An agent of change does not have to be loud to be powerful.
A pair of hands, a couple of knitting needles and a little ball of bit of yarn is all it took Tom Daley to shake the foundations of gender stereotypes and send ripples all over the world.
A week after his top of the podium performance at 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, 27 yr old Great Britain diver Tom Daley, was spotted knitting in the stands while watching the women’s 3m springboard diving final. The overwhelming response to the image flooded the internet and in possibly one of the sweetest of ways, the athlete metamorphosed into an influencer and an agent of social change after being associated with a verb – ‘knitting’, which happens to have been a heavily gender loaded term thus far.
But fossicking around history reveals that knitting is believed to be originated as a local industry in Scotland which interestingly, in its inception days, employed men in factories to knit stockings which were exported all across Europe. In spite of this, tangling of colorful yarns and making a wearable out of it has always been a feminine thing. Tom Daley perhaps creatively exploited an escape from the routine to craft an antithesis.
However, Tom Daley asserted that learning to knit and crochet helped him cope up with Olympics stress. At present, his Instagram account @madewithlovebytomdaley is exclusively dedicated to knitting and has more than three lakh followers.
But the saga of Tom Daley isn’t merely about knitting or breaking gender steriotypes. Tom’s ‘Golden’ tryst with destiny was actually a watershed moment as he was only the second openly gay man in Summer Olympic history to win a gold.
Tom used the opportunity to inspire waves of confidence in the LGBTQI+community. He said “I hope that any young LGBT person out there can see that no matter how alone you feel right now, you are not alone, and you can achieve anything. I feel incredibly proud to say that I am a gay man and also an Olympic Champion.”
Interestingly, Tokyo Olympics also marks the highest ever number of participations from LGBTQ+ community. Number stood around 180. New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard shuttled herself into Olympic history as the first openly transgender women to compete in the Games.
This is not however the first time that the Olympic podium has given the society some hard reality checks. Time and again, athletes have famously protested against prejudices and overlooked atrocities in different parts of the globe. Researcher Jill Timms writes, “The Olympic Games, with its distinctive ethos and reach, offers a valuable opportunity for those able to mobilise it as a platform.”
Tracing the trend
Till the early half of 20th century, birth of a child was seen as an impediment to athletic performance of women. In 1948 London Summer Olympics, mother of a boy, Dutch athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen defied the odds to win 4 gold medals.
An athlete who according to British athletics team manager was “too old to make the grade”, eventually made her way to sporting history with the nickname ‘The Flying Housewife’.
1968 Mexico summer Olympics too witnessed what, till date, remains the most sensational podium finish moments in terms of its advocacy value.
In medal event of 200 m race, American athletes Tommie Smith and Jhon Carlos, both raised their gloved hands in the Black Power Salute. They received their medals wearing black socks and no shoes to highlight the impoverished state of African Americans. The silver medalist, white Australian athlete, Peter Norman too, adorned a human rights badge on his shirt during the ceremony to show his support to the two Americans.
Trends beyond Gold: Tokyo 2021
At Tokyo 2021, advocacy found an exceptional abode when one of the most decorated Gymnasts in sporting history, Simone Biles withdrew from women’s all-around gymnastics final at the Tokyo Olympics owing to mental health.
“We also have to focus on ourselves, because at the end of the day we’re human, too…So, we have to protect our mind and our body, rather than just go out there and do what the world wants us to do,”. -Simone Biles
The bold move is seen as path-breaking especially in times of a global pandemic where experts have confirmed about a silent march of mental health crisis with a global footprint.
Biles received huge support cutting across nations. American actor Jared Padalecki tweeted “You’ve shown us that your mind is even stronger, on the most public of stages. You just helped countless people learn that mental health is more valuable than any medal.”
Another toss to stereotypes was anchored by Australian boxer Harry Garside who painted his nails in rainbow colours to empower people, irrespective of their sexuality, for expressing themselves without worrying about objections and thoughts. He said, “There are a lot of people out there who feel like they have to be something because they’re a male or a female. I am all about just being different.” In a predominantly male sport like boxing this gesture certainly added some gender-neutral punch into the global boxing ring.
In a quest to crash another sexist ceiling, German Gymnastics Federation made a statement against the “sexualization in gymnastics” by resorting to full length unitards against the bikini-cut leotards which have been used since 1970’s. “We hope gymnasts uncomfortable in the usual outfits will feel emboldened to follow our example”, says German gymnast Sarah Voss in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF.
The modalities of gender expressionism are a form of cultural conditioning through ages, confirming to which becomes a precondition for being considered ‘normal‘ among peers. It is heartening to see that the normal is being redefined, that too at the biggest stag for this planet, The Olympic games.
On International Women’s Day 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Tokyo 2020 will be the first ever gender balanced Olympic Games.
In adherence to the commitment, participating teams were provided with the option of naming joint flag bearers in the opening ceremony, which also witnessed Olympic Cauldron being lit by the Japanese Tennis sensation Naomi Osaka.
The symbolism of the actions, under the brightest spotlight on the planet has the potential to snowball into agents of social change that could, and should help change the course of human evolution for better.
Edited by : NK Jha
5 Comments
Absolutely loved the piece. Writing about a topic and issue so popular in such a way is worth applauding. Kudos!
Congratulations Konika !!!
Keep moving on. All THE VOICES are with you.
🌹👍🌹
Many Many Congratulations Konika !!!
Keep moving on. All THE VOICES are with you.
🌹👍🌹
Amazing!! Beautiful story…. Loved to read it… Best wishes to the author 👍
Well crafted Article….Loved it.