Everyone knows that what’s holding back the sport of badminton from greater international acceptance is that the players aren’t sexier.
Sure, the world’s number one-ranked badmintress, Wang Yihan, is rather fetching, but other than her they are easily only the third-sexiest of all raquet sports, after tennis and full-nude Bangkok ping pong.
So you can’t blame the Badminton World Federation for trying to pass a rule requiring that the top-flight badminton biddies put on skirts and tart up the game a bit.
Paisan Rangsikitpho, an American deputy president of the Badminton World Federation, was interviewed by The New York Times before the rule was shelved. He had defended the rule, saying BWF was not using sex to promote the sport. “We just want them to look feminine and have a nice presentation so women will be more popular.”
The new rule, which was developed by the BWF in collaboration with Octagon, an international marketing firm, said women players had to wear skirts or dresses “to ensure attractive presentation.” The rule was quickly slammed for being sexist and outdated.
Unfortunately this proposal just had to get shuttlecock-blocked by a bunch of typical angry harpies fresh out of their women’s studies seminars at Sarah Lawrence.
Imogen Bankier, one of the world’s top 20 badminton players along with her partner, Chris Adcock, had criticized the rule before it was obliterated. Shetold Telegraph Sport, “You can’t make demands like that to make women more glamorous…it is ridiculous; tennis certainly doesn’t have this problem so why should we have to put up with it?”
Wait. They don’t make female tennis players wear skirts nowadays either? WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN???
