Dealing with Voyeurism: Protecting Female Athletes at Japan’s High School Spring Baseball Tournament

Things are going badly for the Peeping Toms this year at the Japan High School Spring Baseball Tournament at Nishinomiya’s Hanshin Koshien Stadium. In the past, they had a good view of the cheerleaders from the participating teams at the traditional event. They were able to take photos under the miniskirts of one or two of the cheer dancers in the stands. But this abuse has put schools on notice. This year, teachers are on duty as privacy screens, others are showing signs against photo poaching. And the high school at the University of Health and Welfare in Takasaki has been particularly consistent in its prevention. Your cheerleading team got new outfits. Wide shorts instead of short skirts – a horror for voyeurs.

In a free society, women shouldn’t have to protect themselves from onlookers and lewd comments by wearing potato sack-like clothing. But especially in sport, some women and girls feel exposed to looks that they don’t want. Smartphone photography has exacerbated the situation. Because it makes it easy to photograph dances or a starting squat during a sprint for sexist images and then spread them on social media. That’s why people in Japan are currently discussing how to better protect female athletes.

Athletes cannot escape the tensioners so easily. In sports such as gymnastics or athletics, very loose competition clothing is standard. This mainly has to do with comfort, which is why most athletes find it okay. But PR strategies can also be behind it. When the World Volleyball Federation mandated bikinis for beach volleyball players in 1999, a sexism debate followed. Today there is no longer a bikini requirement. On the contrary: in 2021, the German beach volleyball duo Karla Borger/Julia Sude successfully protested against the bikini ban by the local authorities before a tournament in Qatar.

There is already a law that criminalizes secret photography for the purpose of sexual exploitation

In Japan, people like former national volleyball player Kana Oyama are fighting for regulations against sports voyeurs. In fact, last year the national parliament passed a law that criminalizes secret photography for the purpose of sexual exploitation. However, this does not automatically apply to sports competitions. Because it is in the nature of these events that protagonists are scantily dressed and are photographed a lot – evil intentions are often difficult to prove.

So the schools are trying to find their own solutions for their sports youth. Allowing cheerleaders to show less skin is not a new idea. The problem: In Japan’s humid summer, too much material isn’t exactly healthy. The high school cheerleaders’ shorts from Takasaki seem like a good compromise between lack of sex appeal and legroom. However, they are not without controversy. Team supervisor Yuriko Amemiya told the Mainichi newspaper that the students didn’t complain, but “they probably wanted to wear their favorite outfit.” Because despite the peepers – some girls like skirts.

2024-03-27 16:53:58
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