When Did That Happen?

Clothing is something that has come in and out of style in varying stages throughout the centuries. Clothing design is considered somewhat of an art form, though I think that can be highly disputed. I have seen many outfits that were breathtaking, and some that made me want to run screaming to the hills.

Take the Olympics for example. I talked about the opening ceremonies and the amazing and beautiful costumes worn for the show. THOSE were gorgeous, and definitely art.

Some of the contestants, however, leave much to be desired. Obviously, I'm a gymnastics fan. Recently, I've been even more impressed, sort of.

You'll notice that the gymnasts wear pretty modest outfits. They are a bit high cut in the leg for me, but they are modest and usually quite attractive in design and color.

On the other hand, we have the beach vollyball players.

If for some reason you missed the gold medal match, (which was very good) or any of their other matches, you wouldn't know that they are wearing their underwear. For some reason it seems to be acceptable to wear your underwear for sports activities now. First it started with the "sports bra" that suddenly became acceptable to wear to the gym, despite the fact that it was a BRA. Then they made bathing suits skimpier and skimpier until some bikinis could actually be less than underwear!


Okay, I'll get off my soap box now, and get back to the subject at hand -- clothing as art and how they've lost it.

For some reason, if it's an outdoor sport, it's acceptable practice to wear practically nothing. If it's an indoor sport, you wear more. Go figure. Wouldn't you be just as warm inside -- if that was the argument?

In comparison, here's the indoor vollyball uniform.

What's up with that? These are perfectly respectable.

Then you have the pole vault...

Explain to me why it is necessary to dress this way when you are jumping over a pole? I can understand that the clothing should be tight fitting, you don't want anything to catch as your flying over, but this?? sigh.

Needless to say, I am very disappointed in the various Olympic committees that decided these uniforms. I mean, look at the swimming competitions, they have more clothing on than the track and field people! It's just bizarre, and I heard somewhere the statement that there was pressure to make the Olympic games more sexually attractive. Give me a break!! Perhaps we should go back to the original olympics, then, and how they dressed.

When we told our children about that, my daughters were grossed out. My oldest at home says that she can't see this one commercial on TV where they have dramatized the original Olympic games for a energy commercial and show a discuss thrower coming out of a tent with only a loincloth/skirt/kilt? on. She says it grosses her out to think about it.

Well, I guess that goes back to my original thoughts on art and clothing. The ancient Greeks felt the human body was a work of art in and of itself. They had the athletes compete with nothing on. Naked as the day they were born. Personally, I would have a hard time with that -- not to say, one would have thought the participants themselves, but I won't go there.

We are talking art, in the form of the human body and the material covering it. It gives credence to the whole art class thing where they have students sketching/drawing naked bodies for college courses. NOT. I don't see any legitimate reason for that. They can wear the tight swimsuits and get the same muscular shape, in my opinion.

So -- now that I have spouted off in about every direction and possibly offended everyone who could be offended, that's the Olympics for you. Everyone is not ever going to be happy at the same time (unless we're living in Zion) and so we have to deal with what life gives us.

We have all sorts of beauty around us to enjoy or decry -- things to do that create beauty and joy in our lives, or bring us down. It all comes to what our focus is.

Are we seeking for the light and good? Or are we seeking in the dark for 'knowledge'?

I am thankful for the games, in that in some small part they bring us together. But I just wish they didn't promote more unhealthy things for us to have to clarify and try and shield our children from. sigh.

Especially swimsuits...let alone, have to wear one in public -- I scared off enough last week. grin.

I'll leave you with the visions of beauty.



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