Sartorial Sins, Buttocks, “Monkeys,” and the Hypocrisy of the World.

That this world is perverse is a no-brainer, all can see alike (can they?). Yet, the plight of it is worsened by obsequiousness, biases, and indifference, mostly observed in those who occupy seats of influence. People whose voices could improve such perversion and injustices seem too selective in their vociferousness.

The Norwegian women’s handball team’s sartorial transgression was to appear in shorts instead of bikinis for a handball game, and the European Handball Federation fined them for improper dressing. Yes, for covering their buttocks, which had nothing to do with the sport. Choosing decency and privacy in a world that is so loud about privacy and still being fined is interesting. So counterintuitive, yet, in what appears a momentous declaration of power, the seats of influence drew out their red pens and penalized the women for being decent. Interestingly, male handball players are to wear shorts and not show their buttocks. This is the same in many sports, where female athletes could do with shorts, but are compelled to show their butts to the perverse world while working so hard in the name of rules. So long as they show their buttocks to the world, it is fine, regardless, of their comfortability with it, while science shows that a person’s outfit could have both cognitive and physical effects on their performance and abilities.

In a twist of opinions, the German goalie wore an armband when Germany played against Hungary, in protest against the latter’s recent parliamentary policy for passing a law that prohibited the promotion of homosexuality and transgenderism, in educational content, or television shows for people under 18. The entire Munich city council wanted to light the Munich stadium in the same rainbow colors for their soccer match with Hungary, however, the Union of European football association stopped them. I wish the Munich stadium would also be lit up for children dying from malnutrition; I wish the German goalie will wear an armband for these Norwegian handball ladies who refused to show their buttocks; I wish the influential voices that got LED bulbs in the seven rainbow colors will do the same for Muslims in persecution, Christians in persecution, and children dying from malnutrition. Oh, but there are no branded colors for malnutrition, neither are there any official colors for religious minorities and people living in persecution. Are those whose voices resonant against one form of violation, have vocal paralysis for others?

Recently, several voices were raised against “monkeys” playing soccer with humans in England. While such vile attacks of derogation ran through the same social media pipes that have censors and enough power to block others’ opinions for not aligning with their status quo (even presidents), they seemed to let this slide, even when people demanded they stopped such accounts from displaying their buffoonery. Oh, no! I forgot, there are no official colors against racism, and there is none against religious persecution, or children dying from poverty, malnutrition, and lack of healthcare, in a world that frowns upon the violation of basic human rights. In 1969, when 14 black football players proposed to their university coach about wearing armbands in protest against racism they were suffering, the University of Wyoming coach sacked them from the team and the school revoked their scholarships—a decision that was backed by the university’s board of trustees and people in seats of influence.

Perhaps, such violations are only significant if they fall within the confines of sexual orientation? Maybe this anti-buttock campaign and sartorial transgression by our brave Norwegian ladies could ignite another wave of unrest and make those that ride horses of power and sit at influential places readjust their lenses. Oh, snap! This amnesia keeps getting in my way, because how could one forget that the international swimming federation banned swimming caps designed for black afro hair, saying it did not fit the status quo. Kudos to these Norwegian ladies who will accept a fine than stick with a broken status quo that urges them to show their buttocks to the entire world. I hope they get enough solidarity from most female sports personalities. But will they?