youth Volleyball: why are the girl’s volleyball Shorts so short article?)
In my opinion, the tight spandex shorts allows more range of motion, instead of having to constantly pull up looser shorts.
According to the article Why Do Volleyball Spandex Shorts Need to Be So Short and Tight? from provolleyballshorts.com says the spandex shorts are more convenient for players for a variety of reasons.
“ Spandex is a light, non-intrusive material that allows you to move your limbs as quickly as if you weren’t constricted by clothing.”
The statements made about Volleyball shorts continued.
“Spandex also deals with moisture better than conventional sports shorts and it makes sense to go for spandex in a very high action sport with significant demands for motion.”
Possible cases of Sexual Assault
The issue of revealing shorts can lead to many other factors outside the sport.
The starting issue is sexual predators and traffickers. The actions of these people cannot be controlled and sometimes young girls are not even aware that they are walking into these situations. Although, clothing cannot be deemed to be the only reason predators will go on with these acts. A project started at Valdosta State University called “What were you wearing”, where they hang clothes along with trees and signs with in-depth assault and rape to provide a tangible response to one of the culture’s most pervasive rape myths. Therefore, the clothing of determining whether a women’s clothing is too revealing starts with a man’s mindset. Women should not be prohibited from wearing clothing they want to wear and this leads back to volleyball. The players within the sport should not feel restricted or ashamed of shorts being too revealing because of a stereotype made by society that girls are sexualizing their bodies by wearing these shorts. In addition, I believe players should multiple options of which shorts they would like to wear during the game instead of just the spandex material.
However, Head Coaches throughout Tuscaloosa High Schools had some comments on this matter for young ladies.
Coaches
Kim Dailey, the Head Volleyball coach of Holt High School says she is not sure why her girl’s attire is so revealing.
“I don’t see why spandex is required or is the accepted attire for the sport, it’s not like it makes us more aerodynamic like I don’t really see why that was selected and no other sport in High School has a revealing uniform other than volleyball, said Daily.” “I am completely against it as always that’s just one of those things that have always been around but I have never understood why the girls have to wear these tight shorts. ”
Kim Daily says she would prefer for her Volleyball players to wear the looser shorts.
“ I don’t have a problem with the loose shorts or even being allowed to wear the embryo shorts on top on the spandex those aren’t even allowed, just the Basketball shorts they don’t have to be as long as basketball shorts but just a looser fitting short, said Daily.”
Former Volleyball Players
Former Volleyball players with years of experience in the sport had a few options on the Volleyball Attire.
Khadijah Torbert, a former Outside Hitter for Junior Varsity and Varsity Volleyball Team in High School, now Communications Coordinator of West Alabama works says she had no issues with the uniform.
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