Russia's female athletes strip down (Compilation post)

[qara_isuke]

The first official medal event hasn’t even happened yet, but the Winter Olympics have already been pounded with a fair share of controversy. From journalists revealing the ridiculous conditions of their hotel accommodations, to Sochi officials solving the city's "stray dog probem" by killing the innocent animals, to still-incomplete infrastructure

Comments

[maynardsong]

If it were a 50-50 balance of sexy women and sexy men, I wouldn't have a problem with objectification. People are visual - guys and girls. The problem is that it's very heavily Straight Male Gaze, and this idea abounds that men desire and women are there to be desired. It's fucking bullshit. If that didn't exist, I wouldn't bristle at lingerie clad women, but if ifs and buts were candy and nuts...

[qara_isuke]

If it were a 50-50 balance of sexy women and sexy men

This this this. It really does reduce their female athletes to sex objects, as opposed to the incredible athletes that they are. I said it elsewhere, but I would have less issue with this if one of two things happened:

1. Fanservice-y photoset included their male athletes as well.

or!

2. The "sexy" was connected to their ability as athletes. Like, sexy workout gear and messy hair, with poses that showed off the beauty and strength of their bodies.

But instead we got a bunch of women that look like lingerie models, a couple of which are posing with a sports-related prop. If not told they were Olympic athletes, I would never know. It just goes back to reminding us that no matter how talented, how strong, or how amazing a woman is.....the only important thing is whether or not we look good in a thong and guys want to jerk off to our pictures.

Ugh.

[lied_ohne_worte]

If it were a 50-50 balance of sexy women and sexy men, I wouldn't have a problem with objectification.

Exactly. I'm sure I've photo shots of athletes' teams before, including rather nice-looking men, but this is rather one-sided. Also, those photos look... cheap somehow, rather than artistic. Just compare to these - they are nude photos, but they're art as far as I'm concerned. (Sports students at the university Freiburg did them, the money going to leukemia blood typification.)

[qara_isuke]

Wow, those are incredible.

I think you nailed it with what really bothers me about them. Not seeing female athletes be sexy, but that these look so cheap. They've very Maxim, and nothing in them celebrates that these are incredibly accomplished athletes.

[lied_ohne_worte]

I hadn't even looked at all of them at first, but now that I followed the links further, this one is probably the worst. It just shouts "Olympic athlete", doesn't it?

The calendar I linked is double-sided - one side with men, the other with women. The article says that there might be discussions at home which side to display. ;-)

[world_dancer]

"If it were a 50-50 balance of sexy women and sexy men, I wouldn't have a problem with objectification."

Yup. That's certainly part of the problem. Women are traditionally objectified by men. When you only show women, then it's same-old, same-old "women are sex objects."

Then there's this:

"Russian women are notoriously sexual. In Russian culture, women constantly strive to look sexy, hot, want-able."

That's traditional "We determine our value based on how men value us and who is winning the mating competition." There's nothing wrong with being sexual or wanting to feel desirable. But when you're picking "I want to be admired for being sexy" over "I want to be admired for my work as a professional athlete on the world stage," it says that patriarchal values are really ingrained in your culture and that you conform to them and take a lesser position.