LONDON, July 27 (UPI) -- Female athletes at the London Olympics have the right to choose skirts or shorts at the first Games in which both genders will compete in all events.

Initial attempts to force female boxers and badminton players into skirts didn't go over well with the ladies, who will now be given their choice of uniform, The Washington Post reported Friday.

The Amateur International Boxing Association proposed the female skirt mandate to help TV viewers identify the separate genders, but the athletes said they believe there are plenty of other assets that set them apart.

"I really didn't understand that," boxer Claressa Shields, 17, of Flint, Mich., told the Post. "It was to help separate the men from the women. But we got different names! Women got breasts! We got butts! Can't you tell which one is who?"