Golfer Criticized For Not Following Dress Code (Photos)

Golfer Criticized For Not Following Dress Code (Photos)

Golf is known to be a pretty traditional sport; any man who has played a few holes on a golf course knows that there’s a strict dress code, usually involving nice slacks or shorts and a collared shirt. But the LPGA instituted even stricter rules about what female golfers can wear and Paige Spiranac is not happy about it.

Spiranac is a female golfer well-known for her revealing, sexy outfits. And when the LPGA released new dress code guidelines, Spiranac took it as an attack on her. Now, female golfers cannot wear short skirts, low-cut shirts, leggings not worn under shorts or a skirt, and racerbacks without collars. Anyone who violates the dress code will be fined $1,000.

In a piece for “Fortune,” Spiranac — who does not play on the LPGA tour — slammed the new guidelines. “Earlier this month, the LPGA released a new dress code policy that greatly restricts female athletes’ apparel choices on the golf course,” she wrote. “I respect and understand that golf is enveloped in tradition and that certain rules and regulations must be upheld. But as both an ambassador for golf and an advocate for the continued progress of women’s rights and equality in society, I fear that these new rules are stifling the growth of the women’s game.”

Spiranac also accused the LPGA of trying to attract only a specific kind of golfer, through an “exclusionary measure to make sure that only players who echo golf’s more traditional, conservative norms are attracted to and excel at the sport.” And she claimed to be concerned that it would unfairly prohibit any curvy women from playing. “Take the vague banning of ‘plunging necklines.’ What constitutes a plunging neckline?” she asked. “Most likely, this edict was put into place to eliminate the presence of cleavage, In that case, a curvier, fuller-figured woman would be chided and fined far more often than a woman with a smaller bust. In a world where women are continually and unwantedly sexualized, this new rule serves as yet another reason for women to feel ashamed of their bodies, and a reminder that to be respected, they must alter their behavior because of outside perception.”

Ultimately, she said that she simply wants to help grow the game, writing, “In the age of millennials, women’s rights, and female empowerment, I hope my voice helps to encourage the next generation of great female athletes and golfers to possibly stop social injustices and prejudices from creeping into the game that I fell in love with at such a young age.”

Do you agree with Paige Spiranac?

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