The floor glimmered beneath the lights, but all she felt was the burden of feeling judged. Not the judges’ scores – those would come later – but the unspoken expectation to be flawless. With aesthetic sports, winning is not the primary focus; looking the part is. And for many athletes, that pressure runs deeper than any loss could hurt them.
Appearance-Based Judging and Its Consequences
Rise to the very top of the balance beam, and you’re not just facing gravity; the expectation of being thin, sharp, and pristine awaits you as well. Judges don’t only score your moves—they absorb your appearance, posture, and body lines. Even in conversations far from the gym, whether it’s about diet routines or something different like a cricket bet, the idea of physical perfection always seems to sneak in.
Beauty is diamond-shaped in the absence of a flat stomach, long legs, and whimsical eyes; and in rhythmic gymnastics and figure skating, where form and skill are both judged, skinny is synonymous with good performance.
That kind of messaging achieves far more than just shaping an athlete’s perception of their physique. Decades of body dissatisfaction follow them well after they hang up their boots for good.
Social Media’s Influence on Young Athletes
Today’s athletes compete in a multi-faceted digital arena where everyone is constantly compared to one another. Social media has its pros and cons, as it provides communities and aids in building inspiration. Still, on the other hand, it also presents a constant stream of “ideal” bodies that can be highly detrimental.
Here is where the pressure creeps in:
- Filtered Perfection: Every post must be top-notch, which sets unrealistic standards that claim to provide what a body “should” look like.
- Viral Trends: There are transformation reels that focus on weight and body shape. Not to forget body challenges.
- Peer Exposure: Rationales change when one sees their teammate or a rival going viral for their looks instead of their moves. This prioritisation is toxic.
As for a 14-year-old gymnast, scrolling through social media during the time between exercises turns into a mash-up of athleticism and aestheticism. When that line vanishes, appearance becomes prioritised over performance.
Body Expectations and Long-Term Health Risks
In aesthetic sports, bragging rights go to the one who ‘wins’. Bodies undergo harsh treatment as competitors are forcibly sculpted, branded, and judged. Even scrolling through something like Melbet Bangladesh Facebook, where strength and risk are often celebrated, can feel like a strange contrast to the quiet pain behind these sports. This puts the mental health of an individual on the line.
Disordered Eating and Energy Deficiency
Separate from the artistry of a floor routine, let alone a perfect landing, lies a physically and mentally demanding approach to restriction and silence. Choose an elite gymnast, and you focus the lens on an athlete who is merely twelve years old —an age when they are told that their performance hinges on being “light.” This pushes many into meal skipping, obsessive control, and disordered eating under the guise of eating with discipline.
The body never lies. Fatigue sets in, and hormones crash, while their skeletal structure becomes weakened. RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) isn’t a theory. It’s a reality, and the damage will have been done by the time it manifests itself. Even so, coaches are likely to continue pursuing the same “aesthetic” rinse and repeat with the damaged individual.
Mental Health Impact
The impact can be devastating, as a teen skater hears she’s “too heavy.” The silence that follows has an effect. This silence mutates into anxiety, obsession, and relentless self-surveillance. In aesthetic sports, when appearance becomes the performance currency, confidence is the first thing to break.
Post-traumatic depression, body dysmorphia, and other extreme mental health conditions linger, which can have a long-lasting impact. These are often overlooked and neglected by former athletes. The reality is that many athletes report extreme struggles with food, control, and their identity well into adulthood. These are mental scars that won’t heal with rest, but rather with awareness and meaningful change.
Coaches’ and Parents’ Role in Shaping Body Image
A well-meaning compliment from a parent or a throwaway comment from a coach can cut both ways. Adults have significant authority to influence how athletes perceive themselves, whether positively or negatively.
If praise is given regarding power and progression, it increases confidence. Damage, however, runs deeper when it is focused solely on size or appearance.
Promoting Change Through Federation Guidelines
Change comes from the top; federations truly have a say in how athletes’ beauty and success are defined. It’s nice to know that some are shifting their focus from body lines to movement quality, educating on healthy body image, and retraining judges. It’s slow, but it’s happening—and it matters because athlete body protection starts with changing the systems that evaluate their bodies.
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