Smoke and Mirrors: A Critique of Women Olympians' Nude Reflections

Abstract

In this essay a selection of images of women Olympians who have opted to pose nude in calendars, in Playboy magazine and in mainstream men's magazines is critically analysed. It is argued that when women athletes pose nude, their talent and incredible skill are trivialised because they are sexually objectified. Based on Nussbaum's theory of objectification, a continuum is developed to analyse the said images. The analysis highlights theories of sexualisation, heteronormative culture, and homophobia which are entangled within the apparent justifications for posing nude. These are rejected in favour of the objectification critique.

Resumen

En este ensayo se analiza críticamente una selección de imágenes de mujeres olímpicas que an elegido posar desnudas en calendarios, en la revista Playboy, y en revistas populares para hombres. Se arguye que cuando las mujeres atletas posan desnudas, su talento e increíble habilidad son trivializados porque se las convierte en objetos sexuales. Se desarrolla un continuo, basado en la teoría de Nussbaum de la deshumanización [ objectification ], para analizar tales imágenes. El análisis recalca las teorias de sexualización, cultura heteronormativa, y homofobia que se enredan dentro de las aparentes justificaciones para posar desnudas. Éstas se rechazan en favor de la crítica sobre la deshumanización.

Zusammenfassung

In diesem Essay wird eine Auswahl von Bildern weiblicher Olympionikinnen, die sich dazu entschieden haben, nackt für Kalender, im Playboy-Magazin und in den Mainstream-Männermagazinen zu posieren, kritisch analysiert. Es wird diskutiert, ob das Talent und die außerordentlichen Fähigkeiten von Sportlerinnen, die nackt posieren, trivialisiert werden, indem sie sexuell objektiviert werden. Auf der Grundlage von Nussbaums Theorie der Verdinglichung wurde ein Kontinuum entwickelt, um die besagten Bilder zu analysieren. Die Analyse beleuchtet Theorien der Sexualisierung, heteronormativer Kultur und der Homophobie, welche in die vermeintlichen Rechtfertigungen für das nackte Posieren verstrickt sind. Diese werden zugunsten der Kritik an der Objektivierung widerlegt

Résumé

Dans cet essai, une sélection d'images de femmes olympiennes qui ont choisi de poser nues dans des calendriers, dans Playboy magazine et dans des journaux masculins généralistes est analysée de manière critique. Il est argumenté que lorsque des sportives posent nues, leur talent et compétences incroyables sont rendues triviaux parce qu'elles sont objectivées sexuellement. Se fondant sur la théorie de l'objectification de Nussbaum, un continuum est développé pour analyser les images en question. L'analyse souligne les théories de la sexualisation, la culture hétéronormative et l'homophobie qui sont mêlées avec les justifications pour poser nues. Celles-ci sont rejetées en faveur de la critique d'objectification.

KEYWORDS:

• sexual objectification
• women athletes
• Olympic games

Notes

 1. Davis's qualities of sexualisation include the following: Deliberate focus on particular, sexually significant body parts for the purpose of titillation; Freezing or emphasis on body postures, for titillation purposes; and with respect to photographs, accompanied by a punned caption – sexualised comic relief (Davis 2001, 286).

 2. See Christie Blatchford, ‘Athletes go from Nixon to Naked’, The Globe and Mail (Toronto), 12 Aug. 2008. Since 2009, ESPN Magazine has published an annual ‘Body Issue’ which features nude elite male and female athletes.

 3. According to FHM's website, it is the “world's fastest growing men's magazine” and is published in 23 languages and in over 30 countries.

 4. D. Praetorius, The Huffington Post, 5 June 2011. Available at www.huffingtonpost.com

 5. American Psychological Association, Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls 2007. See also Daniels 2009.

 6. Dines was a keynote speaker in October of 2009 at St Francis Xavier University in Antigonish Nova Scotia Canada. During her presentation, she shared this relevant phrase.

 7. I have only included a selection of Olympic athletes who have posed nude in various forms in this analysis. There are additional examples such as the USA Women's Track and Field team in the Omni-Lite Millennium Calendar of Champions 2000; Romanian gymnasts posed for a Japanese pornographic magazine in 2003; The Brazilian women's national football team posed for the Brazilian edition of Playboy in 2004; The Athens Dream—a collection of nude images of Australian male and female athletes published prior to the 2004 Games; Amanda Beard, a USA swimmer posed in Playboy in 2007; German summer Olympians posed nude in 2008 for the Germany edition of Playboy, and Olympic female curlers participated in a nude curling calendar in 2009, Women of Curling.

 8. Nussbaum (1999, 221) argues that ‘treating as violable, as lacking boundary integrity, may well also be consistent with treating as autonomous, and it is a prominent claim of defenders of consensual sadomasochism’.

 9. Duncan is the leading North American scholar on image analysis and media discourse. Even though her theories were established in the 1990s, they remain relevant and useful to apply to more contemporary examples.

10. For Duncan, body canting implies the bending of body parts which conveys unpreparedness, submissiveness and appeasement. When the woman's body is canted, the woman appears off-balance, insecure and weak.

11. M. O'Keefe, Sexploitation or Pride? Female Olympians' Revealing Poses Stir Debate, 2000. Newshouse News Service. Available at sitecache/clips/newhouse.htm

12. For the purpose of this paper, I am not concerned with images that do not involve sexual objectification. I acknowledge that there are photographs of women athletes that do not involve sexual objectification (for example some media coverage during the Olympic Games). I analyze the images that appear in certain contexts that already emphasize sexual objectification (i.e. Playboy, FHM). Further, I do not claim that the photographs represent typical pornographic images due to the varying degrees of sexualization present in the images and the difficulty in defining pornography.

13. I use the word ‘obvious' here to describe that I am not suggesting that degree of sexual objectification is directly related to degree of genital exposure. I am trying to emphasize that generally, when genitalia are the main focus of the image, the image tends to be very sexually objectifying, however, even images that depict women's genital regions covered up, can also be sexually objectifying, they can also titillate the viewer through body positioning, facial expressions, and strategically placed equipment or other body parts, over a nipple for example.

14. J. Rassel, Naked Ambition: Sport figures strip down to raise awareness and much needed funds. The Sunday Sun, 17 September 2000; Officials unfazed by calendar of nude female Skiers. 6 Sept. 2000. Canoe.ca Canadian Internet Search Engine. Available at http://www.canoe.ca/slamskiing.home.html

15. See Five Canadian biathlon women launch nude calendar, www.biathloncanada.ca, 23 Oct. 2008; Canadian Biathletes roll through Calgary promoting nude calendar. Cross Country Skier: The Journal of Nordic Skier, 23 Oct. 2008. Available at http://www.crosscountryskier.com/ccsnews

16. A colleague described this image as ‘locked and loaded' to imply how the women were ready ‘for action', however, it is not sport action that the image emphasizes.

17. Australian women's coach imposes nude ban on promotional activities. The London Free Press, 26 Aug. 2002, 20. Available at www.fyilondon.on.

18. As I was completing this research, I stumbled upon images from Maxim magazine. The images appeared on an online forum: apnatvforum.com. The photographs are clearly from Maxim magazine; the logo of the magazine appears on each image. The site indicates that the photographs are of the ‘Australian girl's soccer team.' There is no date or additional information, just images. The photographs are highly sexually objectifying and showcase women (supposedly the Australian women's team) in thongs and short-wet t-shirts. They are photographed on a turf in the rain and in a locker room. One image displays one nude player on top of another nude player on an athletic therapy table. Another image involves two players in wet t-shirts seductively kissing. Despite many attempts to verify the context of the image, I was unsuccessful. Regardless if the images are actually the ‘real' Australian women's team, because Maxim opted to use the platform of a women's sporting team and turn spaces like the turf (playing surface), and the locker room into highly sexualized environments, further demonstrates the struggles for women in sport.

19. Playboy, Jan. 1999, 174.

20. Playboy, Jan 2001, 92.

21. Ibid.

22. Playboy, Sept. 2004, 122.

23. Ibid., 132.

24. FHM, Jan. 2004, 22.