Not sure what I think of this ...

[mimitabby]

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

EXACTLY

ever been to a museum filled with classic art??

[stacie]

I too think it seems tasteful. The message I got was it's great to be strong AND sexy.

[Duck on Wheels]

Just to clarify ... I'm not offended. And I do appreciate both men's and women's bodies esthetically when artfully posed or drawn or painted or sculpted, even though I happen to prefer sex with men. I don't happen to be all that visually oriented in the lemonade department; for stimulation external to the relationship, I find texts and the images I imagine more tantalizing. And although I can see where this may be fodder for the imaginations of some, I don't read these images as explicitly pornographic. So my question was more about what this trend says about sports, or does for sports. And it is a trend. Lately there's been a lot of quasiporn posing by both men and women top athletes, in skiing and snowboarding and younameit. Not just biking. http://www1.vg.no/bildespesial/show/spesial.php?id=680
From my point of view, yeah, they've got great bods, they're having fun, they're getting paid, they've cleared it with serious advisors ... so no, they personally are not being exploited. But how are they affecting the kids who admire them? And are they distracting from the esthetic of the sport itself, the majesty of the effort and skill? I guess there is a marginal benefit here, from presenting buff bods as sexy, not just skinny ones. It might encourage fitness, rather than anorexia. So maybe all in all, this is a good thing.

[Starfish]

EXACTLY
ever been to a museum filled with classic art??

What the men do with photos of women is just a tad bit different, don't you think?

And, in the interest of honest discussion, I have to say that sometimes I'm looking at photos as I would a piece of classic art in a museum, and sometimes I'm looking at them in very much the same way some guys look at some pictures, sometimes. But I realize I might be in a minority of women on that.

[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!

[twiggjlm]

She is pretty much amazing, regardless of what she looks like! That's just an added bonus for her. Her goal is to be the best mountain biker in the world! I don't see any issues with that! More power to her!

[jobob]

I don't recall anyone speculating that Lance had "issues" when he posed nude.

So let's see if I understand correctly - it's OK for Lance to pose nude, but if a woman athlete poses nude, there's something wrong with her.

m'kay.

[Pedal Wench]

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.


V.

There IS a double standard. The difference is that we posted the red shorts, and all got a good giggle about it. What the men do with photos of women is just a tad bit different, don't you think? Plus, the environment in which women are objectified in this country can be downright hostile. Even men can probably tell the difference when they look at something as 'art', which is how I would view pictures of the female form, and something they view in a lewd way.

[Zen]

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.


V.

I'm fairly certain no one said it was offensive.
I think the point that's being entirely missed here is the association with cycling/women's sports.
It took Title IV to get our team uniforms in high school.

If this weren't associated with cycling I'd have no problem with it. As it is now, it doesn't exactly command respect for her as a cyclist.
Watch VH-1. There are loads of girls who will take their clothes off.

It seems the fight has been forgotten. Enjoy the shade .

[East Hill]

I'm fairly certain no one said it was offensive.
I think the point that's being entirely missed here is the association with cycling/women's sports.
It took Title IV to get our team uniforms in high school.

If this weren't associated with cycling I'd have no problem with it. As it is now, it doesn't exactly command respect for her as a cyclist.
Watch VH-1. There are loads of girls who will take their clothes off.

It seems the fight has been forgotten. Enjoy the shade .

It took Title IV to force my high school to allow me to take auto mechanics because that class was for 'men'. It took Title IV to force my high school to NOT force me to take cooking or sewing because those classes were for 'girls'.

As zencentury said: Enjoy the shade.

East Hill