Sports toxicity

SPORTS

Destructive body-image hinders athletes

Phoebe Miller ‘23 Associate Managing Editor

Looking into a mirror, a person often stares into their own eyes, their mouth, their facial structure. But for many athletes, their gaze is often drawn down to their body.

The sports of gymnastics, dance and figure skating,

among oth“ers, are often body-centric. Many athletes who compete in these activities are driven by perfectionism, and while this can create a motivating push for some, others feel it has damaged how they view themselves.

Camryn Harris ’24, who competes in Irish step-dancing, has had several experiences with what is referred to by many as a toxic body-image culture that exists in sports.

“At my old school, and even where I am now, I have [dance] teachers that make comments about what we eat getting close to competition,” Harris said. “I have friends that look a lot different than they did when they started. I wouldn’t say eating disorders, but the verge of.”

According to Jumpstart by WebMD, almost 80% of elite female athletes said they were aware of their body image. But this perception is not limited to professional athletes.

Victoria Fidalgo ’24, who

has been a competitive gymnast since she was 6 years old, said that being surrounded by mirrored images of your body for years can distort your view of who you are. “I would always have to condition in front of the mirrors. I would have to do floor dance in front of the mirrors, we would warm up in front of the mirrors,” Fidalgo said. “It was just so toxic because there’s a point where you don’t need to look at yourself I have friends that much, especially in that look a lot different than they did when a leotard.” Activities like ice-skating are so fothey started. I wouldn’t say cused on the body often because the eating disorders, but the verge of.” -Camryn Harris ’24 sport itself is based on having a set look, without which, a person could be at a disadvantage when being scored. Uniforms for synchronized skating require tight leggings, a tight tank top and a body pop, which is essentially tights for your upper body. Similar to gymnastics and dance, skaters are often required to wear clothes that show off their bodies. “It’s all very fitted, because synchronized skating is all about the lines, and the aesthetic is very important,” Sam Paris ’23, who competes internationally in skating, said. “So the lines of your body, of the strokes and pushes that you make, you want to be able to see the extension, and baggier clothes can kind of hinder the look of the sport.” An aspect that is not always widely discussed is the role that body image can play in boys’ sports.

“From what I have seen, there are some people who are on the smaller side and seem to feel a little intimidated in the weight rooms or at practice,” an anonymous former Staples male athlete said, “so they go out of their way and spend hours working out, trying to put on muscle, trying to get bigger, just so they fit in more.”

However, he stressed that his former coaches emphasized that there is support available for players, even if their feelings may not be frequently shared because of the stigma that surrounds the topic. “I feel like [boys] bottle it up and kind of just keep it to themselves,” he said. “Our coaches and everyone make it very obvious that we have somewhere to go. We always have someone to talk to, but I feel like boys don’t feel like they should.” While the outlook of body image on teams is often harmful, many feel that their teammates do their best to look out for each other and fight the negative circumstances that often surround them. “All the girls are really nice to each other,” Harris said. “We all boost each other just because I think we all need to kind of combat what’s being said around us.”

PRESSURE In sports like figure skating, there is pressure to fit a certain body type, leading to harmful body-image.

Photo contributed by Sam Paris ’23