So, what does a judge even look for?
Gymnastics judging is supposed to be based solely on the performance of the athlete at the given time of the routine. The technicalities of each skill (straight legs, pointed toes, good presentation) and position are meant to determine the level of deduction, if any, that should be removed from the gymnasts' routine. Judging is pretty complex when it comes to each intricate detail associated with specific skills. The verbiage used in the sport is pretty specific, niche, and rather difficult to understand for the average spectator not involved heavily in the sport. Much like in football when discussing offsides, holding, and pass interference, gymnastics discourse is used by experts in the sport and judges alike. However, gymnastics has always and will always be subjective.
The name of the game with gymnastics is for it to look aesthetically pleasing. Now, that may not always be the case as there are some skills gymnasts do that are god awful ugly but are extremely difficult. And, if done perfectly, should be rewarded for the efforts. But usually, deductions come in the shape of flexed feet, evidently bent knees, and any movement on the landing when the gymnast finishes a skill or routine. You've heard the saying "stick the landing"; essentially, just don't move when you hit the ground after flailing about in the air.
*scroll over the photos to read more*
This is a perfect example of an idealized body image and performance done by a stick figure drawing. Notice how the legs are perfectly straight, the toes are pointed, and the leg muscles are highlighted, and the athlete's legs reach a perfect 180 degree split. This is the standard athletes are held to.
Here is another example of an idealized gymnastics skill. Her legs are straight, her arms fail to bend when she puts all of her weight on them (which is physically impossible might I add) and again, her leg muscles are highlighted.
Finally, this is the most unrealistic and simply impossible body idealization that gymnasts are held to. No one's body looks like that in mid air, trust me. And in my personal opinion, this gymnast's body looks even thinner than the other two...
These examples are purely performance based as we have no idea who the stick figure gymnast is. The only information we know from these images is whether or not the gymnast does the skill to the standard necessary for her to receive no deduction at all. Something I noticed in this stick figure gymnasts was the strictly ridiculous body ideal they created. And I started obsessing about it.
For the sake of efficiency, here is a video of me performing a floor routine this year. Throughout the routine, I will explain some of the basic deductions a judge could find in a routine strictly based on technicality.
This video highlights what a gymnastics judge would be looking to deduct within a floor routine. In an ideal world, the judge would disregard any of the glitzy additions to the routine, like an occasional wink to the judge or the glitter and leotard. This is based on skill only.
This routine scored a 9.95 out of a 10.0 with one judge rewarding me with a 9.9 and one with a perfect 10.0.
But I can't help but wonder--why did one judge see no deductions and one see enough to take a full tenth off? Did she not like my hair?
Now let's look at the exact same routine with a lens of just appearance and body image ideals. It is important to first note the leotard we are wearing in general and the plethora of sparkles that are housed on it. Leotards are meant to make the athlete comfortable and feel beautiful in their own skin, but it is also naturally a pretty revealing and suggestive thing simply by its nature of showing all of the athlete's legs. The leotard is also very tight, so you feel like you're naturally on display throughout the entire meet. Here is a voice over video of the same routine just disregarding any of the technicalities of the sport.
In looking at the appearance aspect of this routine, I have become more aware of the facial expressions and playful movements I do throughout the routine that suggest (even though it is true) that I am having a good time.
Although I was very proud of this routine, my teammate told me that she overheard the judge who awarded me the coveted perfect 10.0 say that she "just had to give me a 10 because she loves me". I was appalled upon hearing this as I would never want a score I didn't deserve.
What happens to the former because of the latter?
When realizing the potential subjective lens a judge could look through, does the value put on perfection and skill based judging change? Are we now just objects of other people's attractive desires?
In my experience, the technicalities of gymnastics have not been the only factor that goes into presenting the coveted numerical score. Attractive appearance qualities like being tan, wearing makeup, having a put together hairstyle, and even so much so as having your nails done do contribute to the overall judgment of a technical routine a judge is meant to present. Sure, this could just be speculation, but there have been notable instances of this in the past.
Here are some basic quotes from judges that a family friend of mine has witnessed as he is a judge as well and has heard these comments.
-"There is a bias between bigger girls and smaller girls, however it does ultimately have its roots in body type."
-"I would not be telling the truth if I told you that there were no “snarky” comments about larger gymnasts, because there were."
-"What I observed was that some judges tended to score gymnasts who were more flexible and “willowy” higher that girls that were more muscular and powerful, while others did the exact same thing, but in reverse."
-"As for judging and body types, what I noticed in my ten years was that there did appear to be some biases, but not necessarily in the way that you might expect. But, judges did make comments like, "she looks cute" or "I like her makeup" and miraculously, those girls won events."
So, even these judges admit to body type biases when judging. Regardless of whether body appearance ideals directly correlate to higher scores (which the last quote suggests it does), the fact that these thoughts are present within judges' minds is the larger issue at hand.
OK, so what is the point?
Well, if one person is granted a higher score due to appearance or the "fan girl syndrome" of rewarding them for their likeness, then the technicalities of gymnastics become irrelevant and the winner is chosen due to appearance. Sounds pretty shallow, but that is the unfortunate reality of the sport of gymnastics. But how does that compare to other areas of life where people are supposed to be judged on their skill level instead of their looks? Gymnastics is a great example of judging someone on their appearance and by who they are versus their skill level.
What is the bigger effect here? Well, this happens everywhere. Job interviews, first dates, dating apps, making new friends. The buffer of judgment begins with a physical judgment scan and once that is completed, one can move on to begin to form judgments that comply with the person's personality.
Have you heard of Katelyn Ohashi? She is a gymnast at UCLA who went viral for performing a floor routine inspired by Michael Jackson. Katelyn received nine perfect 10s for her floor routine this year, an unheard of level of perfection. However, not everyone believed the routine was perfect.
An email circled around the judging community informing judges of the biases fans, athletes, and coaches have noticed pertaining to gymnasts with well-known names, viral routines, and specific leotards. The email was titled "Leotard Bias" and it essentially told judges to stop giving athletes high scores because their routine went viral. The email included a plethora of judging expectations that all officials around the country are held to. Most notably, an expectation read, "judges are to judge what they see, and not who the person is or how they look". Essentially, judge the skills, not the athlete. This expectation was followed by a hypothetical example which included the discussion of Ohashi and her "perfect" floor routines.
So obviously, there is physical bias associated with gymnastics. On the next page. I'll look closely at a judgment of physicality and attraction on the general basis of scanning someone for how we judge them simply on the face value. Gymnastics aside, physicality bias is a very real phenomenon. And not just in sports...