This segment from Fox News should definitely win a gold medal for the most ignorant comments said about female Olympic athletes yet.
Last week, Sports Court’s Tamara Holder proposed this question: “We all know the old adage ‘sex sells.’ Well now, female Olympians are sexing it up more than ever by wearing makeup during their competitions. Some say this is about empowerment, well, really? Do women who are elite athletes need to wear makeup to feel stronger, or is it simply a fashion statement?” This is a question we could totally get behind (even though we should really be talking about their incredible talent or work ethic instead), but Holder made the wrong move by asking Bo Dietl and Mark Simone their opinions on the subject.
Now what qualifications do a former NYPD officer and radio host have to be able to argue that female athletes need to wear makeup? Literally none, but that didn’t stop them from having “no shortage of opinion.”
“I think when you see an athlete, why should I have to look at some chick’s zits?” Dietl began while we simultaneously choked on our dinner. “Why not a little blush on her lips and cover those zits! I like to see a person who wins that gold medal go up there and look beautiful.” Umm, yeah… except that when a woman is winning a gold medal we probably shouldn’t be over-analyzing her skin quality considering that that has nothing to do with her unprecedented skills as an athlete. In a weak attempt to make himself look less sexist, Dietl added that men should be covering their zits too and that Michael Phelps could use some blush since he’s so pale. Here’s what Phelps would probably think about that:
Keep in mind that through this offensive dialogue Holder made no attempt to call these men out on the absurdity of their opinion, but just uncomfortably let it keep going. Eventually the conversation moved on to product endorsements because Simone thinks “the whole point of the Olympics, the whole reason for this training, for this work to get there, is product endorsements.” Even though he essentially just reduced an athlete’s life work and insane hours of training to a mascara deal, Holder takes a step towards redeeming herself by bringing up the difference in sponsorship amount for Anna Kournikova versus what Serena Williams received.
Great! An intelligent point about how a thin, blonde and white women is is given more sponsorship than a muscular African American woman. TOO BAD THESE MEN ARE HERE TO CRASH THE PARTY! “But she has makeup on,” Dietl said in Kournikova’s defense. “Would you put money behind a gal that won the gold who looks like a washed-out rag? No.”
“The better you look, the better your career as an athlete,” Simone added. We have no words.
Well, there you have it folks—the most aggressively vapid and demeaning conversation to happen in the history of the Olympics. If you feel disturbed (which we totally do), remember that looking pretty for the world’s (ahem, men’s) pleasure on internationally watched television is not what the games are about. This is about people who’ve worked their asses off to get to the top of their field—they’re not there for the product endorsements or to maintain a certain appearence. An athlete does not need to wear makeup to set a world record or to deserve recognition. We are in awe of the Olympic ladies from every country, and we sure as hell don’t care what color lipstick they’re wearing.