Feb Outside Magazine cover - Lindsey Vonn

[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?

[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.

[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

[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.

[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]

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.

[spopepro]

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.

Sure, vonn gets to choose, but is there a place for a female who is just as talented who either a) doesn't want to promote themselves that way or b) the public doesn't want to look at her that way. There's nothing directly evil about the following: You (in a genearal sense) probably know who came in 4th in the 100m women's hurdles at the last olympics but you would have to look up who came in first. The major surge of interest in womens soccer was not marked by amazing play, but by a player celebrating with her shirt off. The greatest womens tennis player of all time (and maybe the most accomplished of either sex) is less recognizable/in demand than a player that was ranked 8th best and reached the wimbledon semi finals at her peak. The trouble is that all of these reinforce the idea that for women what you look like is more valuable than what you can do, and that's bad for everyone.

Note: I'm not crushing Vonn for this, nor Jones, Chastain, or Kournikova. It's not *their* repsponsibilty to fix the system, and putting that burden on them is completely unfair. A number of things need changing, and not appearing on magazine covers won't suddenly fix things.

[Human Epic Jolt]

Navratilova

[Tom]

All I know is Vonn is pretty goddamn tough because after she disassembles her knee and snaps her leg she apparently was able to converse with the medical personnel using complete sentences.

[Jonathan]

Sure, vonn gets to choose, but is there a place for a female who is just as talented who either a) doesn't want to promote themselves that way or b) the public doesn't want to look at her that way. There's nothing directly evil about the following: You (in a genearal sense) probably know who came in 4th in the 100m women's hurdles at the last olympics but you would have to look up who came in first. The major surge of interest in womens soccer was not marked by amazing play, but by a player celebrating with her shirt off. The greatest womens tennis player of all time (and maybe the most accomplished of either sex) is less recognizable/in demand than a player that was ranked 8th best and reached the wimbledon semi finals at her peak. The trouble is that all of these reinforce the idea that for women what you look like is more valuable than what you can do, and that's bad for everyone.

Note: I'm not crushing Vonn for this, nor Jones, Chastain, or Kournikova. It's not *their* repsponsibilty to fix the system, and putting that burden on them is completely unfair. A number of things need changing, and not appearing on magazine covers won't suddenly fix things.

I see all sides. Wrt to Danica Patrick, if another woman with more talent came along but was as ugly as Dale Earnhardt Junior shed'd have little marketability. Who's fault is that; ours.

[alexis]

Life as a pro athlete is usually hard and usually short, so I agree with the comment above that these men and women should make some money while they can. Who knows when a crash will end your career? As is often cited here, pro sports is entertainment. So I think magazine covers and all other promotion go hand in hand with that. It's 2013, and athletes, regardless of gender, know that their athletic achievements are only part of the package.

Women's soccer has progressed beyond Chastain. One of its most visible figures today, Abby Wambach, is a 5'11", 180lb gay woman who probably is not attractive to 98% of the men in this country. Yet she has 7-figure endorsement deals. It is encouraging that she is making her mark (and her money) for her playing and leadership, and not necessarily her sex appeal.

The most offensive thing about that Outside mag cover for me was the claim that there is a Gluten Free beer that tastes good.

[vertical_doug]

All I know is Vonn is pretty goddamn tough because after she disassembles her knee and snaps her leg she apparently was able to converse with the medical personnel using complete sentences.

As long as you don't hit your head, I think the initially adrenaline rush or whatever keeps you pain free. As soon as you are 'safe' and the shock wears off, first the headache then the pain comes pretty quick. I saw this first hand with my wife when she did a compound fracture skiing (fibula, tibia double) and with my good buddy in 2010 when he hit a tree and fractured his femur. (We were in Engleberg backcountry, he had the composure to call Rescue and was airlifted out.)

[Badonkadonk]

I see all sides. Wrt to Danica Patrick, if another woman with more talent came along but was as ugly as Dale Earnhardt Junior shed'd have little marketability. Who's fault is that; ours.

I think it's Darwin's fault. Or maybe Yahweh. I'm never sure.

[false_aesthetic]

Attachment 51219

You're all missing the point. The cover is clearly stating that she's not the fastest skier on the planet, she's the fastest rope jumper on the planet.

Also, what's with the half-hearted attempt to remove her belly button?
Also, look at her right hand. That's some Penn+Teller shit with the jump rope.
Also, that 21-year old retouching intern should learn how to use Puppet Warp better cuz when you shrink a waist you gotta be mindful of the edges (jump rope left hand)


PS. 2nd look tells me that her belly button might be covered up in nudie stretchy fabric. Which only begs the question, doesn't that get annoying when you're trying to speed jump?

[72gmc]

One of its most visible figures today, Abby Wambach, is a 5'11", 180lb gay woman who probably is not attractive to 98% of the men in this country.

But that header in extra time was one of the prettiest things I've seen in sports.

I don't see the point in wringing hands about sex appeal and society. It's a market condition.

[davids]

...One of its most visible figures today, Abby Wambach, is a 5'11", 180lb gay woman who probably is not attractive to 98% of the men in this country. Yet she has 7-figure endorsement deals. It is encouraging that she is making her mark (and her money) for her playing and leadership, and not necessarily her sex appeal.

I guess I'm part of the 2%: Abby Wambach - 6 Incredible Bodies of Olympic Athletes - Shape Magazine - Page 3