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Olympics: Who cares if female athletes can perform?

Discussion in 'Tilted Life and Sexuality' started by Plan9, Jul 19, 2012.

  1. Plan9

    Plan9 Rock 'n Roll

    Location:
    Earth
    ...since we're only interested in what they look like in skin-tight clothing. And we don't want them to have, ya know, too many muscles.

    Exhibit A:

    Sarah Robles is the strongest woman in the United States and nobody gives a fuck because she's not built like a porn star.

    LINK -> Strongest Woman in America Lives in Poverty

    Exhibit B:

    Jessica Ennis, a successful heptathlete, was called "overweight" because she has an athletic figure. Too athletic, apparently.

    LINK -> Fat? Really? Olympic hope laughs off official’s jibe – but others aren’t amused

    ...

    I'm totally oblivious when it comes to sports. Hell, I can't tell you anything about any of the events in the Olympics Games. And, no, it's not exactly a divine revelation that women have basically been turned into a bipedal fuckhole buffet by the entertainment and news media. What really got me about both of these articles is how you can have polar opposites in body composition and still get critiqued by fat slobs of the opposite sex. As a guy, I have to ask: What the fuck are men looking for? And why is any of this relevant to what should be a blind international athletic competition?

    From a competitive standpoint, it's absolutely ridiculous that Sarah Robles doesn't have one sponsor: she's got the chops to pull in the gold. Call me naive, but is the sex sell really that much more important than performance? Guys with friggin' springs for legs can get sponsors... they've got sponsors for really obscure events nobody even talks about... wooden spoon juggling or whatever... but a competitor at the top of their game participating in a relatively popular event in the most sponsor-happy country in the world (NASCAR'd!) can't get a few bucks to cover her training?

    From an aesthetic standpoint, you're telling me that men and women don't find Jessica Ennis attractive because she's too muscular? She's not a freakish he-she bodybuilder by any means. I've seen women critiqued for having small breasts and washboard abs; guys that can't do 50 pushups decry them as mannish. I guess one positive trend I've noticed is that the cult of CrossFit and other prison gym workouts has made muscle more popular with women that traditionally do 600 hip abductor reps for a workout... ya know, less 5 lbs. Barbie dumbbells and more 200 pound squats.

    Again, I'm not sure how much discussion (if any) this will generate but I wanted to share yet another WTF? moment that will hopefully raise awareness on the blatantly obvious topic of exactly how life-'n-death important it is that you appeal to the collective cock 'n balls of the world when participating in what should be the one thing on this planet that we can't fuck up with sexism, racism or other forms of discrimination. I realize I'm probably just being super naive. My wholesome We Are the World vision of the Olympic Games has been totally shattered by a bunch of dirty old men and their saggy ballsacks. Yeah, it's probably been this way for the last 50 years: half Mr. Universe competition, half Victoria's Secret fashion show. Might as well have the officials give medals to Best Ass and Sweetest Jugs. Something tells me that'd draw a bigger crowd than actual events.

    What do you make of all this?
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2012
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  2. uncle phil

    uncle phil Moderator Emeritus (and sorely missed) Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    pasco county
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  3. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    The mainstream is still stuck in waif mode for ideals of beauty.

    I've been in goddess/Amazon mode for decades now, and so I just continue to shake my head.

    But, yeah, the underlying issue is we get caught up on their looks whilst their abilities and talents get undermined or otherwise diminished. It's like the media attention given to what Condoleezza Rice is wearing, or what Hillary Clinton is doing with her hair.

    For fuck's sake, it's the United States Secretary of State, not a "secretary" from the '70s.
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2012
  4. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I don't think it's really about appealing to men. If there is one thing I have learned over years of friendships with men, it's that men are all over the map when it comes to what (body type, hair length, etc.) they're attracted to. Somewhere out there is someone who thinks Sarah Robles is smoking hot.

    Really, I think it's about women being critical of other women.
     
  5. Cayvmann

    Cayvmann Very Tilted

    Face it, the sponsorships have nothing to do with athleticism. They never have. People get sponsorships because they look good in an ad, the athleticism is secondary. Models with absolutely no athletic credentials are being sponsored by everybody from shoes to supplements, based solely on their looks. That's what sells. Now if you can add some credentials to a good looking person, then it sells better, but the credentials by themselves won't.

    I have more respect for a person that suffers for her art, than I do someone who has the old silver spoon and all the support they need. My opinion is that this country should sponsor it's Olympic athletes with a salary that exceeds poverty, but that's not the opinion of most apparently. We like the old capitalist do it yourself spirit. As if getting money from a corporation is any better.

    I love me some athletic, muscular women, if they are nice, and will move my couch for me. Also not a big sports fan.
     
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  6. Speed_Gibson

    Speed_Gibson Hacking the Gibson

    Location:
    Wolf 359
    Personally I generally do not care in the slightest how both the men and woman perform in the athletic department in this whole Olympics thing. The main exception for me was the original dream 20 years ago, but most of the sports they show are "must miss" television for me.
    But to comment on the whole female athlete build, that Jessica girl pictured in the original post looks very healthy to me, far more so than the stereotypical barbie/porn star look that is not natural for a high percentage of woman out there. If a woman thinks she needs breast "enhancements" and other surgical help to have a DDD+ chest and size zero waist, and thinks that it is healthy to boot then that is a sad statement about the culture in the western world.
     
  7. Let me take you back to 2008. ZombieSquirrel was in incredible shape and training to play for the Ohio Elite Rugby team and then the Midewestern team. She was fast, fit, and muscular. Was she a size 2? Fuck no. She could probably bench press a girl in a size two though. She could probably outlast them on the track too. Did people see her as being fit? Just the people with whom she played rugby.

    I am not fit now. Having a crazy disease that affects your ability to have the workout regimen that you once had can make a gal not so fit. I am having issues with my appearance not because I am ashamed that I don't fit the societal views of beauty. Fuck 'em. I am ashamed that this extra flab is a reminder that I am not the athlete that I once was.
     
  8. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    If Jessica Ennis is "overweight" or "fat," then so is over 99% of the world.

    Yes, I pulled that figure out of my ass. I could use Ennis' abs as an abacus to come up with a better, more accurate figure, but I don't think my SO (or Ennis) would appreciate that much.
     
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  9. MeltedMetalGlob

    MeltedMetalGlob Resident Loser Donor

    Location:
    Who cares, really?
    Tell her it's for science, dammit.

    Also, because it's kinda relevant:
    [​IMG]
    (Michelle Jenneke)
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2018
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  10. Hektore

    Hektore Slightly Tilted

    Product endorsements are about selling you an aspiration. If people don't want to be, or at least be like, the person doing the endorsement then there isn't any point in trying to associate your products with them. It's not about being charitable or fair, it's about making money.

    So then it's really a simple question: who do you think more women want to be like and/or more men want the women around them to be like, Ms. Robles or Perky McTighbuns up there?

    Also, lets not pretend that weightlifting performs as well as those other sports. From what I can find the US has won only a single gold medal in lifting in the last 50 years. The track and swimming teams do much, much better. Not only do we do well as a country, but the Olympians named in the article have piles of wins under their belts and 11th just doesn't get you a seat at the winners' table.

    "Robles says. 'If a company wants to advertise their brand, there’s no benefit in sponsoring you if you’re not getting any exposure.” and you don't get any exposure if you don't win.
     
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  11. fflowley

    fflowley Don't just do something, stand there!

    I've concluded that tits are what makes the world go round.
    Everything from suckling babes, to the world's economy, are completely dependent on tits.
    Nothing else even comes close.
     
  12. Plan9

    Plan9 Rock 'n Roll

    Location:
    Earth
    I don't want to live in this world anymore.​


    *Soylent Green reference*
     
  13. MeltedMetalGlob

    MeltedMetalGlob Resident Loser Donor

    Location:
    Who cares, really?
    Every time that GIF plays, I imagine having sex with her the theme for "Chariots of Fire".
     
  14. Plan9

    Plan9 Rock 'n Roll

    Location:
    Earth
    Or, you know, this:

     
  15. PonyPotato

    PonyPotato Very Tilted

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    I read that article about Sarah Robles - I also read her AMA on Reddit a few days ago. (link here)

    The Crossfit gym I currently attend held a fundraiser for her USA teammate, Holley Mangold, last month. Holley trains in Ohio with a weightlifting coach who donated his time (she donated hers as well) to the gym in return for raising money for Holley's trip to the Olympics. Holley has the advantage of her name - her brother was a big name in college football and is a pro football player, and she actually had some public exposure as a football player in high school. It's an advantage for her over Sarah Robles when it comes to raising money and sponsors, but she still suffers from the "not ideal whatsoever" body stigma.

    Personally, while Jessica Ennis *is* very nice to look at, her bodyfat percentage is low enough that there's a chance she suffers from the female athlete triad and will have detrimental effects from that later in life. I am *definitely* a fan of the "female hardbody," though, and have gotten further toward that body type myself with changing the type and intensity of my workouts. "Strong is the new sexy" is a phrase I both hate (so cliche) and love, because it promotes both physical and mental/emotional toughness among women, rather than just being thin enough to be broken in half.
     
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  16. I remember Holley Mangold when I lived in Ohio. We were going to try to get her to play rugby!
     
  17. Hektore

    Hektore Slightly Tilted

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  18. samcol

    samcol Getting Tilted

    Location:
    indiana
    honestly, women's sports compared to men's is like going from minor league baseball to the major leagues. the men's is just bigger, faster, stronger, and better at just about everything. the only reason to watch women's sports is if there's a super competitive field that year, some kind of appealing story behind one of the athletes, or they are very attractive to look at.

    there's no reason to endorse an athlete that can't make you money no matter how well they perform. women in america aren't into weightlifting. she's not going to sell anything if someone endorses her.
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2012