Should female boxers be required to wear skirts?

This week, the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) is meeting,
and will be discussing many important issues leading up to the London 2012
Olympics - the first Olympics in which women's boxing will be featured as a
sport.  Chief among the topics for discussion: should the female boxers be
required to wear skirts?


Seriously.


At a time in which the sport of women's boxing is taking a large step
forward into the spotlight, the AIBA has taking the focus off of the sport
and the achievements of the athletes and honed in on the maintenance of
traditional gender roles.


Athletics are traditionally a masculine stomping ground, and thus
incompatible with constructed ideals of femininity.  As more opportunities
for women in sports becoming available, many female athletes are pressed to
navigate their identity to balance their athleticism and femininity.
Women's sports are still in large part neglected by the popular media, and
when featured, the athletes are often subject to sexualized and
objectifying language.


Perhaps the AIBA believes that feminizing the athletes will help to
popularize the sport of women's boxing, among the more masculine sports in
character?  [In the same way sports teams have made it 'ok' for women to be
avid fans-and buy tickets and merchandise-so long as they buy the pink
colored team jersey].  Even if this is being done in the interest of
attracting a greater fan base, it does a great disservice to the athletes
who will be competing in these historic Olympics games by taking the focus
away from athletic feat.


As British boxer Marianne Marston aptly stated, "I feel I have more
important issues to deal with in women's boxing, the acceptance of women's
boxing...than whether they should wear skirts or not."