Published August 9, 2021
Not the Olympics we wanted, but the Olympics we needed?
Who's been getting lots of bad press? The Olympics.
Who's been getting a ton of support? Women competing in the Olympics.
Let's see... there was Sha’Carri Richardson, the fastest woman in America, who lost her spot on Team USA after she tested positive for cannabis. (Weed was legal in the state where she used it and is not a performance-enhancing drug.)
Then there was gold medal-winning swimmer Becca Meyers, who is deaf and blind, and who withdrew from the Paralympics because she was denied a personal care assistant.
There was also the Norwegian women's handball team, who was fined for "improper clothing" after wearing uniforms that offered more coverage than the required skimpy bikini bottoms. (The singer P!nk offered to pay the team's fine.)
Then the Olympics banned a swimmer's cap designed for diverse hair types, which was yet another obvious discriminatory move.
And of course, there was superstar gymnast Simone Biles, who was recently penalized for being in a league of her own... and who decided to prioritize her mental health by briefly bowing out of one of the competition.
So, the athletes are incredible, but the organization that is the Olympics? Kinda problematic. (We knew this. Just look at the displacement of people who live in poor communities where the games are hosted.)
We are, however, forever fangirls of Simone. How about you?
