The 2018 Winter Olympics are in full swing. On Monday, the French pair of figure skaters, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, suffered an unfortunate “wardrobe malfunction” after Papadakis’ leotard came loose revealing her breast, causing a hiccup within both Papadakis’ and Cizeron’s routine.

​

Papadakis told reporters that she didn’t have a choice and that she had to keep going. She said that “I think we can be proud of ourselves being able to deliver a great performance with that happening”.

​

The pair gained a score of 81.93, which was a rather high score, however, it is not the score that was expected of these gold-medal contenders. It is not clear if the pair received their final score based on hard and fast rules, or whether the costume issue had something to do with the final score. However, USA Today reported that losing even one small part of a costume can lead to a one-point deduction. Papadakis left the ice with tears in her eyes. She later reported that the happenings within the routine was her “worst nightmare.”

​

While it is understandable how a “wardrobe malfunction” can cause distraction and hardship within the routine for a pair of competitors, it should not be what is most focused on when talking about the overall performance. However, as is regularly seen through mainstream media, the idea of a “wardrobe malfunction” is easier to focus on and discuss rather than how the pair showed out during a performance. Rather than focus on the style and the structure of the French pair’s routine, onlookers and viewers took to social media to discuss the fact that Papadakis’ nipple was visibly evident throughout her routine. Hashtags like “#olympicnipple” began to trend during and after the performance, and many people were more intrigued with the fact that Papadakis’ emerald leotard became undone rather than by her and Cizeron’s performance.

​

It is frustrating and absolutely repulsive how often women are sexualized to the point that even an Olympic competitors’ pristine performance can be so easily overshadowed by the slip of a part of her body. Had Cizeron’s shirt ripped and revealed his chest, would he have been ostracized and faced the criticism that Papadakis did? It’s disheartening to live in a world where a woman can work her ass off to get to a place of success only to have an unfortunate mishap like a slight slip of a natural part of the body be so misconstrued so as to perpetuate a misogynistic agenda.

​

Culture doesn’t change until language changes, and it’s about damn time that these situations be called out for their sexism and double-standards because it’s time that women get the credit that they deserve without their physical attributes and characters being called into question.