“The Sluttiest Thing A Man Can Do”: Is Olympics Double-Standard Sexism Going Unchecked?

There is a troubling double standard rattling the Olympics with hypersexualised comments directed toward male athletes appearing across the press and social media. While sexist comments about female athletes trigger widespread outrage and swift backlash, similar treatment of male athletes seems to escape serious scrutiny. This discrepancy is raising important questions about gender biases in media coverage, particularly in the context of the Olympics, where the focus should be on athletic prowess rather than physical appearance.

“Those cardboard beds weren’t making a great case for visiting the Olympic Village, but I’m suddenly in the mood for a little field trip”.

If this was written by a male journalist about a female athlete, it would trigger global outrage, rightfully triggering the media and social media outrage train. So, why, when written by a female journalist about a male athlete, does it ascertain high status in a premium New York fashion magazine?

Sexism has run rampant at the Olympics, from female athletes being criticised for taking too long on the podium to comments about the size or shape of others. But why is no one talking about Thomas Ceccon?

Unless you are hiding out from social media or have an algorithm so confined that you’ve avoided any Olympic content, odds are, you have seen at least one post about Italian Olympic Swimmer Ceccon.

Ceccon is a gold medallist in the 100 m backstroke and a bronze medallist in the 4x100m relay. At the age of 23, he has already competed in two Olympic Games and shows no signs of slowing down. He has also been outspoken about conditions in the Olympic Village, openly speaking out against the food and being spotted sleeping in the village park in a reported protest to the infamous cardboard beds.

But, if you ask the internet, that all means nothing compared to “man’s objective aesthetics.”

Imagine if the roles were reversed…

This is the sluttiest thing a man can do pic.twitter.com/CX1aV2RDk7

— Meech (@MediumSizeMeech) July 29, 2024

Italian swimmer thomas ceccon, I want you pic.twitter.com/cy85kYAqLp

— regina★ (@bitchnouveau) July 28, 2024

Thomas Ceccon is so hot —
pic.twitter.com/IYQpzxoUBW

— . (@silly_love__) August 1, 2024

Believe us, we wish we could show you more, but there are some things that should be reserved for the realms of social media.

Now, the internet will do what the internet does, and there is very little we can do to stop it. But questions should be raised when media outlets start reporting in the same way.

It was Emily Leibert, a night blogger for the Cut magazine in New York, who kick-started the conversation, drawing attention to the swimmer’s appearance in an article that can only be described as hypersexualisation to an extreme degree.

“A fair warning that things might get a little wet, and I am not referring to the Olympic pool,” Leibert wrote, introducing the “Italian Stallion” to her readers.

“I should note that Ceccon, of course, spends much of his time with his shirt off, considering he is an Olympic swimmer, so don’t worry, folks. There’s much more where that came from,” she continued.

It isn’t until the final paragraph of the innuendo-filled article that Leibert finally decides to address that “Ceccon took home his first gold medal in the men’s 100m backstroke on Monday, making him the first Italian to medal in the event.”

She then follows up with the fateful line that started this whole article: “Those cardboard beds weren’t making a great case for visiting the Olympic Village, but I’m suddenly in the mood for a little field trip.”

Does anyone else feel a little unsettled? You can read her titillating Thomas Ceccon treatise here. The Cut even decided to double down on its obsessions with Ceccon via its Instagram, with the post remaining up despite comments saying it was “weird”.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Cut (@thecut)

Leibert’s article was then followed up by a piece on the US TODAY site. While this was much less opinionated, it still drew attention to comments being made about an athlete’s body, and not in the way it would had it been a female athlete in question.

Don’t believe us? Take a look at some of the social reactions to sexist comments about female athletes.

Bob Ballard hang your head in shame and get off the broadcast and back to the 1930s
Commentating for EuroSport he’s used a sexist slur as the Aussie women RIGHTLY celebrated together
“The women just finishing up. You know what women are like, hanging around, doing their make-up” pic.twitter.com/JRpsLUc15m

— Emily Benammar (@EmilyBenammar) July 28, 2024

‘Just because their bodies are on display more, doesn’t mean that they should be zoomed in on’

🤸‍♀️ The Olympics’ head of broadcasting has asked camera crews not to be sexist in the way they film female athletes.

Dr Andrea Geurin from @lborolondon joined @BBCNuala to discuss ⬇️

— BBC Woman’s Hour (@BBCWomansHour) July 30, 2024

Sexism has been a hot topic at the Paris Olympics so far but has largely been skewed toward female athletes. Despite countless calls from organisers that the Paris 2024 Olympics would be the “equal” games with a 50/50 split of male and female athletes, sexist commentary, remarks and design faux pas have still rattled the games.

A Tennis commentator from the private French-Monégasque radio station RMC has been slammed over comments made during the Women’s doubles match between France’s Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry and Italy’s Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.“On the left, there’s Sara Errani, who’s the boss,” the commentator said. “She does everything: the washing up, the cooking up, the mopping up”.

The comments were met with outrage on social media. In a joint statement, The French Association of Women Sports Journalists and the Union of Sports Journalists in France condemned the comments in the first “Equal Games”. “We remind you that sexist and misogynistic comments have no place in an international competition”.

Just days earlier, Eurosport commentator Bob Ballard was sacked for comments made against the Australian women’s 4×100 meter freestyle relay swimming team.

As our athletes revelled in their well-deserved glory, the cheers of the nation behind them, Ballard was not as impressed, giving them a cue to hurry up. “Well the women just finishing up,” Ballard said to millions across the continent. “You know what women are like … hanging around, doing their make-up”.

While Ballard tried to laugh off the sexist comment, his co-commentator, Lizzie Simmonds, immediately called him out, deeming the comment “outrageous”.

Eurosport acted swiftly in response to the moment that went viral across social media, relieving him from his duties this morning. “During a segment of Eurosport’s coverage last night, commentator Bob Ballard made an inappropriate comment,” the network said in a statement. “To that end, he has been removed from our commentary roster with immediate effect”.

Ballard took to social media after he was dismissed to apologise for the comments. “The comments I made during the Australian freestyle relay victory ceremony on Saturday have caused some offence. It was never my intention to upset or belittle anyone and, if I did, I apologise. I am a massive advocate of women’s sport,” he wrote in a post to X on Monday.