Turkish columnist lambasted for opinions on female Olympians

Turkish newspaper columnist Yuksel Aytug has come under heat for his recent piece published in daily Sabah newspaper, entitled “Womanhood is dying at the Olympics”.

Criticism of column, which argued the Olympic games were responsible for distorting the traditional female physique, and suggested extra points should be awarded to the female athletes on the extent of their feminine appearance, spread as angry social media users accused him of sexism and belittling female identity.

“Yuksel Aytug is a scumbag,” said Twitter user Sophie Lloyd, amid the deluge of responses that contained less printable epithets. Another more polite Tweeter said, “Yuksel Aytug has clearly not seen much of the beach volleyball competition.”

Turkish-based Hurriyet Daily News reported Aytug described the athletes as “broad shouldered, flat-chested women with small hips; [they are] totally indistinguishable from men.”

Moreover, “their breasts – the symbol of womanhood, motherhood – flattened into stubs as they were seen as mere hindrances to speed. I am not even talking about female javelin throwers, shot-put athletes, weightlifters, wrestlers, and boxers.”

The article came after 18-year-old Zoe female UK weightlifter Smith was subjected to taunts on her looks, with comments on the Internet referring to her as a “lesbian” and a “bloke.”

Smith responded with an entry in her blog, on July 23, including how she faced one of her internet abusers.

“We, as any women with an ounce of self-confidence would, prefer our men to be confident enough in themselves to not feel emasculated by the fact that we aren’t weak and feeble,” Smith said.

Smith participated in the women’s 58 kilograms division, nabbing the British record with a clean and jerk lift of 121.0 kg.


(The original article in the Hurriyet Daily News can be found on the following URL: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/columnist-blasted-online-after-piece-on-chestless-man-like-female-olympians-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=27354&NewsCatID=341)