OK, This One Is Definitely About Sex: SI Puts Lindsey Vonn In A Bikini
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.
Related: SI Swimsuit Cover: Brooklyn Decker Joins Illustrious Pantheon, Tweets About It
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