Sarajevo, 1984. The Winter Olympics. The glamour event, as always, is the women’s individual figure skating competition. One of the gold medal favorites was Rosalynn Sumners of the United States. As they often do, American TV network ABC airs a profile of her. And here, in part, is what they said about her – and what she said about herself:
Is it any wonder that so many figure skaters and gymnasts at the time ended up with eating disorders?
I don’t blame Sumners, who won the silver medal at the event and went on to a successful career as a skating coach. I blame society’s expectations of young women at the time.
These weight-focused profiles are a thing of the past today. There is no question that the situation for young women in 2026 is better than it was in 1984. But how much better is it, really?