Social media users in China have slammed officials for having “backward gender awareness” as the country’s outfits for the Paris Olympics opening ceremony went viral for the wrong reasons.
China’s outfits, to be worn by its athletes at the opening ceremony on July 26 and the closing ceremony two weeks later, were unveiled last month, with men set to sport a red suit jacket with white trousers and women donning a jacket, skirt and high heels.
But on Thursday, there was growing disgust among users on Xiaohongshu, China’s Instagram-like platform, with many calling the entire ensemble sexist.
“The problem with this set is not just that it’s ugly, the real problem is the backward gender awareness that adds to the already scarce aesthetics,” one user whose posts went viral said.
“The whole world is de-gendering, not using skirts and trousers to differentiate between women and men, but we are the only ones who still use hip-hugging dresses and high-heeled shoes to wrap female athletes.”
“Having a skirt isn’t a problem, but not [giving the choice] for trousers, is a big problem,” another user commented.
The opening and closing ceremony apparel, called Chasing Dreams, was revealed by the General Administration of Sport of China and social media users have also blasted its design, which bares similarities to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics edition.
“[It] looks like a mannequin in an old ’90s department store. Ugly,” one comment read.
Another popular reply asked: “How can you make something so hideous? I’m really convinced that some people do not want athletes to look good.”
For the Tokyo Olympics, female Chinese athletes wore a floral skirt and red jacket, while their male counterparts donned a white shirt decorated with flowers to go with the white trousers and red jacket.
One user referenced how other countries’ outfits made women look like athletes, warriors and generals, but China’s regularly made them look like waitresses.
Mongolia won plaudits for its traditional outfit, featuring national and Olympic symbols, including the Nine White Banners, the Olympic torch, the emblem of the Paris Olympics and representations of the sun, moon and the Gua Maral (a mythical deer).
Like China, South Korea opted for a suit but decided on light blue trousers for both men and women with a matching jacket.
Hosts France, on the other hand, went for a white flat cap, baggy trousers and white polo shirt.
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