Self Expression and Beauty at the Olympics

Self-expression isn’t a common topic of conversation when it comes to the Olympic Games and athletes in general. However for some it is a symbol of confidence and a representation of their personality.

It can been seen in a number of formats, whether it is a hair colour, nail art, accessories, or lipstick; many female athletes are starting to incorporate this into their sports.

Why do female athletes wear makeup?

Throughout the history of the Olympic Games there has only been a handful of athletes that push the boundaries and create their own style in their field. Most famously, track star Flo Jo dazzled the world with her six-inch acrylic nails and one-legged leotards back in the 1980’s, where she smashed world records in her mark for 100m sprints. In the 1988 games Flo Jo became the first Black woman to win four medals at a single game. For this record-breaking day, she had a special set of nails on, including bedazzled red, white and blue nails, representing Team USA and two gold nails, symbolising her hope of bringing home the gold (White, 2021).

Flo Jo’s influence has rippled through the Olympics ever since, with more and more athletes using cosmetics and colour to express their personalities. The rising star Sha’Carri Richardson has recently grown attention for her long acrylic nails, eyelash extensions and fiery orange hair not to mention her record breaking sprinting skills. Richardson said her standout hair colour symbolises "running on fire" and was chosen by her girlfriend. Other track athletes are bringing their style to the starting line including high jumper Vashti Cunningham, who adopted the black cat-eye eyeliner as she secured her place on team USA. Another high jumper, Rachel McCoy, rocked her matching pink hair with her uniform during her fourth-place performance (Flanagan, 2021)

There has been controversy surrounding female athletes and makeup in the Olympic games, with spectators claiming it is a distraction for others and that they are not taking their sport seriously. This is far from the truth for the majority. According to former Olympian Queen Harrison, lipstick is source of strength, creativity, and expression. For Harrison, she embraced the ‘you look good, you feel good, you perform good’ attitude. Her goal is not to see how much makeup she needs to wear in order to be noticed; it’s really about what makes her feel beautiful and fierce when looking in the mirror. In her words “You won’t ever catch me at a meet without makeup. It’s part of my uniform now, and it’s a performance. You’d never see Beyoncé at a performance with no makeup on.” (Harrison, 2018). Similarly, Christina Clemons smashed her 100-Meter Hurdle Trials race with shining clips tucked into her hair and fun Cool Ranch Doritos earrings dangling from her ears. In the past she has also worn butterfly clips, fuzzy scrunchies, dark lipstick, and embellished barrettes while sailing over the finish line.

No matter the personal reason, there’s one common theme each woman shares when it comes to putting on their face and accessorising for the Olympics: self-expression.

Although self-expression is growing within the Olympics, there are also some individuals who are being penalised due to hair types and showing political support. Committee’s behind these sports have impacted athletes performance and personal space with their laws and regulations. Back in 2013, a couple of Swedish athletes wore rainbow-painted nails to support pride and gay rights at the IAAF World Athletics Championship. The Huffington Post noted that, "While the International Olympic Committee's rules do not explicitly bar rainbow colours— a well-known symbol of gay pride— its charter does specify that no political propaganda is 'permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.'" Of course, this rule also extends to every other Olympic event. (Hayes, 2016). This caused large amounts of protest and upset with the public and shows how the Olympics is still strict on groups of individuals or celebrations.

As well as pride being penalised, the Black community have been set back recently in Aquatics. Alice Dearing, the first black female swimmer to represent Britain in the Olympics, wanted to use the ‘Soul Cap’ swimming cap for her races. The product, ‘Soul Cap’, is meant to accommodate thicker, curlier hair textures to provide a better fit and protect hair from chlorine. However, members of the International Swimming Federation, known as FINA banned the use of this product as it does not follow “the natural form of the head.” The cap is designed with extra room at the crown to fit more voluminous natural hairstyles like braids, locks, and Afros. The average swimming cap is too small and for many black athletes they find themselves pulling it down constantly and they pull on the edges of their hair. This is an unfamiliar disadvantage for many athletes as they are unaware of the struggles this community face day-to-day, even beyond the world of elite athletics, legislation surrounding what is and is not acceptable for Black hair has been policed and their struggles not recognised. (Brown, 2021)

“For competitions, I’m always excited and full of confidence, so I like to show up with bold looks. I believe it’s important to show our femininity while being athletic because it is a strength, not a weakness.”

— Clemons (Messina, 2021)

Female athletes have also been impacted by committees laws with Norway’s female handball team being fined as a punishment for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms. Traditionally, the women's team must wear bikini bottoms to certain measurements, the criteria being they must be 'a close fit'. The rules regarding the bikini bottoms are extremely strict with each one having to be 'cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg' and a side depth of no more than 10 centimetres. Meanwhile male players get to wear shorts. This shows how much the committees are impacting the Olympic games which are meant to be a celebration of countries and talent but is being discriminatory to groups of individuals.

Influencer, AK Brown said that "In a lot of these spaces, even in athletics, we are expected to tone down our creativity and more, it's almost like code switching for us when we go into our 9-to-5, we either dress down or we don't use the colloquial terms that we would use around fellow Black people. We're not able to express ourselves through our creative culture." (Garcia, 2021). There is still a feeling of inequality and an inability to express yourself in the black community when amongst other ethnic groups. The level of excellence in the Olympic games should not be defined by your ethnic group or hair type. All these athletes have come together to represent their country, and all have one thing in common: talent. So why are some being punished?

This year's Olympic Trials have ignited many emotions, but one thing's for certain: the colour of your skin, hair, and nails doesn't stop you from being excellent - far from it!

THE BEAUTY BRAND COACH