OK, This One Is Definitely About Sex: SI Puts Lindsey Vonn In A Bikini

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by Glynnis MacNicol | 8:32 am, February 10th, 2010

» 13 comments

Make no mistake, this Sports Illustrated photo spread of Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn is definitely supposed to make you think of sex. The other day sports blogger Nicole M. LaVoi caused a bit of an online stir when she accused Sports Illustrated of oversexualing when they put on the cover, fully clothed, in a downhill skiing position. As I noted at the time considering this was a position skiers are required to take in order to ski it was hard to see the source of the outrage: “Is this maybe a case of the viewer seeing what they want to see? I mean if they had her posed in a bathing suit (and lord knows I wouldn’t necessarily put it past them) then, yes, the author would very much have a point.”

HA. Turns out we didn’t have to put it past them! Behold this week’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue featuring an entire spread of Lindsey Vonn half-naked (45 pictures in all). Nicole M. LaVoi was merely a week ahead of the game. Here’s what she has to say about the latest development (Vonn is one of four female athletes pictured in bikinis in the issue, by the way).

The critique here is the same, when we DO see female athletes (some of the best in the world at their respective sports!) which happens in only 6-8% of all sport media, they are more often than not in poses that highlight physical attractiveness, femininity, and can be interpreted as sexualized. Is it coincidental that the four female Olympians portrayed here are all blond, attractive, feminine looking, and sexy according to societal norms?Arguably, the Vonn SI cover can be interpreted (or not) as sexualized, but these images are clearly sexualizing in nature and tone.

Also:

The last point I want to highlight is these type of images also reinforce to consumers what is most important and valued in terms of female athletes and females in general.

Apparently, these conclusions were also reinforced on Vonn et al. over the years. Why else pose?

Update: Vonn has apparently injured herself and may or may not be able to compete in all her event, which in this context is begging for some sarcastic “at least she has her bikini modeling career to fall back on” except that when you devote your life to a sport only to get this close, it’s not so funny. So hopefully the injury is less serious than it sounds. Video of her (short) interview with Matt Lauer below.

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Lindsey Vonn, Matt Lauer, Nicole M. LaVoi, Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, SportsGrid, Vancouver Olympics

http://www.sailrabbits.com Magister

If it helps any, a quick glance at the 2009 Swimsuit site shows that there were only three tennis stars last year, while there’s four Olympians this go round. I haven’t done any math towards a percentage of models, but the number of athletes seems to be holding pretty steady.
Azarkhan

Please ladies, get over yourselves. Young, attractive women (and even many who are not so young and attractive) use their looks and sex to get ahead in the world. They always have and they always will. And they do with their eyes wide open. No one forced Lindsey Vonn to take sexually provocative pictures. She did it for money and publicity.
Jelperman

So an athletic young woman with muscular legs wears a bathing suit. What exactly is the problem?

As for the pics presenting her in a way that is “clearly sexualizing in nature and tone”, that’s not really the case. There isn’t a single photo out of the 45 pics that gives a good look at her butt. I feel cheated.
Azarkhan

Jelperman:
“There isn’t a single photo out of the 45 pics that gives a good look at her butt. I feel cheated.”
LOL!
AikidoJoe

The headline is silly. SI didn’t put her in a bikini. She put herself in one. It’s no different then when you see male celebrities with their shirts off. They do it so they can gin up interest in themselves.
libra blue

I am sure her parents are very proud.
m

From the windows…to the walls!

Awwww….ski ski ski ski ski ski! God daemn!
Jelperman

I am sure her parents are very proud.

Maybe they should be. The girl got her muscular legs from them, didn’t she?
srmicca

Her parents should be very proud of her…
http://www.facebook.com/people/Joe-Callan/100000200979966 Joe Callan

Being a representative of the ugly people in this country, let me first say that attractive people are offensive and should be restricted from being covered by the press in any way. Once we solve this harrowing injustice in our society, I’m convinced that everything else will fall right into place.

[Watch your step, I vomited up some hyperbole over there.]
http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Jones/1384303476 Chris Jones

So is the complaint that SI doesn’t put enough butch lesbians on the cover? I don’t see what the problem is. If Lindsay Vonn thinks she looks good (which she does) and chooses to wear a bikini in a magazine, I don’t see what the problem is. I’ve found more often than not it’s ugly people who whine the most when pretty people show off.
PaavoNurmi

“The other day sports blogger Nicole M. LaVoi caused a bit of an online stir when she accused Sports Illustrated of oversexualing when they put on the cover, fully clothed, in a downhill skiing position.”

Maybe I’m not up on the latest jargon– is “oversexualing” a new word, or a typo? And shouldn’t Vonn’s name (or “her”) appear in that sentence?
Bob F

I think the athletic woman on the photo is hot. Great photography.