I don’t know if anyone else has noticed…
…but The Olympic athletes more commonly have something they didn’t used to: body modifications! Ryan Lochte has a tattoo on his shoulder, Australia’s female 200 meter hurdle sprinter Pearson displayed a tongue piercing while screaming for her gold medal (An Aussie first for the event), and an Eastern European male gymnast sported an eyebrow piercing during his vaults, and countless female athletes have shown off their navel piercings. I don’t know how many of you pay attention to that kind of thing, but in years past it’s been practically unheard of. It wasn’t acceptable. Sure, you might say they’re fairly common modifications, but not on a world stage. This is new and the fact that I have YET to hear any journalist comment on them is only further proof of a changing world.
I remember a few swimmers getting tattooed during the 2004 Athens games and no one could leave it alone. These girls won a good medal and got the Olympic rings as a tattoo and people freaked! It’s amazing how far attitudes have come and gives me hope for attitudes to continue to improve in this and other social issues.
