Despite speculation, it now appears likely that Lindsey Vonn was a willing participant in creating the slightly provocative SI cover shot. In addition to the SI cover shot, Vonn posed for 45 bikini clad pictures for this season’s issue of the SI Swimsuit Edition.
No doubt Vonn is an attractive women, but in the world we live in, sexualization of women often removes focus from female achievement and takes away from respectability and gender equality. Shifting focus from women’s capabilities to their appearance is the most commonly and effectively used way to marginalize women. The problem isn’t in the sexualization itself, the problem is the inequality in the portrayal of men and women and what that leads to.
At a time when many gifted, hardworking women want to be taken seriously for their athletic achievements and seek increased equality in media coverage of their sports, there is a disturbing trend towards increased raunch and sexualization of female atheletes and athletics.
On a slightly different note, with leagues like women’s roller derby and lingerie football, a major part of the attraction is the scantily clad dress of the women. What kind of message is this sending, that female athletes aren’t worth watching unless their performance is sexually titillating? For further discussion on this topic, go to #mce_temp_url#.
