Not sure what I think of this ...

[maillotpois]

Good points - the body in motion as opposed to reclining on the couch. But the bike is behind her, she's not in heels or anything stupid like that.

[teawoman]

And the one with her touching the saddle is...er...not about the bike.

[East Hill]

Good points - the body in motion as opposed to reclining on the couch. But the bike is behind her, she's not in heels or anything stupid like that.

But when she is with the bike, she's in heels. And there is one photo of her with high heeled boots on the sofa with the bike behind her. That's the point. Lance's photo is all about the sheer enjoyment of the bike, with nothing intruding. He's not got his hands coyly cupped around his genitals. If he were posed EXACTLY the same way she was, it would be soft porn, and not art.

If she were posed the same way as Lance, it would be art as well. She's never IN MOTION riding the bike.

And her photographer is no Ann Leibowitz.

East Hill

[Deborajen]

When I look at those pictures, what sits in the back of mind are all the struggles women always seem to have to go through to be taken seriously. Men's cycling gets some attention in the U.S. but women's gets practically none. I don't think the pictures are actually offensive. She's gorgeous, and it's great to see a fit woman portrayed as sexy. There are too many anorexic-looking women in the media. But what gets me is the thought of why women always seem to have to flaunt their bodies to get attention - why does it take T's and A's to draw attention to women's sports, women in the workplace, etc.?

Not sure entirely what I think, either, but I do think it's hard to see those pictures as any comparison to, say, the nude picture of Lance, because of what women have gone through to try to gain some equality.

Deb

[Mr. Bloom]

This MAY be one of those times when a man should keep his opinions to himself, but in case someone cares about a male perspective:

First, I've seen lewd before, and this isn't lewd and I don't find the poses particularly offensive...but I could see where some of you do.

However...

A few years back, I was in the grocery check-out and there in front of me was LIFE magazine with a cover picture of the US Men's Olympic Soccer Team NUDE except for soccer balls covering their "boy bits". I WAS INCREDIBLY offended and flummoxed by what I saw as an unnecessary display

Why was I offended?

• Am I prudish? No
• Was I turned on? No
• Were they in an offensive pose? No, a speedo would have been more revealing...and the pose was completely asexual...

For me, I was offended because they were flaunting what I wasn't...buff, athletic, lean...etc. Just like many woman who appreciated the Leibovitz picture of Lance may be offended by Gunne-Rita's photo spread, I am more often offended by same gender "show all's" that leave me shaking my head with a "what were they thinking???" bewilderment.

Now, if a man appreciates the female form, is he automatically objectifying her? I don't think so...do you remember the responses to the "HOT MALE RIDERS" thread that has gotten 8,254 views in the last 3.5 months on this very forum??? Do the member of this forum objectify men by looking at that 8,254 times....the second most views on the non-cycling forum???

Don't misunderstand, porn does objectify women...and men too. But, those pictures are usually clearly lewd and I suspect often that the women (and men) in those pictures lack self respect...and personally, I feel sorry for them...but I say this as a 44 year old...I didn't have the wisdom or insight to understand that when I was 18 years old...

[KnottedYet]

How much is the photographer?

How much is the intended audience?

How much is the model?

I will cheefully admit that I like some of the "hot" pictures of Jessi Stensland riding on her bike in a race, or holding her bike over her head, or ready to dive into the water. But part of what I *like* about these pictures (over the sex-kitten pics of her) is that she is showing her atheltic skill, and it just happens to be incredibly sexy!

Are men drawn to athleticism?
Are they drawn to athletes as soft submissive sex objects?
AND, how much of published photographs is what the marketers *assume* men are drawn to?

Sometimes I think the marketers give men less credit than they deserve.

[LBTC]

This was the perfect sexy athletic fabulous woman on a bike shot - hard to beat.

Sure, it's been done before, but it's so much cooler and sexier in my mind.

H&B
~T~

[East Hill]

This was the perfect sexy athletic fabulous woman on a bike shot - hard to beat.

Sure, it's been done before, but it's so much cooler and sexier in my mind.

H&B
~T~

Yes, this is sexy and athletic.

For what it's worth, I've never looked at hot male bikers, because the only hot male biker I'm interested in is Mr. East Hill .

East Hill

[Irulan]

Now, if a man appreciates the female form, is he automatically objectifying her? I don't think so...do you remember the responses to the "HOT MALE RIDERS" thread that has gotten 8,254 views in the last 3.5 months on this very forum??? Do the member of this forum objectify men by looking at that 8,254 times....the second most views on the non-cycling forum???

Thanks for pointing that out.

Anyone who says that thread (hot guys) is about art and not objectification is full of it. Is there anyone here who can HONESTLY say that that they did not look at that thread about hot guys at all because they find the concept of objectification of anyone offensive? 8,255 views? Yeah, right.

but anyway, lest some of you think all men are pigs who just want to leer at women who choose to model in ridiculous situations, here's a great thread, all real women on bikes, no draping, high heels or come hither glances... I give you Ladies who rock all women, all real riders, all mountain bikers, all posted by men who love women who ride. Totally safe for work btw

[DirtDiva]

Nothing to add that hasn't already been said other than, personally, if I were to have a picture of G-RD on my wall I'd rather have her looking mean and mud-splattered with some poor competitor in the background with both lungs hanging out of the corner of a pained-looking mouth... Proper kick-arse, not just hot.

[lph]

This subject is always pretty interesting, because it's easy to get caught in a double standard. It seems it's more socially acceptable now for women to look at nude men than the opposite, it's seen as sort of gutsy and cool and "see, we can do just like you guys have been doing for years", while men gawping at nude women are still just slobs... Which is unfair, but it's how the pendulum swings.

But personally I don't like the sex kitten posing no matter who does it. It would look even weirder if someone like Lance Armstrong were doing it because it's such a super-feminine eek-look-don't-touch pose, and very passive. I guess the male equivalent is the oily Chippendale pose, which conveys more power and control, but I still don't like it much.

I guess the almost soft porn poses just feel a bit too private! Like I'm peeking into somebodys bedroom. Don't get me wrong, I like to look at hot nude bodies as much as anyone but I much prefer shots that focus on more than just sexiness, like humor, intelligence, passion, athleticism... Where the model is actually expressing some kind of emotion.

This is why they call women complicated

(DirtDiva, you're hilarious.)