Not sure what I think of this ...

[Duck on Wheels]

This in today's Oslo newspaper: Gunn-Rita Dahle poses for "lamb chop" cycling calendar. http://www.kjendis.no/2007/08/21/509565.html
I gather from the calendar site that earlier versions used girlie-calendar models, just posing with the odd bike gadget. Lately, however, they use actual cyclists. Is that any better? What would I feel about meeting this "in my face" when I come into the LBS to pick up a spare tube or whatever? I'm not sure. On the one hand, it shows that biker gals can be sexy in that old-fashioned men's wet-dream sense. On the other hand, why not show her actually biking, mud-spattered and muscular? Why is she posing in lingerie on the sofa with the bike parked in the background?

[Zen]

Why would she do that?

I don't know who she is but she's apparently known as a cyclist.
I'm disappointed but she must have issues (money or self-image) that need resolved.

She certainly isn't helping the cause of advancing womens sports.

[Veronica]

Some people just like showing off their bodies. It doesn't mean she has issues.

V.

[Zen]

Some people just like showing off their bodies. It doesn't mean she has issues.

V.

So that guy who opened his raincoat at me was perfectly normal. What a relief!

[Bad JuJu]

Why is she posing in lingerie on the sofa with the bike parked in the background?

That would be my question. I don't know what the point of the calendar is or what else is in it, but if it's just a bunch of cycling women posing like this so someone can make some money, I find that offensive. I mean, the bike is only a prop or an afterthought. OTOH, if there is an equal number of scantily dressed men posing in this way, and it's a calendar being sold to benefit a charity, say, to buy bikes for disadvantaged people, I'd be a little less critical, I suppose.

A few years ago, Specialized advertised a new saddle with photos of nearly-naked women and fragments of nearly naked women (you can guess which fragments). After that, I wouldn't have had a Specialized saddle if you gave it to me.

Don't get me started.

[Starfish]

I like this better than the Specialized Angel, by far.

Unrelated...but kinda related...I used to have some next-door neighbors, an apparently successfully married couple with 3 kids, who met because she had posed in a Scandinavian girly mag, and he had seen it here in the U.S.. He was so attracted to her picture that he tracked her down across the globe through her agent, flew there, met her, courted her, and now they have been married for something like 18 years. They were nice, fun people and great neighbors.

I just always kind of got a kick out of that story. Now THAT guy was a go getter. (Or, a go-get-her!!)

[LBTC]

Hey, Zen, I'm pretty sure she's won some Olympic races, as well as World cup races, in mountain biking. And I agree with Duck - I would be more inspired and eager to get out and ride if at least some of the poses were actual biking shots! The marketers understand the market, though. The women's market is very small compared to the men's, so whatever she is selling will probably sell to men just fine.

H&B
~T~

[mimitabby]

okay,
here i go.

The human body can be really beautiful. Photographs can be art.
Some people really appreciate that kind of art, others don't.
Part of why my own sister is not talking to me is that she can't stand
how some men (that i might be married to) "OBJECTIFY" women by verbally appreciating them.

If this person wants to pose for photos, and she's being paid, and people like
them, WHAT DOES IT HURT?

[Kimmyt]

I dunno, I don't find the photos that offensive. I mean, its not like she was coerced into doing them. In fact, if you look at it from that point of view, don't you think that she is really OWNING her own body? Yeah, guys might get off on those pictures, but some guys get off to anything.

I don't really think those photos are that aesthetically pleasing, actually. It would be much better if the photos were done in the style of Stone Nudes (you can google it to see), a famous naked woman rock climbing calendar, which has some really phenomenal shots in it....the female body is really a beautiful thing, when presented in an artistic way.

And you know what? If I was rocking a body like hers, and someone wanted me to pose next to a bike wearing a pair of hotpants and a bathing suit top, damn sure I would. It would be fun to feel like a supermodel. And I would bet money that she agreed to the specific amount of skin shown in every one of those photos.

K.

[sgtiger]

Wowee! If I had a body like that, I'd show it off too. No one would have to pay me, but it wouldn't hurt. Hey, I could use the proceeds to buy bike accessories.

[Veronica]

I'm just amused. We have the red shorts thread - AGAIN! Which has become the let's get all our guys into kilts thread.

Why is a female posing semi nude offensive? It's all right for straight chicks to have their eye candy, but something for those who prefer ladies is deemed offensive. Sounds like a double standard to me.

They are not going to mix up the models, some male, some female because that doesn't appeal to either audience.

V.

[mimitabby]

Duck, it would be fun to have a calendar full of muddy models!!

any volunteers?

[Starfish]

They are not going to mix up the models, some male, some female because that doesn't appeal to either audience.
V.

It would appeal to me. I'm not gay, but I enjoy looking at beautiful bodies of either sex, artfully posed.

[spokewench]

We all know that SEX sells. It is used in many types of advertising. Gunn Rita dahle has kicked most everyone else's butts for many years. I hear that this year, she fell off that first always theme as she has some health issues.

She is an amazing racer - has a great body and is making money because she has some notoriety!

Good for her!

[spokewench]

Duck, it would be fun to have a calendar full of muddy models!!

any volunteers?

The Wombats did their own version of mud modeling - not sure where there might be a link to that???