Women in Sport: Strip Off Or Jog On?

– Macks Bougeard

Not a day goes by when I don’t see some lefty feminist loony whinge about the objectification of women in sport. And I’ve had enough of it. There is nothing wrong with female athletes stripping off to show off their most marketable assets.

Men do it all the time – I’m looking at you, Becks – as a way of increasing their global ‘brand’, and seldom do we hear the criticism of the objectification of men. The problem arises when we see women purely as sex objects, rather than extremely dedicated and talented sports women.

The Full Package: David Beckham has never been afraid of strippin’ off

First and foremost, any fan should admire our leading female stars like Jess Ennis for their sporting ability. Any beauty or sex appeal is a matter of secondary importance. Nevertheless, the unadulterated titillation offered by women playing sport cannot be ignored, nor should it be.

If someone has no interest in sport, yet just wants to admire pictures of toned bodies, why shouldn’t they spend a jolly half-hour perusing the delights offered by Google images?

We only have to take a look at male sport to see how a happy medium can be found. Prior to the football World Cup in 2010, Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba posed in skimpy attire and received compliments aplenty from women and gay men alike. It did not in any way detract from the discussion of their sporting merits, and there is a good chance that beautiful men only benefit the promotion of the beautiful game. Of course, whether or not the concept of ‘sex sells’ really does increase interest in female sport is debatable, but hardly crucial.

What a load of Pants! If it’s good enough for men, why can’t our leading ladies join in?

The models themselves should also thank their lucky stars that they are given the opportunity to strip off for an appreciative audience. Athletes have these staggering bodies and a limited shelf life, so it would seem remiss of them not to show off their most obvious qualities.

The real issue here is the fact that certain female athletes are only being seen for what they look like, rather than what they do. What the debate really highlights is the need for women’s sport to be taken more seriously, with the end result that image and glamour is only one aspect of an athlete’s overall impression.

Meanwhile, we should embrace the glamorisation of women’s sport. Anything that piques the public interest can only be a good thing. Hopefully there will come a time when we can appreciate athletes primarily for their sporting achievements, but until then, why not enjoy their glorious bodies?

– Katie Zinser

Women in the media are constantly reminded of their need to be sexy. As Tom Jones patronisingly told one attractive female contestant who failed to impress on this week’s episode of The Voice, “maybe if you sung sexier songs to match your sexy image, we would have let you through.” Arguably one of the worst areas for sexism in the media is sport, with the popularity of women’s sport determined almost entirely by their sex appeal or the bounciness of their tits.

Women’s sports secure a tragic 1% of the sports sponsorship market, compared to the 60% taken up by men. The media coverage offered for female sporting events is even poorer.

Stunning: The Jess Ennis ‘brand’ has been helped by her magnificent physique

This is a global inequality, but there are numerous examples of British sports sexism which are, to use Lizzie Armistead’s phrase, “disheartening”. Andy Murray has amassed endless media attention for his ‘will-he, won’t-he’ Wimbledon shortcomings, and the men’s football World Cup is the greatest sporting occasion in Britain, despite continuous disappointment for 50 years. Did any of you know that the English women’s rugby team have won the Six-Nations for seven years running? I certainly didn’t, and that kind of imbalance is more than just “disheartening”: it’s plain depressing.

Last year’s Olympics, for all their patriotic glory and feel-good success, were a depressing reminder of this. The only female sport for which tickets were nearly as in demand as the male sports was beach volleyball: the outcome was an arena full of men with binoculars who spent most of the time rating the women for their bang-ability.

So forgive me, but I don’t think women should be taking off their clothes to try and muster more interest for their sport. Because it’s been proved that they aren’t popularising sport; they are just popularising male interest in seeing long legs, exposed tummies and boobs in a context outside of modelling and porn. The suggestion that women’s sport cannot be publicised without women losing more clothes or putting on more make-up is nothing short of deeply offensive.

Foxy: Gavin Henson’s embracing of metrosexuality has seen him criticised by rugby fans

It’s true that a lot of male sports stars take their appearances seriously. Cristiano Ronaldo clearly takes pride in the fact he looks like he’s made of wax, and David Beckham spends more of his time modelling than kicking around a ball. But the point is that these men did not HAVE to do this to become sporting superstars. In fact, Gavin Henson’s shift towards metrosexuality and his aggressive permatan actually LOST him respect from many of his fans.

Many female sports stars are, of course, beautiful and glamorous women with rocking bodies. Can these women show off their bodies as much as they want to? Of course! But only if they want to. Sponsors pressuring women to sexualise their image is unacceptable, as are male arguments that “maybe women would get more attention if they took off more clothes”. So let’s not sexualise female sport; let’s just celebrate it.