When I was eight years old, I started training as a competitive rhythmic gymnast. As the only girl of color on a team composed exclusively of Russian members, I faced a constant struggle for acceptance. I was called unkind words like “kakashki”, which means poop in Russian by my teammates and was even told by their parents that I am better off pursuing other sports more attuned with my race, such as ping-pong or badminton.
Throughout their careers rhythmic gymnasts face an ongoing struggle to mold themselves to fit within the circle of ideality. This fixed mindset is ingrained by coaches who view a European-esque underweight female body as imperative to success. Even if a gymnast successfully manages to set foot within the circle, either by losing weight, adopting aspects of white culture, or assuming more feminine characteristics, they can swiftly be brushed to the outskirts as they physically grow and develop new gender identities. Despite its grueling toll on the body, the circle of the ideal gymnast is alluring to gymnasts because the closer one moves to the inside, the more of the coach’s attention one will receive, with its attendant promise of success.
Am I Skinny Enough?
A group of dehydrated pre-teen children strip off every last hair accessory and sock before they step on the scale for their daily weigh in. Knowing that every 0.1 pound gained means two laps around the basketball court, they even deprive themselves of water in hopes of a lower weight. While behaviors like counting calories, restricting food, and over-exercising may seem like blatant signs of an eating disorder, to a gymnast, it is a normal part of sport. Notably, Russian national-team member Aleksandra Soldatova revealed her struggles with bulimia, an eating disorder characterized by periods of binging and purging: “life was divided between my battle with the illness and this beautiful sport…my health got worse, and no one would understand” (Binner 2020).
Even lean gymnasts who began their careers within the ideal circle, struggle to maintain their physique with the onset of puberty. A former gymnast disclosed her personal struggles, expressing “puberty threatened to slow down my metabolism and render my body unsuitable for uninhibited jumping…the horrifying prospect of growing breasts hung over me like a dark, hideous cloud” (Liu 2021). Living in constant fear of their changing bodies, underweight gymnasts attempt to lose more weight in order to fit within the circle and be taken seriously by coaches.
Am I White Enough?
Saying that rhythmic gymnastics is primarily a white, Eastern-European sport is a gross understatement. In fact, within the last 40 years, Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine alone presented the Olympic Games with over 50 competitors, all of whom were white women (Olympics website). Notably, even women who represent other nations are often ethnically Russian. The Russian diaspora across other countries and the cultural influence of Russian coaches and athletes leave non-white gymnasts feeling impelled to conform to their standards and practices.
While it is impossible for non-white athletes to change their race to appear white, gymnasts often try to enter the circle by assimilating into Russian culture, either by learning Russian, celebrating traditional Russian holidays, adopting a disciplined, no-nonsense attitude towards the sport, and even distancing themselves from their family’s cultural identities. In fact, a middle-eastern Olympic gymnast once noted to me privately that when she learned to read and write Russian, follow Russian media, and listen to Russian music, she was more readily adopted into the community by coaches and fellow gymnasts.
Despite gymnasts’ best efforts to assimilate, the struggle with race remains significant for immigrant athletes. Rebecca Liu, an Asian rhythmic gymnast noted “the other gymnasts I competed with were nice white girls from middle-class families that did not resemble my own…I absorbed, like many immigrant children, a latent awareness of my difference, and thus a thirst to gain what others did not appear to need to fight for – acceptance” (Liu 2021). Rebecca’s story is a mere glimpse into non-white athletes’ struggle for parents’, peers’, and judges’ approval.
Am I The Right Gender?
Rhythmic gymnastics has long been exclusive to cis-women (Pilon 2012). Discrimination on the basis of assigned sex is actively practiced, notwithstanding its inconsistency with prevailing principles of gender equality. Cis-men are excluded from the sport on an Olympic level and officials have yet to make a decision about trans and non-binary athletes. Unsurprisingly, even the rules stipulate that gymnasts must convey the feminine characteristics of “strength, beauty and elegance” through their performance (Liu 2021). Thus, gymnasts often alter their self-expression to appear more feminine within the walls of the gym. For example, while one Tokyo
Olympian prefers dressing in dark-colored baggy clothes and loathes sequins, she sports swan-white feathery leotards with thousands of rhinestones in competitions, perpetuating the femininity judges and coaches desire.
Although Japan has sought to expand the circle to male athletes – by infusing the sport with martial arts teachings – presently, only female athletes are officially allowed within the circle of the ideal rhythmic gymnasts (Piedra 2017). Even male rhythmic gymnasts trying to break the gender wall, such as 11 and 8 year old boys Miguel and Esteban, admit to being bullied by their peers for practicing rhythmic gymnastics (Piedra 2017).
Combating the Narrow Mindset
While combating these deep-rooted, discriminatory practices will be difficult, the importance of protecting young, impressionable rhythmic gymnasts cannot be understated. Correcting the harmful mindset that white, fragile, female bodies are prerequisites to success in rhythmic gymnastics and raising awareness of current problematic practices are the first steps in forming a more inclusive community. By highlighting the benefits of larger bodies in rhythmic gymnastics – such more strength, energy, and the ability to jump higher- we can help educate coaches, parents, and athletes that great rhythmic gymnasts need not look the same to achieve success so long as they possess a shared passion for the sport. Moreover, encouraging rhythmic gymnasts to share their lived-experiences will bring awareness to current problematic practices and unveil the ways in which these practices affect gymnasts’ mental and physical health. Encouraging diversity and promoting self-acceptance is crucial to combat the vicious cycle of discrimination plaguing the beautiful sport.
Works Cited
Binner, Andrew. 2020. “Aleksandra Soldatova: My Life Was Divided between Sport and Struggling with This Illness.” Olympics.com. Retrieved March 14, 2022 (https://olympics.com/en/news/aleksandra-soldatova-bulimia-gymnastics).
Di Cagno, Alessandra, Giovanni Fiorilli, and Enzo Iuliano. 2018. “Disordered Eating Behaviors in Rhythmic Gymnasts: a Survey to Investigate the Coaches’ Point of View on the Management.” Journal of Physical Education and Sport 18(3):1748–55.
“Seoul 1988 Gymnastics Rhythmic – Olympic Results by Discipline.” Olympics.com. Retrieved March 14, 2022 (https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/seoul-1988/results/gymnastics-rhythmic).
Liu, Rebecca. 2021. “’a Lesson in Loss, Humility and Absurdity’: How Rhythmic Gymnastics Took over My Childhood.” The Guardian. Retrieved March 14, 2022 (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/27/loss-humility-absurdity-how-rhythmic-gymnastics took-over-my-childhood).
Piedra, J. (2017). “Masculinity and Rhythmic Gymnastics. An Exploration on the Transgression of Gender Order in Sport.” Masculinities and Social Change 6(3): 288-303.
Pilon, Mary. 2012. “For Men, Sport’s Stigma Dampens Appeal.” The New York Times. Retrieved March 14, 2022(https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/sports/olympics/rhythmic-gymnastics-remains-women-o nly-at-olympics.html#:~:text=Rhythmic%20gymnastics%2C%20introduced%20at%20the,but%20not% 20at%20the%20Olympics.).
