It all began with a pair of sick-fitting, droopy sweatpants. Saggy in the incorrect sites, restricted in even even worse locations — they ended up unwearable. I gave them to a male pal. They fit him beautifully. My teammates and fellow athletes on other women’s varsity groups encountered very similar grievances with these sweatpants, because they were not made for women of all ages. They have been men’s pants. They simply just wouldn’t keep on, and even if they did, they seemed awful.
These infamous sweatpants ended up mass-issued by Cornell Athletics to their athletes previously this faculty 12 months. For track record, the Cornell Athletics Office difficulties a multitude of assorted clothes objects to their athletes prior to and during their seasons.
Really do not get me erroneous, I’m not one to complain about absolutely free merch. As a scholar-athlete, receiving to strut close to campus in official equipment is a really serious perk of getting on a sports team. For the duration of my to start with period on the women’s crew crew, I excitedly waddled to the Teagle equipment decide on-up and was… a little bit unhappy. For a D1, Ivy League sporting activities staff, it was an underwhelming choice. A ton of it was just men’s outfits that weren’t very flattering. I was issued the most hideous shorts I’ve at any time worn in my life (men’s-design saggy basketball shorts), aspect of our necessary lifting uniform that we’ve only discontinued this educational calendar year. We seemed like a inadequately-funded center-faculty gym class. While the shorts scenario has enhanced, we still put on men’s-lower shirts to elevate in.
Commonly I’d say, “So what? Who cares? There is rarely a variation in shirts at that place.”
But in this condition, I care simply because it is not fair. Why do we search like a bunch of center schoolers while our men’s groups are outfitted in flattering clothes and actually glance like D1 athletes?
Before this semester, we obtained an e-mail requesting us to fill in our dimensions for following year’s athletic gear. The email stated, term for word, “We are buying in men’s dimensions for everything.” That’s just how it is. On top of that, our Ivy League “8 Versus Hate” shirts, the legendary outfit athletes throughout campus are found in, despite the fact that they are a great concept and image of unity, are all men’s sizes. It’s quite widespread for males to be observed carrying them on campus, but I do not imagine I have ever seen a woman wearing just one. They’re just not that flattering for gals to put on.
An added level is that even if Cornell does buy goods in women’s dimensions, they understock for women and overstock for guys. I’m not certain why, but I’m acquainted with the realities of the outcome. We are coached and taught to select up our garments promptly, prior to the women’s sizes operate out and there are only men’s dimensions left. Why are the men not cautioned to hurry and get their merch, or else they’ll get trapped with women’s apparel? What if you noticed the men’s soccer group warming up, and fifty percent of them had been sporting bootie shorts for women because they ordered a surplus of women’s measurements and could only outfit 50 % the workforce in men’s dimensions? This would be viewed as unacceptable.
I imagine it would be reasonable to say that Cornell would hardly ever mass-distribute women’s trousers or any other women’s clothes merchandise to the male athletes right here, nor rely on women’s dimension surpluses to outfit them. Nor would the men’s workforce tolerate it. So why is it the default that women of all ages conform to this standard? It isn’t just about dresses, it’s about belonging and inclusivity. Cornell is supposedly a progressive institution with a $9.8 billion endowment. Why need to any members of our D1 women’s varsity sporting activities teams have to train and dwell in university athletic attire designed for guys?
I’m perplexed. I know women’s athletic apparel exists. I know Cornell has the revenue to shell out for it. This rings related to an incident earlier this semester, wherever Martha Pollack individually turned down a student assembly proposal for employing a gynecologist at Cornell Well being, a tragedy to not just the women of all ages athletes right here but all women of all ages attending Cornell. It is not a issue of revenue, it’s a matter of prioritizing. Why isn’t Cornell prioritizing equality in athletics, and do they ever program on prioritizing it? What’s going on in the administration to make beneficial change? Cornell frequently has showy and very publicized women of all ages empowerment situations for their athletes, but I consider their sources would be improved utilized for direct motion, not glittery hogwash.
Cornell needs to do greater. Gals athletes set in the get the job done for Cornell, and Cornell needs to put in the operate for them. Or at least give us pants that keep on.
Aurora Weirens is a sophomore in the School of Arts and Sciences. She can be arrived at at [email protected]The Northern Light runs alternate Sundays this semester.
