Visuals ≠ Value
By Sami Winawer and Ruby Strickland
It’s no secret that figure skating is an aesthetic sport. Skaters, whether in the freestyle, dance, or synchronized discipline, are recognized for their femininity and beauty as much as their athletic ability. Audiences tune in to skating competitions expecting grace, elegance, and picture-perfect beauty, a sort of ideal which has, for years, damaged the mental health and body-image of young skaters everywhere, fostering deep self-confidence issues. In the past few years many skaters, including America’s Gracie Gold, Russia’s Yulia Lipnitskaya, and Canada’s Gabrielle Daleman, among others, have opened up about their struggles with body image and eating disorders. This is a clear sign that the world of figure skating has come a long way, but acceptance and equal treatment are not easily achieved— this is an ongoing issue, and both education and open mindedness are of paramount importance to the pursuit of body-type diversity in skating.
Figure skating’s extreme focus on beauty standards is not unique to the rink. Body type representation, especially for females, has been severely undervalued historically in American culture. Because of media presentation of certain features and characteristics as “ideal,” and body types being treated like trends, body image issues are a large obstacle for each and every person to overcome. With the rise of social media, these issues have only been heightened, with easier access to online forums and the ability to shame others anonymously. This has contributed greatly to the ever-deepening correlation many draw between femininity and value— the idea that beauty is a woman’s primary asset. In performative, aesthetic sports such as figure skating, gymnastics, and dance, the majority of athletes are female, and the majority of spectators expect them to look and act a certain way. Polly, an athletic trainer at the University of Miami, explains that “there is a lot of emphasis placed on athletes to not just ‘be fit’ but to ‘look fit.’” The average female skater in the United States may be 5’3” and 108 pounds, but that does not mean any other size is lesser— just that skaters of different body types may have greater mental obstacles to overcome in their journey. Just as women have long been stereotyped and marginalized in society, aesthetic sports value homogeneity and beauty over skill and dedication, which are, by contrast, often the primary focus for male-dominated sports.
Along with the greater societal equation of beauty to success, skaters also face pressures from within their inner circle, especially from coaches and parents. While there’s a common misconception that having a more petite body type is a necessity in skating, this isn’t necessarily the case. In the world of skating, coaches too often pressure their skaters to live up to unrealistic standards for body size, shape, and weight, which contributes directly to mental health issues. Of course, sports like synchronized skating do encourage individuals to pursue healthier, more active lifestyles, but where there is a cultural understanding of what a “healthy body” looks like, there is trouble. Polly explains that there seems to be a lack of understanding of people having different body types; in skating specifically, “there is definitely an emphasis on looking long and lean and that is just not possible for every body type.” Visuals become prioritized and comparisons become weaponized, with limited consideration of the fact that no one body type is necessarily healthy; conversely, no one body type is necessarily unhealthy. A healthy body means something unique to each individual.
Over time, repeated microaggressions relating to an individual’s size in relation to the “norm” of figure skating from social media, family, coaches, or more can build internalized self-image issues and be detrimental to skater health. Recently, studies have found that 30% of female skaters consider themselves to be overweight, and that synchronized skaters in particular displayed severe dissatisfaction with their bodies and weight. One potential reason for this is that synchronized skaters are compared to their teammates by coaches as well as each other at times. It is also difficult to get individualized advice from professionals about nutrition or exercise when a skater is on a team of around 20 skaters, making it much more likely for misinformation to be spread. Because this misinformation comes from within a skater’s trusted circle, the mental connection between prettiness and performance becomes deeply rooted, and skaters often find that they are never good enough for their personal standards, which can in turn lead to deep mental health issues and the development of eating disorders. In her interview, Polly posited that for athletes, “it’s easy to become obsessive about [dieting] because it is similar to another training plan to help improve their performance.”
Studies have also shown that the majority of synchronized skaters do not consume the recommended proportions of food groups, suggesting the presence of restricted eating and a lack of nutritional education. Jessica, a sports nutritionist currently working with Adrian College’s synchro teams, emphasizes the importance of “on-going or frequent nutrition education to all those involved within the sport” to create “a universal language that emphasizes and reinforces the performance and health benefits associated with healthy eating and body diversity, therefore, encouraging healthful nutrition and training practices that support sport and life successes.” Of course, as Polly points out, “we are all human. No one makes perfect choices and it is okay to compromise. I certainly want people to make healthy choices to better themselves, but I also make it known that it is perfectly okay (and encouraged) to allow moments where we are not concerned with the portion size of something or that eating a cookie is okay.” While education on nutrition from professionals is a very important first step, it’s also important not to overemphasize healthy eating as this can exacerbate a skater’s existing poor relationships with food. Jessica suggests that coaches emphasize “that there is no such thing as “good” or “bad” food. All food has a place in our life and food is more than just a necessary fuel source for health and performance: food is social, environmental, cultural, financial, mental & emotional.” She also points out the negative impact restricted eating can have on an athlete’s physical form, putting them at increased risk for injuries such as stress fractures and tendonitis.
To combat the development of eating disorders and other mental health issues in synchronized skating, many approaches can be taken. Teams can find times for their skaters to meet individually or as a group with a licensed nutritionist to encourage healthy eating habits. Jessica suggests that this be done towards the start of a skater’s competitive career, as “participation in figure skating tends to start at a very young age,” and the shifts that occur during puberty can “largely affect a skater’s self esteem” if there are not ongoing conversations about the body’s developmental needs. Coaches can create more supportive environments for skaters “by highlighting the things they do well while showing the ways [they] can try to improve things that do not come as easily,” as Polly does in her own work. Jessica additionally suggests that coaches nurture a caring environment and cultivate a trusting relationship, “helping the skater maximize both their sport performance throughout participation and overall health across the lifespan.” Individual recognition of the dangers associated with disordered eating patterns, along with a larger-scale cultural shift in skating away from the obsession with bodily aesthetics, are both crucial steps in addressing this issue which silently plagues our sport.
As an elite skater, you are in the spotlight, and thus under heavy pressure to live up to certain expectations or fit the mold of what you should and should not be. The culture of synchronized skating is incredibly nuanced, and various aspects of the sport can be either positively transformative or wholly detrimental to a skater’s self image. It is up to us, as members of the synchronized skating community, to make the shift from negative to positive, and foster a more accepting sport independent of the idea that the audience’s enjoyment is more important than the athlete’s happiness or health. To make the synchronized skating community more accepting and accessible to individuals with a diverse range of body types, we must push for greater representation of skaters who don’t fit the figure skater stereotype, for coaches to be more considerate of the impact microaggressions can have on performance and self-esteem, and for skaters to be less judgmental of others and themselves regarding body type. Mental training is especially important, along with instruction on nutrition and diets, to help skaters overcome the expectations they have of themselves. With a team of powerfully diverse skaters by your side, synchro is the perfect place to overcome these internalized obsessions.
If you or a loved one are struggling with disordered eating, you can reach out to the National Eating Disorder Association’s Helpline over chat, call, or text at https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/help-support/contact-helpline or (800) 931-2237.
Sources:
Correlates of Eating Disorders Risk Among Female Figure Skaters: A Profile of Adolescent Competitors
Food Preferences, Dieting Behaviors, and Body Image Perceptions of Elite Figure Skaters
Olympian Gracie Gold Opens Up About Body Standards, Pressure in Figure Skating
Synchronized Skating: A Look Into the Sport, Culture, and Impacts on Current and Former Athletes
The Prevalence and Consequences of Subclinical Eating Disorders in Female Athletes
To Be The Golden Girl: Disordered Eating Within Figure Skating