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    The Pinkification of women's sport

    I think Laverte said she was going to start a thread on this but don't recall seeing one so here we go.

    Example 1. Tussies Metzingen

    I'm visiting a friend this weekend and was hoping that there might be some top level handball locally. Sadly there isn't but the closest bundesliga 1 team is in Metzingen.

    A friend tells me that tussies is a play on turn und sportverein but tussies is also a term for a sort of girly girl (more accurate translations welcome).

    They, of course, play in pink. It just seems so unnecessary. They play a hard, physical game at the top level in Germany so why brand themselves this way?

    Also, I'd like to draw everyone's attention to their mascot TusSiefant.

    #2
    The Pinkification of women's sport

    It's not exactly a girly girl image their projecting on the website. The kit is a bold deep pink, almost purple. Should a women's team deliberately avoid pink for some reason?

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      #3
      The Pinkification of women's sport

      Argentina prepare to play a Hockey Champions Trophy match in 2014 against Germany (whose kit in this game was all black, so not clashing at all with blue and white stripes):-



      Could be a sine qua non, that one.

      Scotland's first choice kit for the recent Euro Champs was pink tops, blue skorts and pink socks. But not quite as screamingly PINK as the above.

      If Pinkification can be extended to contain other girlification, a number of leading Hockey players tie their hair back with ribbons in their national colours (I think I spot some pink ones in the image above and some Argentina players, tough-as-nails defenders as it happens, were sporting sky blue ones in the recent World League which was rather disconcerting). This includes at least one Aussie who initially refused to play Hockey because it involved wearing a skirt, but whose yellow ribbon is now 'her trademark'. Her views have presumably... evolved.

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        #4
        The Pinkification of women's sport

        The kit is fine, but that mascot is an abomination.

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          #5
          The Pinkification of women's sport

          The keeper's pads are Mr. Blobby's legs.

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            #6
            The Pinkification of women's sport

            I identify very strongly with TusSiefant's body language there. Wanna dress up as an elephant? Aye, cool! Here, will you please put on this pink tutu? Sadness and slouch.

            I'm not against pink sports outfits as such. I have no problem at all with 'girly' accessories. What I dislike is the patronising assumption that girls are more likely to watch and take part in sports when the outfits are more 'feminine'. This assumption often originates in marketing and outreach departments: Portsmouth Ladies' decision to wear a pink change strip this season was partly about replica shirt sales, although the club did run the idea past the players first.

            It's part of a wider problem in women's team sports, where the focus is so overwhelmingly on "growing" the sport that the interests of current players and audiences are subsumed to those of putative future consumers. The world champion of international football just had to cancel a home match because the artifical turf was too dangerous to play on. Players have been complaining about turf for years, and nearly boycotted the world cup because of it. But they aren't listened to, because turf is The Future.

            And let's not overlook the fact that in recent times, many men's kits have become even more 'masculine' (darker, with go-faster stripes and angry-looking animals and sponsors called 'Bimbo'), which makes them more alien and difficult to wear for some women supporters.

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              #7
              The Pinkification of women's sport

              Of course there's Nadeshiko Japan, with the women's club league in Japan also being known as Nadeshiko League.



              But I agree with laverte's point about men's sport too. The presentation of the hyper-"tough" players in so many kit launch shoots these days seems ludicrous.

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                #8
                The Pinkification of women's sport

                Pink is far from being the problem, it's more the characteristics we project upon it. Say if Palermo were to set up a women's team, what other colour could you expect them to wear?

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                  #9
                  The Pinkification of women's sport

                  Janik wrote: Argentina prepare to play a Hockey Champions Trophy match in 2014 against Germany (whose kit in this game was all black, so not clashing at all with blue and white stripes):-



                  Could be a sine qua non, that one.

                  Scotland's first choice kit for the recent Euro Champs was pink tops, blue skorts and pink socks. But not quite as screamingly PINK as the above.

                  If Pinkification can be extended to contain other girlification, a number of leading Hockey players tie their hair back with ribbons in their national colours (I think I spot some pink ones in the image above and some Argentina players, tough-as-nails defenders as it happens, were sporting sky blue ones in the recent World League which was rather disconcerting). This includes at least one Aussie who initially refused to play Hockey because it involved wearing a skirt, but whose yellow ribbon is now 'her trademark'. Her views have presumably... evolved.
                  I'd love to see NHL goalies wearing pads like that.

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                    #10
                    The Pinkification of women's sport

                    I'm not against pink sports outfits as such. I have no problem at all with 'girly' accessories. What I dislike is the patronising assumption that girls are more likely to watch and take part in sports when the outfits are more 'feminine'.

                    I think it extends beyond this TBH. In the larger world of sport marketing pink=female. It's very noticeable, for example, how quickly the male pro sports world has jumped all over women's cancer treatment by wearing pink bandages, tapes, towels etc. Particularly the hyper-masculine NFL and CFL.

                    While the cause and its promotion are important, this identification of colour with gender has the secondary effect of pigeon-holing women and, especially women's role in sport. Colour is a vital and powerful part of communication and identity, particularly in sports where fans are deeply invested in club regalia. The use of pink wristbands etc. in a male sports context, signifies women as accessories. Supporters, nurturers, sure, but definitely not players. I don't think this intentional BTW, but it is a consequence of the unbalanced relationship between men and women's sport.

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                      #11
                      The Pinkification of women's sport

                      1) The TusSies colour isn't pink, it's what many Germans (though evidently not the club) call "magenta" and is so closely connected with Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile that they have gotten intellectual property protection for it in Germany. It's so much a part of their brand identity that I'm really surprised that the club isn't sponsored by Telekom.

                      2) The US Women usually wear red or navy





                      I'm strongly inclined to believe that the kits shown above were a one off in support of breast cancer research, a cause that has seen Major League Baseball adopt pink bats and accessories



                      and the NFL go for pink gloves, socks and shoes



                      For me, the real issue with "Pinkification" is the insistence by US marketers that female sports fans "need" pink clothing, as traditional fan attire is not sufficiently "feminine".

                      See, e.g., these atrocities



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                        #12
                        The Pinkification of women's sport

                        As soon as I saw ursus had posted, I knew 'Pink Sox' garb was going to fearure prominently.

                        The Scotland kit at the Euros wasn't breast cancer related. It was listed in the programme as their first choice outfit for that event. The Argentina one above could be, though.

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                          #13
                          The Pinkification of women's sport

                          Further digging says the pink kit is simply Las Leonas change strip. They have worn it a few times in recent years. Such as here against New Zealand.

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                            #14
                            The Pinkification of women's sport

                            Pink sticks, pink shoes.

                            Are you sure there wasn't something else going on?

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                              #15
                              The Pinkification of women's sport

                              laverte wrote: And let's not overlook the fact that in recent times, many men's kits have become even more 'masculine' (darker, with go-faster stripes and angry-looking animals and sponsors called 'Bimbo'), which makes them more alien and difficult to wear for some women supporters.
                              You know Bimbo is a bakery and the name has nothing to do with bimbos, right?

                              Anyway, yeah, kit launch ads have become ridiculous with all the snarling and the over-the-top 'tough guy' bollocks, but I'm not buying into the alienation theory. Women's tennis and athletics, were women wear stereotypicaly feminine clothing (and sometimes wear pink) have many genuine male followers, and American football, probably the most cartoonesquely macho sport in the world, has many female fans too.

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                                #16
                                The Pinkification of women's sport

                                Pink sticks and pink shoes are pretty standard fare. If all the players were wearing/using them than maybe, but the amount there seems reflective of the rough proportion you would see in any Women's Hockey team.

                                The odd thing is that the pink sticks and shoes will have an identical, non-pink version available marketed to male players.



                                Pretty hard to find a Women's shoe that doesn't have has some pink on it!

                                I've seen Squash racquets sold as Women's ones with purely the colour scheme being different.

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                                  #17
                                  The Pinkification of women's sport

                                  About the same levels from a team in another colour scheme entirely:-

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                                    #18
                                    The Pinkification of women's sport

                                    Vulgarian Visigoth wrote:
                                    Originally posted by laverte
                                    And let's not overlook the fact that in recent times, many men's kits have become even more 'masculine' (darker, with go-faster stripes and angry-looking animals and sponsors called 'Bimbo'), which makes them more alien and difficult to wear for some women supporters.
                                    You know Bimbo is a bakery and the name has nothing to do with bimbos, right?
                                    I think laverte's point was that the unfortunate presence of the word BIMBO across their chests in large letters was likely to prove unwelcome, regardless of merely being an accident of nomenclature.
                                    I'd be more likely to query if charcoal and black styling, a snarling tiger or "go-faster stripes" are really so unfeminine, but then again I suppose it's not so much the things themselves but how they're marketed as part of that whole tough-guy bollocks that's the issue.

                                    What colour do the NFL teams wear to show their support for gay pride...? Or do the difference causes have intellectual property rights over different precise shades of pink?

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                                      #19
                                      The Pinkification of women's sport

                                      Velvet Human wrote:
                                      Originally posted by Vulgarian Visigoth
                                      Originally posted by laverte
                                      And let's not overlook the fact that in recent times, many men's kits have become even more 'masculine' (darker, with go-faster stripes and angry-looking animals and sponsors called 'Bimbo'), which makes them more alien and difficult to wear for some women supporters.
                                      You know Bimbo is a bakery and the name has nothing to do with bimbos, right?
                                      I think laverte's point was that the unfortunate presence of the word BIMBO across their chests in large letters was likely to prove unwelcome, regardless of merely being an accident of nomenclature.
                                      I'd be more likely to query if charcoal and black styling, a snarling tiger or "go-faster stripes" are really so unfeminine, but then again I suppose it's not so much the things themselves but how they're marketed as part of that whole tough-guy bollocks that's the issue.

                                      What colour do the NFL teams wear to show their support for gay pride...? Or do the difference causes have intellectual property rights over different precise shades of pink?
                                      Players have been reportedly sacked for publicly supporting same-sex marriage, so I wouldn't hold my breath for a gay pride day.

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                                        #20
                                        The Pinkification of women's sport

                                        For fuck's sake http://www.unilad.co.uk/video/lingerie-football-to-officially-launch-in-uk-next-week-despite-sexism-row/

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                                          #21
                                          The Pinkification of women's sport

                                          Basque separatists.

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                                            #22
                                            The Pinkification of women's sport

                                            ad hoc wrote: For fuck's sake http://www.unilad.co.uk/video/lingerie-football-to-officially-launch-in-uk-next-week-despite-sexism-row/
                                            That's been going on in the States for a few years, except it's American football there.

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                                              #23
                                              The Pinkification of women's sport

                                              I read an article recently (probably linked on here) about one of the lingerie football leagues in the US. It's a profit making company but all the players play for free.

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                                                #24
                                                The Pinkification of women's sport

                                                Vulgarian Visigoth wrote:
                                                Originally posted by Velvet Human
                                                Originally posted by Vulgarian Visigoth
                                                Originally posted by laverte
                                                And let's not overlook the fact that in recent times, many men's kits have become even more 'masculine' (darker, with go-faster stripes and angry-looking animals and sponsors called 'Bimbo'), which makes them more alien and difficult to wear for some women supporters.
                                                You know Bimbo is a bakery and the name has nothing to do with bimbos, right?
                                                I think laverte's point was that the unfortunate presence of the word BIMBO across their chests in large letters was likely to prove unwelcome, regardless of merely being an accident of nomenclature.
                                                I'd be more likely to query if charcoal and black styling, a snarling tiger or "go-faster stripes" are really so unfeminine, but then again I suppose it's not so much the things themselves but how they're marketed as part of that whole tough-guy bollocks that's the issue.

                                                What colour do the NFL teams wear to show their support for gay pride...? Or do the difference causes have intellectual property rights over different precise shades of pink?
                                                Players have been reportedly sacked for publicly supporting same-sex marriage, so I wouldn't hold my breath for a gay pride day.
                                                There is no league-wide gay pride event for the NFL (though it's worth pointing out that the NFL does the breast cancer stuff for a month), though specific teams might have a "LGBT day" for the crowd, as many baseball teams do. That's unlikely, though, because baseball (and basketball, hockey and MLS) have more themed fan days since they play more games, and they offer more giveaways to get people to buy tickets.

                                                It's worth pointing out that as a league, MLS is very good when it comes to LGBTQ issues. The league office has an anti-bullying campaign, and they say a lot of good things about LGTBQ inclusiveness.

                                                Comment


                                                  #25
                                                  The Pinkification of women's sport

                                                  Levin, it might have been this one. Of course:

                                                  It’s the LFL or nothing. There is no other choice.
                                                  is false. There are two women's tackle football leagues in the US, with teams in all the major cities. Most are run by the players themselves, but they don't get on tv, and they're associated with – how can I put it? – a certain type of woman...

                                                  The story linked by ad hoc is the logical conclusion of the commercialised, bums-on-seats-at-any-cost approach to developing women's sport. Sod the people who already support it, we want more fans; and if those extra fans will only watch when the women are in their pants, then so be it. Bizarrely this is framed in the language of empowerment and equality:

                                                  This is not about the players looking beautiful or sexy, it’s about women looking like women.

                                                  You only have to look at tennis – the women dress like women and they get same equal pay and similar amount of sponsorship as men.
                                                  Because heaven help us if we should be mistaken for that certain type of woman who does not look or dress like a lingerie model.

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