What Pink Wants To Do To Change The Course Of This Sport
Pink is stepping in to help potentially make a big change to a popular sport. The hitmaker has been very vocal about supporting women and dismissing traditional thoughts on beauty — particularly based around gender — throughout her career, even becoming a feminist icon for repeatedly speaking out.
In 2017, she delivered a powerful message about beauty and beauty standards when she accepted her Video Vanguard Award at the MTV Video Music Awards. She told the touching story of how she was driving her daughter, Willow, to school, when the youngster told her she felt like "the ugliest girl I know" because she believed she looked "like a boy with long hair."
Pink then went home and made her daughter a presentation filled with what she described as "androgynous rockstars and artists that live their truth." Pink and her daughter then had a frank conversation, in which Pink pointed out she rocks short hair and does her own thing. The star told Willow, "We don't change. We take the gravel and the shell and we make a pearl. And we help other people to change so they can see more kinds of beauty."
Pink is now speaking out for those fighting traditional beauty standards once again — and this time, she's putting her money where her mouth is. Read on for the details.
Pink offered to pay fines for handball players who refused to wear bikini bottoms
Pink spoke out on behalf of Norway's handball players after the team refused to wear only bikini bottoms on their bottom halves during the European Beach Handball Championships in Bulgaria on July 18 (via Independent). They instead opted for blue shorts, resulting in The European Handball Federation hitting the team with a fine of $177 for each player (which added up to $1,770) as they claimed the team had competed in "improper clothing." That's when Pink stepped in.
The star took to Twitter after hearing the news and vowed to pay the entirety of the fine, while also calling out the Federation. "I'm VERY proud of the Norwegian female beach handball team FOR PROTESTING THE VERY SEXIST RULES ABOUT THEIR 'uniform,'" she tweeted on July 25. "The European handball federation SHOULD BE FINED FOR SEXISM. Good on ya, ladies. I'll be happy to pay your fines for you. Keep it up," she added. Norway's Handball Federation has also claimed that it will pay any fines brought upon the team (via BBC).
Notably, those competing in the sport during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics — being held in summer 2021 due to coronavirus-related restrictions — are allowed more say over what they choose to wear. Athletes are allowed to play in two-piece bikinis or one-piece swimsuits should they choose to, but are also allowed to wear T-shirts and shorts (via Page Six).