Row of Sexism on Beach Handball in Norway: Will the Kit Change from “Bikini Bottom” to “Tight Pants” Satisfy the Critics?
When Norwegian women refused to wear bikini bottoms at the European Beach Handball Championship last summer, they were quickly fined.
The International Handball Federation (IHF) sparked outrage by imposing a penalty of € 1,500 on the team for wearing shorts instead of the required attire.
US musician Pink called the rules “very sexist” and offered to pay Norway’s fine.
Then government ministers from five European countries – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland – called for the rules to be changed.
In an open letter to the IHF, Nordic ministers called for the uniform rules to be changed “in accordance with gender equality”.
But, three months later, what has changed?
Previously, the IHF required female players to wear “low-cut, fitted bikini bottoms”. It’s now changed to “short, tight pants,” Euronews has learned.
Men, meanwhile, are always encouraged to wear a tank top and shorts.
Women’s uniforms for official beach handball competitions have been criticized for years as too degrading or too impractical.
Danish Sports Minister Ane Halsboe-Joergensen said the rules were “outdated” and “belonged to another country”.
“It should be a free choice under standardized rules,” added NHF president Kare Geir Lio.
But it wasn’t until Norway lined up for their bronze medal match in July against Spain in shorts that the world headlines were generated.
The Norwegian Handball Federation (NHF) have said they are prepared to pay a fine of € 150 per player for not wearing bikini bottoms “fitted and cut diagonally up to the top of the leg”. However, the team gained considerable support for their position.
And, after the widespread outcry, the IHF has now quietly changed its official policies on “inappropriate clothing”.
On October 3, the official “Rules of the game“for Beach Handball have been updated as below:
- “The uniform of the male Beach Handball player consists of a tank top and shorts, and any accessories.”
- “The Beach Handball player’s uniform consists of a fitted tank top, short tight-fitting pants and any accessories.”
During this time, in cold or severe weather, players are permitted, as before, to wear a tight shirt and “long tight pants”. There, no change.
The accompanying graphics show the rule change from 2014 to 2021.
This eliminates the need for players to wear high-cut bikini bottoms on the pitch without risking a fine.
But if their uniforms always have to be “snug” and “tight” and such a rule does not exist for male players, do the new regulations satisfy the complaints?
One of those who called on the IHF to make the change was the former Norwegian Minister of Culture and Equality, Abid Raja, who has since stepped down from his government post.
Raja had said that previous uniform policies for female beach handball players were “completely ridiculous”, “clearly discriminatory and obsolete”.
In a statement, the former minister said the IHF must go further to achieve gender equality.
“I am happy that the International Handball Federation has listened to the many criticisms, both from the sport itself and from foreigners such as the Nordic Sports Ministers, and has decided to change the dress requirements for players beach handball, “Raja told Euronews.
“That being said, I would have liked the International Handball Federation to take the big step towards gender equality.”
Raja said the IHF should have omitted the requirement for players to wear “tight short pants”.
“I had rather seen that the Federation would listen to the players themselves and guarantee a level playing field for the players,” he told Euronews.
The NHF described the uniform change as a “big step in the right direction”, but they also failed to praise the new rules.
“We believe it would have been even better if the rules consisted of a set of uniform gender-independent regulations,” the authority said in a statement. Euronews has contacted the IHF for a response to Norway on the new rules.