When Olympian Tess Howard donned her new uniform for Great Britain’s women’s field hockey team in 2021, she felt an unexpected emotion at the pinnacle of her athletic career: embarrassment, reports BritPanorama.
The compression tank top and snug skort were designed for performance, yet Howard found the fit restrictive, both physically and mentally. “You put the top on, and your life is sucked out of you,” she stated, noting that the skort hindered her ability to run efficiently. In the locker room, Howard and her teammates often resorted to stretching their uniforms over chairs in hopes of gaining a better fit.
Upon consulting her teammates, nearly all 20 expressed a desire for a uniform redesign, citing significant anxiety and body consciousness surrounding their existing apparel. “I was playing for my country — I shouldn’t be this uncomfortable,” Howard remarked.
The issue of uncomfortable sports uniforms transcends elite athletes. A significant proportion of girls in the United Kingdom begin losing interest in sports by age 16, often due to concerns about judgment and lack of confidence, with inappropriate uniforms contributing to this decline. In the United States, girls abandon sports at nearly double the rate of boys.
After a year of advocacy, Howard and her team successfully pushed for uniform changes, leading to a redesigned tank top with a looser fit. This moment represented a pivotal shift for Howard: “That’s when I realized it doesn’t have to be this way.”
At the Paris Olympics, her team introduced shorts as an optional uniform, making Howard the first female Olympic field hockey player to score wearing this alternative. The broader implications of her experience sparked public discourse, culminating in notable changes, such as Irish Camogie players winning the right to wear shorts following a boycott and the French Gymnastics Federation permitting shorts over leotards.
Building on her experiences, Howard completed a dissertation at Durham University in the UK focused on gendered sports uniforms. Her research revealed that limited options in uniform design significantly correlated with girls’ withdrawal from athletics during puberty.
Following her success in the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and progression to the quarterfinals with Team GB at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the UK government modified national rules around sports uniforms for schoolchildren, emphasizing greater choice in athletic clothing.
An uncomfortable display
Howard’s experience is part of a broader trend. Across various sports, from teenage gymnasts to professional footballers, women have long faced pressure to wear “flattering” uniforms — a term often synonymous with revealing attire — which can adversely affect their performance and comfort. Erin Phillips, a retired Australian basketball and football athlete, spoke out against her team’s “skin-tight” bodysuits, arguing they serve to sexualize rather than support athletes.
In a candid interview, Phillips reflected, “I was super self-conscious wearing that uniform.” At the height of her career, she revealed she resorted to diet pills and unhealthy eating habits to conform to unrealistic body ideals.
Considering the pressures experienced by adult athletes, psychologist Jane Ogden sought to explore whether adolescent girls felt similarly pressured. Her June study, titled “You’re Basically Naked,” underscored a common pattern: teenage athletes reported discomfort with tight uniforms, linking this discomfort to their choices to abandon sports during puberty.
Ogden noted, “In sports like ballet, gymnastics and swimming, once puberty hits, those tight leotards and costumes make girls feel incredibly exposed — body hair, periods, body shape changes — all of it suddenly feels on display.”
These perceptions are entangled with prevailing societal ideals regarding femininity and athleticism, causing further distress. Ogden states, “There’s this sense that you’re supposed to be muscly and fit, but also small and contained,” pointing out that many uniforms reflect outdated norms that prioritize appearance over performance.
For example, Zara, a gymnast interviewed in Ogden’s research, described her leotard as revealing “every detail like curves and bumps,” complicating her ability to perform effectively.
The cumulative effect of these pressures has led many girls to drop out of sports altogether.
Pressure to eat less leads to underfueling
The ramifications of ill-fitting uniforms are not purely psychological; they extend to physical health as well. Athletes under constant pressure to maintain a “lean” appearance often end up underfueling, ultimately harming their performance.
A recent study of over 1,000 marathon runners revealed that underfueling, or low energy availability (LEA), poses substantially greater health risks. The research demonstrated that women runners faced a disproportionately high incidence of LEA compared to men, increasing their likelihood of injuries and poor race performance.
Doctors affirm that consistent LEA can result in relative energy deficiency in sports (RED-S), a condition characterized by inadequate calorie intake relative to energy expenditure, leading to various health ramifications, particularly in women, including disrupted menstrual cycles and weakened bones.
Dr. Anthony Hackney, a professor of exercise endocrinology, remarked on the prevalence of RED-S among athletes in high-pressure environments. “There is no weight category in gymnastics, but what do we expect our gymnasts to look like?”
Bailey Kowalczyk, an elite endurance runner, highlights the material consequences of such pressures after she was advised by coaches that a lower weight would yield superior results. This misguided advice led to severe health issues and diminished performance.
In recovery, Kowalczyk is among a growing contingent of female athletes advocating for a positive reevaluation of women’s health, emphasizing the importance of normalized menstruation as an indication of proper fueling.
Despite some progress, Hackney warns that misinformation persists among coaches, necessitating greater awareness and education regarding RED-S. “I think we’re getting better, but we still have a long way to go,” he said.
Tess Howard and fellow athletes continue to challenge the societal pressures undermining their ability to perform, striving for meaningful changes in the sports landscape.
Howard has recently founded Inclusive Sportswear in the UK, partnering with ASICS to launch the “Undropped Kit,” a redesigned uniform for physical education designed with comfort and choice in mind, including sweat-concealing fabrics and flexible fits. “Girls don’t need to be told what to wear,” Howard asserts. “They just need options that let them focus on playing, not on how they look while doing it.”
