Leaflet bans “sensitive photos” of suggestive poses: Swiss Gymnastics Association declares war on sexualized images

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When gymnasts show off their skills in competition, there are exercises that will make you dizzy: somersaults, twists, swings, and balancing exercises on the beam, for example, that look like the athletes can ignore the laws of gravity. This includes splits and slide tackles.

When photographers shoot gymnasts from the front, no matter how perfectly straight the toes are, they involuntarily draw attention to the crotch. Many female athletes are uncomfortable with this and such photos are sometimes manipulated on the Internet.

«feeling of being naked»

The Swiss Gymnastics Federation (STV) has now published guidelines against sexualized photos ahead of the last gymnastics festival season in June. The photo manual “for the protection of the gymnasts” is to ensure that “no suggestive or otherwise ethically sensitive photos are published and passed on”.

The Swiss guidelines for photographers are applauded. The German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) can imagine something similar, according to its spokesperson. The German gymnast Sarah Voss (23) already spoke about the discomfort in the tight dress and sometimes “the feeling of being naked”.

With her colleagues Elisabeth Seitz (29) and Kim Bui (34), she set a good example at the 2021 European Championships in Basel. The gymnasts didn’t appear in the usual long-legged outfit, but in long-legged suits, which really got the subject going.

“Not really”

The STV now shows stylized “awkward poses” on the leaflet, which photographers should avoid. “Absolutely not possible” is written next to the image of a floor gymnast with her legs spread. Others, like the splits in the jump, say, “Here it depends on the shooting angle.”

graphic

Sideways rather than frontally is usually fine. “We wanted to send a signal that we don’t want these kinds of photos anymore,” says Naomi Kempter, who works in the Ethics Department of the German news agency’s STV. “It was high time for something like that.”

Problem also in Switzerland

How young competitive athletes have been treated for decades has come to light in recent years. In many countries not only ruthless training methods were discovered. In the United States, Larry Nassar (59), a former physician with the American Gymnastics Federation, was sentenced to a long prison term in 2017 for more than 250 counts of sexual assault.

In Switzerland, athletes complained of humiliation in a training center in 2020. There was a lot of rethinking during the workout, says Kempter, who used to be active in rhythmic gymnastics. This is how the subject of photography came up. “The importance of these issues has been recognized even more recently,” she says.

Custom Photographer Positions

Sensitive photos are also an issue at the German Gymnastics Federation, says spokesperson Torsten Hartmann. “We have now adjusted the positions for the photographers at competitions,” he says. “For example, on the uneven bars, we avoid a frontal position in front of the device to avoid scattering situations directly in front of the camera.” If the association discovers sensitive photos in the press or on websites, it also addresses the photographer directly.

And if those addressed are unreasonable? The association will not shy away from not admitting these people as photographers, says Hartmann. Anyone wanting to take photos at club events must be accredited, which means their personal details must be verified by their clients.

Young girls in tight suits

For decades it was a matter of course for young girls to do gymnastics in tight suits with high-cut legs. Judges often said that performance could only be properly judged in such tight suits.

Gymnasts, some of whom perform at their best as early as eleven or twelve, do not yet pay attention to how such pictures can be perceived. That changes with the onset of puberty and menstruation, but that has long been thought of as something they had to deal with on their own. Even proud parents sometimes post pictures of their offspring on social media without realizing that they may be misinterpreted. The Swiss association wants to sensitize everyone with its guidelines.

Photo archive cleaned up

The fact that full-body suits or short gym shorts can now also be worn is progress, says Kempter of STV. With the photo directive, the association wanted to go a step further. “Athletes should be able to feel good about their sport, no matter what they wear or how they are photographed.”

The Swiss Federation also went through its own websites and replaced some recordings. She herself knows recordings from her active time, which she finds problematic nowadays, says Kempter. “The eye trains itself,” she says.

STV media officer Thomas Ditzler is pleased with the response to the photo guidelines. The first gymnastics festival season since its publication is almost coming to an end in Switzerland. “The pictures I’ve seen,” he says, “look like we want.” (SDA/kes)

Source : Blick