The trend of using sex appeal to market female athletes
was examined on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" yesterday by Bob
Ley, who opened the show by saying, "Somewhere between the
hand-wringing and the posturing, there is surely room for an
intelligent discussion of women athletes flaunting their sex
appeal." U.S. Olympic sprinter Marion Jones said while some
say female athletes use "our sex appeal to further ourselves
in the sport, ... I think I would love people just for
number one to see me as an athlete. And then if they think
I look OK, well then that always helps." Sparks C Lisa
Leslie: "I don't necessarily think we need to take off our
clothes or do 'Playboy' in order to get attention for our
sports. But sometimes it's unfortunate that we do have to
go the extremes in order to get our sport recognized."
ESPN's Shelley Smith said the "line between sexuality and
selling a sport is a subjective one," and ad exec Peter
DePasquale added, "When the sexiness or sexuality takes
priority over the athletic experience, then the line has
been crossed." Stars & Strategies President Sue Rodin said
of her client Jenny Thompson's topless photo in SI, "There's
nothing seductive about her look, or lecherous, or anything
of that nature. That photo to me and to many other people
says, 'I am confident. I am strong. I am proud. I've worked
hard for this body. And it's part of my sport.' And I don't
think there's anything wrong with that." But DePasquale
called the Thompson photo a "cheesecake shot," and said, "If
we took Jerry Rice, who is a handsome man, a great physique,
and we had him on the printed page with his hands folded
across his groin, we would say, 'Now that's silly, isn't
it?' But because it's women and women are still
objectified, somehow it's OK" ("Outside the Lines," 8/20).
SOLIDARITY! In DC, Sally Jenkins wrote of her
"solidarity with Jenny Thompson ... and other female
athletes who have bared their skin lately, to the utter
panic of certain sports prudes and creaking, old-school
feminists. ... The self-appointed moralists and feminist
guardians completely miss the point, and misread
[Thompson's] photograph. The picture isn't offensive. It
may even be an important image for this reason: Thompson
isn't showing off her breasts. She is showing off her
muscles. It's a crucial distinction" (WASH. POST, 8/20).
