Rhythmic Gymnastics or Ribbon Dancing (as it is known to many Americans) is a sport that has been mocked for many years by movies and TV shows. However, the sport is much more than waving ribbons or twirling batons. The reality encompasses lifelong dedication, extreme flexibility, and robotic like precision.In 2012 Rhythmic Gymnastics was named one of the “12 Olympic Events You Didn't Know Were Olympic Events” by SB Nation. Due to this fact, Rhythmic Gymnastics is frequently mistaken for a less complicated sport. When in all honestly It's just not as televised as Gymnastics, Track, or Basketball. Nevertheless, that is a completely false assumption. A video released by cedarpoint girl 89 of The Russian School Of Rhythmic Gymnastics shows students tossing objects such as hoops, balls, and clubs high in the air then catching them after performing a series of complicated flips. On top of that the moves were clean and precise allowing groups of students to perform together in perfect unison. F U N F A C T:R U S S I A I S K N O W N F O R R I B B O N D A N C I N G A N D T H E I R A M A Z I N G G O L D W O R T H Y P E R F O R M A N C E O F 2 0 1 6 .
Also included in their large variety of acts ,which is what many people think of when they hear of Rhythmic Gymnastics was Ribbon Dancing. Even Though, Ribbon Dancing in media like seen on Spongebob, Total Drama Island, and Old School portray ribbon dancing as a silly, simple dance. What was viewed in the video was not “simple” or “silly” at all. Julie Zetlin, a veteran elite rhythmic gymnast, is also in complete disagreement with that idea. She says “I feel like people think our sport is kind of a joke, that we just dance around with music. That’s a very big misunderstanding because our sport requires so much hard work.” She says this without question since she has dedicated six days a week and five to six hours a day to training. Believe it or not, Rhythmic Gymnastics easily becomes political when it is acknowledged as one of the few only female events. Some people find this event sexist or bias says New York Times. Though, Julie Zetlin believes different. When responding to the question. “What’s it like being an athlete in one of the few women-only Olympic sports?” she responds “Rhythmic gymnastics has always been majority female because it’s a very graceful sport. Not that men can’t be graceful, but it requires certain elements that men can’t physically do very well, like maintaining pointed toes and straight knees. You need flexibility, and that’s easier for women.” In addition “Men dominate in so many things, and rhythmic gymnastics is one of the few sports that women have to show how good they are.” It is obvious that Rhythmic Gymnastics is a high difficulty sport and requires lots of intense training. What's less obvious is the different views of women's only sports. Do you think that this is bias? Or is there a good reason?