Karma Skatera: Nipple Slips, Virtue and Moir, and the Heterosexualization of

Charlene Weaving St. Francis Xavier University,

In this paper, I will argue that the current culture of Olympic ice dance competitions is problematic. The culture devalues and trivializes women and men's athletic abilities because of the hypersexualized and heterosexist context. I use the case of Canadian ice dance Olympic champions and to illustrate the concerning elements of gender construction in ice dance at the . Drawing from the work of Mary Louise Adams (2011) and Ellyn Kestnbaum (1995), I examine the context of ice dance competitions at the games. Specifically, ice dance is very technical and has been considered the purest form of skating given that the technique is rooted in how the curve of the blade edges on ice. Despite the technical difficulty and tremendous skill involved, I will make the case that due to its hypersexualized context, ice dance athletes are trivialized. Moreover, ice dance should be practiced by same sex partners or mixed-size partners (i.e. the woman being taller and bigger than the man). At the crux of the context of ice dance is hyperfemininity and heterosexualization, pro­ grams typically involves a 'mating' story line. For example, even in 1984 after the infamous Ice Dance team of Torvill and Dean performed, according to Kestnbaum, a Sports Illustrated journalist indicated that "the performance involved displays eroticism or yearning and this one should be shown only after the kids have gone to bed... Perhaps one writer best described it when he turned to a colleague in the press gallery and whispered, how do you spell 'lubricious'." In examining social medial platforms like , it is evident that Virtue and Moir became inter­ national celebrities because of their questionable dating status. Fans described their long program to Moulin Rouge as 'sex on ice' Additionally, fans starting 'shipping' (act of wishing two individuals would begin a relationship) the duo and fan fiction arose surrounding their supposed love affair that even propelled an appearance as guests on The Ellen Show. Overall, I argue that this attention ends up trivializing the incredible athletic ability of Virtue and Moir and further entrenches heterosexuality and ideals in ice dance. The current context of ice dance further contributes to the epidemic of insti­ tutionalized gender inequities and heterosexualization at the Games.

"...the not-so-subliminal message is that figure skating, in all its various forms is about s e x .If women's is about sex, then pairs skating is about having sex, and men's free skating is about homoeroticism." The current context of Olympic ice dance figure skating competitions is problematic. The culture devalues and trivializes women and men's athletic abilities because of the hypersexualized and het­ erosexist context. I use the case of Canadian ice dance Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir to illustrate the concerning elements of ice dance at the Games. Mary Louise Adams has published a thorough and insightful social historical analysis of figure skating in, Artistic Impressions: Figure Skating, Masculinity, and the Limits of Sport, where she argues that the persistent devaluing of effeminacy in mainstream contemporary North American culture is at the root of our views of gender and figure skating. Adams' work focuses mainly on men's and ladies' figure skating social constructs; however, her theories apply to the case of ice dance. For instance, it is important to note that in 2009, rebranded men's figure skating with the purpose of emphasizing athleticism and hence masculinity more.2 Consequently, there was a heightened perfor­ mance of manhood and masculinity where choreography mimicked sword fights and karate, and cos­ tumes resembled soldiers', kings' and gladiators' uniforms. From costumes to music, hypermasculinity took centre ice.3 This change in men's skating, I argue, also influenced ice dance in that story lines in programs, costumes and music involved increased emphasis on heterosexuality and traditional femininity and masculinity norms.

Melting Ice According to Kestnbaum, competitive ice dance performances involve cultural meanings. There is an uneasiness when the gender binary of figure skating is challenged. Kestnbaum effectively weaves together the historical context of ice dance.4 Ice dance finds its roots in the turn-of the-century Vien­ nese and English efforts to translate ballroom dance to the ice. The competitions involve two com pul­ sory dances, an and a . The requires all competitors perform the same steps to music of the same rhythm and tempo. In the free dance, skaters choose their own music and style.5 Kestnbaum describes how ice dance involves elements of role-playing that "reconstructs and reiterates courting rituals that idealize the female body...Here fantasies are brought to life...All men are suave, handsome, and powerful, while all women are beautiful, desir­ able, and vulnerable."6 An NBC commentator described ice dancing at the 1988 Olympics in the fol­ lowing manner, ".th e story of ice dancing is really the same every year. It's the battle of the sexes. He tames her, but it isn't easy."7 Ice dance is very technical and has been considered the purest form of skating given that the technique is rooted in how the curve of the blade edges on ice, however, the technicality and special­ ized skills required are diminished given its heightened heterosexualized context. Kestnbaum, some twenty years ago, argued that ice dance could have same-sex partners or pairings where the woman is larger in stature than the man, yet, this has still not occurred. The 'mating ritual' program story line has become the crux of ice dance. As Kestnbaum observes, In terms of its technical requirements, there is no reason why it could not be per­ formed by same-sex teams or mixed couples with the woman as the larger partner. The fact that this does not occur is due to the conventions of idealized heterosexuality that ballroom dance ratifies on and off the ice.8 Ice dance champions and innovators and were ground-breaking in their style and tricks. Interestingly, the narrative of their performance was primarily about heterosex­ ual romance. In 1984, they won gold skating to Ravel's Bolero, and Kestnbaum noting ".th e overall impression displays eroticism or yearning.,"9 refers to the story of Bob Ottum of Sports Illustrated who commented, "this one should be shown only after the kids have gone to bed...Perhaps one writer best described it when he turned to a colleague in the press gallery and whispered, 'how do you spell lubricious'."10 Consequently, Virtue and Moir did not invent the heterosexual love story plot line, however, one could argue that they perfected it leveraging an on-ice chemistry that is legendary. As mentioned above, costumes and music play a significant role in the assessment and quality of the ice dance performance. As costumes have become increasingly revealing, there are additional risks of wardrobe malfunctions. At the 2018 Games, French pair, and experienced a wardrobe malfunction, resulting in the infamous 'nip slip' of the games. During the routine, Papadakis's clasp in the back of her halter dress came undone, "It was pretty dis­ tracting, kind of my worst nightmare happening at the Olympics. I told myself I don't have a choice. I have to keep going and that's what we did."11 There was an unfortunate slow play of a back spin on the Olympic Network which provided a clear view of the exposed nipple. The crux is that the current culture of ice dance reinforces hyper- sexualization in respect of the women dancer's dresses. They are not practical for sport participation and emphasize looks over functionality and sport performance. One's 'uniform' while competing at the Olympics, should not have a high probability of wardrobe malfunction. Of course, accidents can happen, however, the costume should not be designed in a style that emphasizes the appearance ver­ sus the sport functionality.12 When the look of the costume takes precedence over its functionality and the athlete's ability to perform the activity, this results in the trivialization of participants and per­ petuates the activity to be more like an artistic performance or show than a legitimized Olympic activity. Male and female figure skaters train in similar clothing— lycra, tights and close fitting t-shirt/long sleeve shirts, however, come competition time, costumes become gender specific.13 Males tend to wear trousers, t-shirts, jackets, arms are generally covered. Meanwhile, women wear very short dresses, exposed skin or the illusion of exposed skin with fabric that matches their skin tone. Further­ more, the dresses are low-cut in the front or back, or backless, and almost always— sleeveless. According to Adams, the women's skating dresses are unlikely to provoke thoughts of power and ath­ letic prowess,14 and the International Skating Union (ISU) regulations on clothing are laughable: At ISU Championships, the Olympic Winter Games and International Competitions, the clothing of the Competitors must be modest, dignified and appropriate for athletic competition - not garish or theatrical in design. Clothing may, however, reflect the character of the music chosen. The clothing must not give the effect o f excessive nudity inappropriate for the discipline. Men must wear full length trousers and must not wear tights. In addition, in Ice Dance, Ladies must wear a skirt. Accessories and props are not permitted.15 The use of the words 'modest', 'dignified' and 'appropriate' are concerning. Whose modesty? Whose dignity is at stake? The rules emphasize heterosexuality in that males are to wear trousers but not tights, and women must wear a skirt. The other important aspect to emphasize is that clothing should not "give the effect of excessive nudity" and that it should not be inappropriate for the discipline. It seems as though the rules suggest a different version than the reality and expectation of ice dance. For Adams, the ISU suggestion of 'modesty' implies an "institution in women displaying as much 'sex appeal' as possible." 16 Canadian men's figure skating champion once offered an observa­ tion that can serve as the metaphor for the overall conception of figure skating (not just in the ice dance competition), "[you] don't want to be looking like a fruit cake lit up like a Christmas tree."17 When the rules imply a not so subtle heterosexualization and an emphasis on gender norms, there should not be any realistic expectation that the context of the sport might be different. Kestnbaum argues that the costumes epitomize masculinity and femininity norms, "while unitards reveal the bulge of the penis, or lack thereof, trousers carry the symbolic weight of the phallus."18 Further, Kest- nbaum finds the clothing regulations problematic because they ...call attention to the fact that the sexual division of labor in ice dance consists of cul­ tural fictions, based on convention rather than natural sexual difference, it becomes necessary to inscribe in the rulebook the previously tacitly understood assumptions governing the meaning of ice dance: that is about the dancing of sexual difference on the ice.19 Given the sexualized context of ice dancing, it is important to examine how brother and sister teams fit in. Kenstbaum refers to the brother and sister team of the 1990s, Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay, and argues that they challenged traditional masculine and feminine ideals.20 They broke down gender barriers and expectations by having Isabelle lift Paul off the ice. Some speculate that they had to alter their programs for suitability because Isabelle is tall and had a physical build. For Kestnbaum, "If they fully enacted the erotic narratives of either ballroom or classical dance, they might raise the specter of incest."21 I consider this a key point. There is something troubling about the context and expectation of ice dance, that when a brother and sister compete, they have to alter the typical story line and dance style to avoid incest insinuations. At the 2018, Olympics, an American brother and sister, Alex and - commonly referred to as the 'Shib Sibs' - won bronze, "to the bafflement of millions of onlookers who expressed ongoing confusion about why they skate together."22 Through­ out their entire career they have faced criticism and stereotypes for skating together. According to Romano, "...the sport also doles out rigid gender policing and homophobia, and one of the ways it arguably regiments these elements off the ice is by rewarding performances of passionate, heteronor- mative romance on ice."23

Roxanne Virtue and Moir skated to a cover of "Roxanne" from the movie Moulin Rouge in their free dance. The judges awarded it a technically proficient ten-point routine and others viewed it as a steamy sen­ sual erotic display. For example, "The rest of the world saw, well, two people on skates doing every­ thing short of getting it on...The routine was just smutty enough that you'd be embarrassed to watch it with your parents."24 According to Twitter, @JE Snowden " Virtue and Moir having sex to the Moulin Rouge soundtrack combines all my interests. If only she'd powerbombed him at the end!" (Feb 12 2018) @missclare: " Virtue and Moir are excellent technicians and have a lot of artistic flare, but the fact that they always look like they're gonna bang it out as soon as they get their scores gives their performance that extra little bit of pizzazz." (Feb 10 2018) Prior to the Games, Virtue and Moir had to modify a maneuver from their free dance, a lift that was duped the cunningliftus. The performance was considered so sexually charged that the lift - where Virtue flipped backward onto Moir's shoulders straddling him briefly, and his face was nuzzled into her crotch area - was deemed to be too sexual. According to journalist Rose Eveleth, ... These are actors, the best in the world at convincing you that they are embroiled in fiery passion, on skates. They are at the Olympics after years and years of training and hard work, and they want to win. If they have to convince you that they really, really want to have sex with each other to do so, they will. Moir and Virtue certainly did, and their passion won them the gold.25 Our notions of sexual relations between women and men impact our understandings of ice dance. Two overlapping but distinct features are at play. The first is the incompatibility between the ideal ath­ lete and the (ideological) ideal women. Athletes are expected to be strong and powerful. However, the ideal woman is less of an athlete and more of a Barbie (tall, long legs, blond hair, thin and not too muscular); interestingly Virtue fits the Barbie doll ideals. Ice dance reinforces ideals through costume regulations and overall culture as outlined above. The second feature is that in the discourse of het­ erosexual sex, women are typically configured as harmed objects. This is manifested in the language often used to describe the female and her role in heterosexual sex, a language regularly inscribed with metaphors from sport. Conversely, contemporary sport is supercharged with sexual innuendos that in turn reinforce this conception of the female's sexual role. Appreciation of the interdependent languages of sex and sport helps us understand the ideological tension in the concept of the female athlete. Sport is itself regularly sexy or sensual. That is healthy. The problem lies in the symbiotic dis­ courses of sport and heterosexual sex, each of which is inscribed with a conception of females as passive, dehumanized, and harmed sex objects. Kestnbaum makes the case that fandom has sur­ rounded figure skating for decades, "The atmosphere in the stands is one of intense excitement and arousal; for many of these women, that arousal is explicitly sexual....This is like pornography for wom en!" 26 I argue that the fandom and spectator devotion to Virture and Moir is unparalleled. Sport is not unique in its sexual language and connections. Most sociocultural sub-regions, argu­ ably, are similarly pervaded by sexual allusion, analogy, and innuendo like advertising. However, the massive humanizing potential of sport makes redress of the extensive discourses of sex and sport an urgent matter. O nly by such redress can sport hope to fulfill its humanizing potential. O nly then can the sexes be equal in sport and elsewhere, and only then will ideological tension in the concept of the female athlete disappear. With the case of Virtue and Moir, because of the context of the sport and the nature of their program, Roxanne, they are celebrated for their sensual moves and question­ able relationship status rather than for their outstanding athletic skill as ice dancers. Furthermore, as shown below, even though they are a team, a duo, I argue that it is Virtue whose athletic identity takes second seat to Moir's.

Shipping In fandom, rooting for two characters to become a successful couple is called shipping. For years, Virtue and M oir have branded themselves as 'Canada's sweethearts.' For instance, they posed as bride and groom for a bridal magazine, played the newlywed game and starred in a 2014 documentary series that showcased their "unique and indefinable connection, in which even their parents say their relationship 'equates to marriage.'"27 The act of shipping people in real life is part of a long lasting fandom practice known as real-person fiction (RPF) or fanfiction. That is, the practice of creating fic­ tion about real people. According to Romano, shipping dates back to Shakespeare plays, "And just as we project a variety of sociocultural meanings onto public personas of celebrities, we ascribe a simi­ lar kind of cultural meaning and value to the relationships they engage in." 28 Tessa and Scott are constantly asked if they are dating; for example, see below a headline from Vice Sports: "Are Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue banging? Have they banged? Do they want to bang? W ill they bang? These were the questions driving people for about 48 hours last week. The internet became an episode of Criminal Minds, But With Banging...."29 Comparatively, I did not find the same interest in a sexual relationship beyond a sports partnership in any other sports at the 2018 Games, not in two-person bobsled, luge, or even pairs skating. Individu­ als go to great lengths to lip-read what M oir whispers to Virtue before or after performances, and from Twitter posts, fans speculate that M oir says things like "It's OK Tessa", "One more time", "You look beautiful Tessa", "just us now." Comments on Virtue's physical appearance often overshadow her ath­ letic ability. Virtue and M oir claim their relationship is like a business partnership or an arranged mar­ riage (the duo was paired at age seven and nine). However, their intimacy draws fans in. Leading up to the 2014 Olympics, they participated in a reality television show that aired on the Canadian Lifestyle and Entertainment Network, the W Network. The show featured scenes from their training and provided insight into their daily lives. In the first episode, Virtue expresses how Moir regularly tells her that she is oblivious to men flirting with her, and Moir describes their relation­ ship as 'very complex' whereas Virtue frames it as 'interesting...and everyone wants to put a label on it." During the spring 201 8 show, Virtue and Moir fielded questions from spectators and skated around with microphones. At one show, someone yelled out, "get married!", and Moir joked about the comment, meanwhile, Virtue knelt down and pretended to propose much to the crowd's screaming delight. Why are we so obsessed with their relationship? According to Romano, ".w e 're wired to read these elaborate on-ice performances as real, so we therefore want them to be real. But the construction of those performances, and our reaction to them, says a lot about all of us."30

Off-Ice Post-Olympics, Virtue became a spokesperson for Nivea, took over CTV AM on Monday, 12 April 2018, and hosted four different shows. Because of intense social media pressure, Virtue and Moir were also guests on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, where Ellen asked if they were an item. Virtue has indicated that she is close to completing a degree in Psychology and would also like to pursue Busi­ ness. In another interview, Virtue discussed media coverage of women athletes and embraced a fem­ inist perspective: It's been really interesting because my career has been marked alongside a male, and we've achieved every single feat together...But, from a media standpoint, seeing the difference in coverage of how women are seen in sport, the commentary, the focus on appearance versus accomplishment has been a learning. You think 'how are we in 2018 and this is still a thing?'31 Virtue is often perceived to be virtuous, an ice angle, an image of perfection - an identity that is not easy to live up to, whereas M oir has become a poster boy for ideal masculinity. He became an instant celebrity during the women's gold hockey game at the Olympics and was captured on television sharing beers for his friends and yelling at the referees, jum ping up out of his seat, and sporting his toque side-ways. On social media, fans questioned where Virtue was, and it was later uncovered that she was at the gala practice that Moir had skipped out on. Meanwhile, "Twizzling for another beer" trended on Twitter and Moir became the party face of the Games and celebrity. He was the ice dance gold champion turned coolest kid on team Canada. However, Moir was not fond of his heightened popularity on Twitter and spoke with Jon Montgomery— the 2010 Canadian gold medal skeleton ath­ lete who gained celebrity status by drinking from a pitcher of beer through the streets of Whistler after his victorious slide. According to Moir, Montgomery struggled to shake the persona of a wild party animal and it impacted his endorsements.32 "I like to have a beer," M oir observed, "but I also have to be mindful of what 13-year-olds see when they watch the Olympics. I want them to see sport moments. I try to stay away from that other stuff and I have Molson Canadian sending me fridges.33"

Conclusion I think it is important to examine the case of Virtue and Moir to better understand the complex hypersexualized context of ice dance. My concern is that when so much emphasis is placed on the sensuality of the performance, and shipping the duo, then overall, their tremendous skill and ability is trivialized, especially Virtue's. As Adams argued, figure skating and its athletes would be so much better off if heteronormative expectations around gender stopped having such an important role in shaping the sport. Additionally, Adams argued, "Figure skating has more potential than many sports to help us think differently about the relationships between sports, gender, bodies and styles of move­ ment. It's a waste not to use it."34 In its current context, there is no possibility for revolution in ice dance at the Olympics until the rules change and massive transformation occurs deep beneath the ice surface.

Endnotes

1 Ellyn Kestnbaum, Culture On Ice: Figure Skating & Cultural Meaning (Middletown Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press), 259. 2 Mary Louise Adams, Artistic Impressions: Figure Skating, Masculinity, and The Limits of Sport. (, ON: University of Toronto Press, 2011), 3 Ibid. 4 Ellyn Kestnbaum, "Compulsory Mating Dances: The Construction of Gender Difference in Ice Dance Figure Skating," Theatre Topics 5, no. 1 (1995), 1-22. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid., 2. 7 Ibid., 2. 8 Ibid., 3. 9 Ibid., 5. 10 Ibid., 5. 11 Tanya Casole-Gouveia, "Wardrobe Malfunction Leaves French Ice Dancer Exposed at Olympics," CBC Sports. 19 Feb­ ruary 2018; http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/wardrobe-malfunction-french-skater-olympics-1.4541650. Accessed April 26 2018 12 Charlene Weaving, "Buns of Gold, Silver, Bronze: The State of Olympic Women's Beach Volleyball," in: The Olympics and Philosophy, eds. Heather L. Reid and Michael W. Austin (Kentucky, USA: University Press of Kentucky), 228-244. 13 Adams, Artistic Impressions. 14 Ibid., 207. 15 Special Regulations and Technical Rules, ICU; https://www.isu.org/inside-single-pair-skating-ice-dance/figure-skating- rules/regulations-rules-fs/file, 74 16 Adams, "Artistic Impressions", 208. 17 Ibid., 214. 18 Kestnbaum, "Compulsory Mating Dances", 11. 19 Ibid., 18. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid., 16. 22 Aja Romano, "Why People Can't Stop Shipping Canadian Ice Dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir," VOX, 22 February 201 8; https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/2/22/1 7035136/ice-dancing-relationships-tessa-virtue-scott-moir-dating 23 Ibid. 24 "The Internet Really Wants Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir to Hook Up." Toronto Life, 12 February 2018; https://toronto- life.com/city/toronto-sports/pyeongchang-olympics-2018-ice-skating-tessa-virtue-scott-moir-couple/ 25 Rose Eveleth, "Do Ice Dancing Partners Get a Bump in Their Scores if They're Sex Partners? We Did the Math," The Slate, 20 February 201 8; https://slate.com/culture/2018/02/do-ice-dancers-get-better-scores-if-theyre-sex-partners.html 26 Kestnbaum, "Culture on Ice," 261. 27 Romano, "Why People Can't Stop Shipping." 28 Ibid. 29 Dave Lozo, "Winners and Losers from the 201 8 PeyongChang Winter Olympics: Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue Gave Sex­ ual Intercourse Detectives a Big Qin at PeyongChang," Vice Sports, 26 February 201 8; https://sports.vice.com/en_us/ar- ticle/xw5793/winners-and-losers-from-the-201 8-pyeongchang-winter-olympics. 30 Romano, "Why People Can't Stop Shipping Canadian Ice Dancers" 31 Katherine, Lalancette, "Tessa Virtue Is Ready to Talk about the Olympics," The Kit, 14 March 2018; https://thekit.ca/life/ celebrity-life/tessa-virtue-scott-moir-olympics-beauty-product/ 32 Ryan Pyette, "Virtue and Moir's Post-Olympic Party Still Going Strong," London Free Press; https://lfpress.com/sports/lo- cal-sports/virtue-and-moirs-post-olympic-party-still-going-strong#click=https://t.co/AuCVGb8zjZ 33 Ibid. 34 Adams, Artistic Impressions, 238.