One last thing from Elizabeth Botello before she jets ...
If you stood in places like this, deep thoughts would come to you also.
Adios, Elizabeth. Have a great year at Cal.
Appearances AREN'T Everything
By Elizabeth Botello
A regular uniform for a female high school athlete can take on a life of its own. I mean, girls see the uniform as just a piece of fabric they can manipulate. An obvious example is volleyball girls hiking their shorts up a little too high.
Letterman's jackets can be flaunted because athletes deserve to show off their accomplishments. But, now athletes wear their uniforms to school on game days. The act isn't a problem until I wonder, being a girl, "Why does she need to show off?" At points, shorts are too revealing, jerseys are too tight and softball socks are pulled up too high. And really, let's face it; I think this is done for the high school boys who just might take an interest in us. It's as if female athletes are saying, "Look at me, I'm a varsity athlete." There is absolutely no need to, girls. We know you have skills.
In the first half of the 20th century, when jerseys consisted of skirts, nothing seemed to be taken out of context. The uniform was just that, and nothing else. Nothing spectacular. But now it's taken on a life of its own. Girls do it to show off their gams, their bust, their butts. I used to see this happen all around me when I went to Walnut High. Suddenly, girls not only have to prepare themselves mentally for a game, but prepare their outfits, I mean uniforms, for all who fill the stands. But really, they do it for the cute guy who they might meet or a crush.
And it doesn't stop after they roll their shorts up three times. The make-up bag is also in order. It finds its way out of the locker, out of the backpack.
I remember a girl lining her eyes before a track meet. It was crazy, her in her track uniform and suit with purple eye shadow on. What's the point? The powdery cosmetic will run or smear all over your lids as soon as you break a sweat. It's pointless to waste perfectly good make-up from MAC or Sephora to look "dolled-up" at a track meet, or any other sporting event.
Not all girls put make-up on or try to enhance the way a uniform should hug the body. Many don't, but some do. Does it mean the girls with no make-up care more about their sport than the one's who do? I don't know.
I think coaches see this and wonder why their girl athletes do it, because they really don't need too. The girls in uniform should face it, or maybe they just need me to spell it out. If you already work out for a sport, you're going to look great. You keep yourself fit while doing something you love. So don't even hassle with your appearance. You'll look good either way.
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Miguel Melendez's prep blog
In the Huddle
ESPN
OC Varsity
San Bernardino Sun Preps
LA times Varsity Blog
Daily Bulletin Preps
Whittier Daily News Preps
LA Daily News Preps
Long Beach Press Telegram Preps
Daily Breeze Preps
Dyestat Track and Cross Country
MaxPreps
Rivals.Com
College Level Athletes
Hi just thought we would inform you something.. This can be twice now i’ve landed on your blog in the last 21 days hunting for totally unrelated things. Spooky or what?
thanks for the post. nice one.
Amazing article, thank you, I will subscribe to you RSS soon.
This really answered my problem, thank you!
Hey, this post showed up 250 times in my RSS Feed reader. Is that on my browser or is it happening for anyone else?
When swimmers start wearing their uniforms to school on game day we got a problem..other than that almost all uniforms cover more skin then what the girls normally wear to school.
It's not just athletes, it's sportswriters, too.
I think there is a lot of primping from Fresno State to Harvard. It happens.
dude that gurl s bomb
Elizabeth
I agree, sometimes the "look" gets more emphasis than the game. At the High School level it is about the boys and the look at me attitude, however, the problem starts before these girls even reach High School and extends beyond the age of adolescence (I hope I spelled that right). I mean look at womens professional leagues, such as the LPGA and AVP, golfers bearing mid-difts ... are you kidding me? And, while they are in the sun, and it is the Beach, if Keri Walsch's swimsuit gets any smaller, she won't be wearing anything! Needless to say, I think we need to be teaching our young female athletes that while it is important to put your best foot forward, it is more attractive to be dedicated, fit, and passionate about what you do, not how sexy you look while doing it.
word to your motha:)
Colleen
Good luck in colledge Elizabeth, so long.
Well-spoken. As an athlete the only thing I need to ever re-adjust is my ponytail and shoe laces, not make-up. I believe there is a new batch of kids who are caring more about their apperance than before and yes it's usually in high school. I think the more serious the sport is to the athlete and the higher they go be it college or professional sports we see less of this.
In any case it's nice to hear an opinion about a side of athletes I may have never thought of.
Elizabeth
Great job at the Tribune over the summer. Your services will be missed. Have fun and live it up and Cal in the Fall. Nice article too by the way but I have to agree with BigMLover on his explanation. Prepararation on various levels explained somewhat with the line (and I quote):
"a pre-competition ritual of getting your mind, body-image, and reflective face ready to excel."
GO Golden Bears.
-Reg
I've got news for you, Elizabeth... athletes are people first. We all want to look good... and not only for sexaul admiration, but for self-esteem and a partial component of self worth. But let's talk about athletes and how they prepare to compete.
You talk about how girls have to prepare themselves mentally for a game, and then contrast this observation with the act of primping their uniforms and applying make-up. I say that they are one in the same: a pre-competition ritual of getting your mind, body-image, and reflective face ready to excel.
It is true that not all athletes (maybe a minority of them) need to "doll themselves up" before competition, but many elite athletes do. Again, like any group of people, all cannot be fit into the neat stereotype where the purity of sport is in and of itself attractive. Because we are all individuals, what makes each of us tick is truly unique.
By the way, men are just as likely to preen and pose in a mirror before a football game, wrestling match, or track event. Rarely has that been the cause of their misdeeds in the competitive arena.
This is a true observation. I played soccer for 8-years, all the way until my senior year of high school, and my uniform kept becoming more form fitted. Once upon a time, my local soccer league assigned one uniform for all players - boys and girls. By the time I was 14, and we got to chose our uniforms, all the players on my team wanted something to show off their arms, and we got short-shorts one year.