The Olympics wanted to promote gender equality with shared flag bearers. It got awkward.
The Tokyo Summer Olympics are the "first-ever gender-balanced Olympic Games in history," part of a push by the IOC to promote equality between male and female athletes. That push extended to the Opening Ceremony on Friday, where a rule change allowed countries to select both a male and a female flag bearer to share the honor of carrying their nation's colors into the mostly empty Olympic stadium.
But what sounds like a great idea on paper isn't always a great idea in practice. It turns out trying to carry and wave a giant flag together is about as awkward as sharing an umbrella:
The Malaysian flag bearers did pretty well…
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...while Tonga's flag bearers had an interesting technique.
Across the 205 countries at the games, there were a variety of different strategies on display, some more successful than others:
The rule change admittedly did result in some pretty powerful moments, though. For several countries, including China and Mongolia, it meant having a woman carry their flag during the Parade of Nations for the first time.
Still … couldn't they have each had their own flag?
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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