Feb Outside Magazine cover - Lindsey Vonn

[Mabouya]

I like a good picture of an attractive female athlete as much as the next guy, but this sort of thing makes me at least a little bit uncomfortable. Why not show her in a ski outfit instead? That's still plenty sexy, and related to her sport and the whole Outside thing. I thought that by 2013 we were no longer treating women like this, regardless of how many impulse buys it will drive in airport stores.

Having said all that, yowza, what a babe...

[ldamelio]

Relax. She posed willingly - you are making an assumption that she is being 'treated' negatively somehow or that it's exploitative - it would be different if it were a spy shot of a private moment. You can find just as many magazine covers with guys with 6-pack abs. Attractive is attractive; birds and bees. It's what makes the world go around. Too much political correctness. If it were three hours earlier, this perception of an innocuous magazine cover could have been my thought for Get Your Grump on Thursday.

[Mabouya]

Relax. She posed willingly -
:
:
an innocuous magazine cover

I know, I know, it's not as if she had to do it, and it's not like prostitution or anything, where the "seller" is doing it feed a crack habit.

As far as whether or not this is truly innocuous, I'll defer to the sociologists and to women. It's not white slavery, but I don't think it's 100% harmless either.

And those pictures of 3% body-fat models with 6-pack abs? I don't like those either, 'cause I sure as heck am not going to look like that, no matter how much time I spend on my Roman chair...

[RickM]

Then shouldn't this make you uncomfortable too?

[Too Tall]

We love the Lindsey. Great American.

Hey...uhhh...let's not debate this with pictures of hotties. We are better than that.

[vertical_doug]

She was such a fierce competitor. But this year, she is a bit of a train wreck both on and off the piste. I just hope she gets it together for Sochi
In the meantime, I'm going to root for the new kid Shiffrin. How cool is this...
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/15/sp...ef=sports&_r=0

[Mabouya]

Then shouldn't this make you uncomfortable too?

Heck yes, and it makes me mad, because there's no way in the world that he is the sexiest man alive.

There are tons of other guys out there WAY hotter than that.

[Matthew J]

Then shouldn't this make you uncomfortable too?

At one time it would have been quite an insult to compare Outside with People. Been a while since I bothered looking at Outside. Based on the OP, it appears the People comparison is apt.

[72gmc]

This, the Colnago thread, and the Nicole Cooke thread all relate for me. I may not like some of the shots but I have no issue with a female athlete recognizing the limited value of her sport (it's limited by the rest of us, after all) and taking advantage of her sexuality to increase her market value. When the conditions apply to men, men do the same. It's just business, and it's just smart.

I am personally glad she's done with her athlete/coach relationship and hoping she comes back at full speed.

[Vlad Luskin]

I hear what you're saying and agree to a point. You may want to change your forum name, as it's incompatible with the views expressed in your post.

I like a good picture of an attractive female athlete as much as the next guy, but this sort of thing makes me at least a little bit uncomfortable. Why not show her in a ski outfit instead? That's still plenty sexy, and related to her sport and the whole Outside thing. I thought that by 2013 we were no longer treating women like this, regardless of how many impulse buys it will drive in airport stores.

Having said all that, yowza, what a babe...

[monadnocky]

I hear what you're saying and agree to a point. You may want to change your forum name, as it's incompatible with the views expressed in your post.

"Mabouya" is a species of skink (lizard) as far as I know.....
little help?

[Mabouya]

"Mabouya" is a species of skink (lizard) as far as I know.....
little help?

I'm not sure what he means either, especially since he has no way of knowing what the word means to me.

When I was a kid growing up we had a flagstone patio out by the pool and there used to be quite a few mabouyas running around on there. The memory takes me back to a fun time when I used to ride my bike around the neighborhood, and it's indirectly related to cycling because the Cane Creek lizard looks a lot like I remember the mabouyas. So, somewhere in there there may be something "incompatible with the views expressed in the post" but that would be news to me.

M

[davids]

Naked sunbathing, obvs.

[Vlad Luskin]

I was unaware of the word's use in the animal kingdom. The term is also used by overtestosteroned males in certain athletic settings...

"Mabouya" is a species of skink (lizard) as far as I know.....
little help?

[Mabouya]

The term is also used by overtestosteroned males in certain athletic settings...

Time to consider changing my forum name....

Or maybe not - time to consider living up to my forum name...

[monadnocky]

I was unaware of the word's use in the animal kingdom. The term is also used by overtestosteroned males in certain athletic settings...

Learn something new every day.
In my mind I think of jacked-up skinks now.

[j44ke]

You posted the cover in a forum. That means the cover worked. Magazines don't use the cover to set the tone for an egalitarian society. They use the cover to draw attention and sell the magazine.

Plus like others have said here, she's a big girl. She can (and does) make her own career choices. Dictating that she shouldn't appear in her skivvies is as much of a paternalistic prison as dictating that she must appear in her skivvies. Her body, her skivvies, her career, her money. And as the crash and injury she just suffered illustrate all too unkindly, the professional athlete's career can end in a blink. Make your name and get your money while you can.

[spopepro]

Snip...And as the crash and injury she just suffered illustrate all too unkindly, the professional athlete's career can end in a blink. Make your name and get your money while you can.

It seems like the issue might be our casual exploitation of athletes, which for women is made even worse by less money and more expectations. Good for her if she wants to do it. Bad for everyone if the cover is better self marketing than crushing a downhill.

I hope she gets well soon. She's fun to watch race.

[j44ke]

It seems like the issue might be our casual exploitation of athletes, which for women is made even worse by less money and more expectations. Good for her if she wants to do it. Bad for everyone if the cover is better self marketing than crushing a downhill.

I hope she gets well soon. She's fun to watch race.

I don't know. I don't think it is that simple. I think athletes trade on their image. What they do just puts them into a position to be able to do so. I don't agree that it is automatically bad. I think making a value statement like that appropriates Vonn's right to make her own decisions. And that for me is true emancipation - the right to make one's own decisions.

She's projected for a return to competition in October.

[Mabouya]

Tabou Combo

The link above is a video of the band Tabou Combo doing their song "Mabouya." Tabou was huge when I was growing up.

Speaking of covers, Carlos Santana covered it on his album "Shaman" and changed the name of the song to "Foo Foo."

Your obscure music trivia of the day.