First, Olympics viewers bypassed the wonder that is Gabby Douglas flipping her body through time and space and chose to focus on her hairstyle instead. Then, two men debated whether female athletes should wear makeup and complained about having to see acne. Now, spectators are coming for a champion swimmer’s teeth.
After Chinese swimmer Sun Yang raced his way to a gold medal in the 200m freestyle race, some people took to Twitter. But it wasn't to congratulate him; oh no, it was to shame him for his teeth.
um sun yang needs to fix his teeth
— bre (@slater_breanna) August 9, 2016
Sun Yang is so fast cause he's part Great White. Dude has like 3 rows of teeth. #Rio2016
— Deric Darko (@dericDarko) August 9, 2016
Now is a good time to remind viewers that while many Olympians do indeed have powerful, athletic bodies, they are not selected based on their appearances. We have made a spectator sport out of picking apart public figures’ looks, and it's not okay — whether it's during awards season or the Rio games.
What’s more, as Twitter user Heidi Han pointed out, it’s privileged to assume dental health care is easily accessible to everyone around the world.
Making fun of Sun Yang's teeth is not funny at all. There isn't a prevalent dental awareness in China and in many developing countries.
— Heidi Han (@heidi_han) August 9, 2016
So please, fellow citizens of the world, let’s finish out the Olympics supporting and celebrating our athletes, not tearing them down.