High schools in Japan are taking measures to prevent the sexualized photography of female cheerleaders during the annual spring baseball tournament. The tournament is meant to be a celebration of youthful sporting prowess, but incidents of voyeurism have marred the events in recent years.
In response, cheerleaders from several schools now perform in the stands wearing long-sleeved shirts and shorts, although other schools have retained the traditional uniform.
あすは大会第5日
第96回センバツ高校野球
NHKでは全試合生中継予定！
放送予定👇https://t.co/c3s15XszyT
大会第5日第2試合に登場する
大阪桐蔭（大阪）の
「学校自慢」をご覧ください#センバツ#甲子園 pic.twitter.com/ADZWAukP5t
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Girls from Takasaki high school in Gunma prefecture, north-west of Tokyo, performed in shorts that had been designed to complement the uniforms worn by its baseball team. Despite complaints by some girls that they preferred to wear skirts, school officials said the group had accepted the costume change.
“Voyeuristic photos can potentially cause lifelong emotional damage to our students,” said Takasaki teacher Kohei Shiozawa, according to the public broadcaster NHK.
Airi Ozawa, the head of the school’s cheerleading team, told the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper: “At first, I thought a skirt would be better, but when I actually wore [shorts] and started cheering, I felt a sense of unity as the outfits matched the baseball team uniforms. And they were easy to move about in. Now I can dance with peace of mind.”
As an additional deterrent, teachers from the school are patrolling the stands at Koshien with signs asking spectators to refrain from photographing students. Earlier this week, teachers from another school positioned themselves between the cheerleaders and regular spectators to block the view of would-be voyeurs.
Concern over secret photography has spread to other sports in Japan, with complaints from women competing in gymnastics, track and field and synchronised swimming, among other sports, that they have been secretly filmed or photographed.
In 2020, the Japan Olympic Committee described upskirting and other forms of secret photography targeting female athletes as “despicable”, warning that it would empower stadium officials to check images taken by spectators during the Tokyo Games.
The sportswear…
2024-03-21 23:10:40
Link from www.theguardian.com