Skylar Diggins is in the SI Swimsuit issue

[Kibitzer]

I just want the men's swimsuit edition. Then ogling and respect could be a two way street.

Well, since men are included in the ESPN nude edicions, once we add a men's SI swimsuit edition to the traditional women's SI annual, we will not only have a two way street but a complex intersection to satisfy everybody, including the LBGT community.

EOO = Equal Opportunity Ogling.

 

[ecasadoSBU]

I guess I make a distinction between this sport and s e xuality. I don't watch the game for s e xual reasons. I admire athleticism, determination and commitment, teamwork, skill and personal growth. If you buy into "s e x sells," and objectifying women (or men) or for other reasons than the above, then we will always differ on the response to these types of pictures. Sorry, I'm not going to be bullied into perverting the purity of the game for some hormone related drive unrelated to the sport.
It's just my thing. I don't judge others. Was my opinion of the pic.s that's all. Peace.

interesting. I understand what you mean... nonetheless, I cant resist thinking Stephanie Dolson look pretty damn decent out of her UCONN jersey ... just sayin

 

[watanabe]

Lol. Thanks for the pic. I think that's a great one. Alot of my life's experiences have not reflected the pride I have being a UConn grad and represented by these fine women. I actually feel blessed by what the university has accomplished with this team and how I've felt watching them over the years from all over the globe during work, travels and adventures. I also think most of the BYs are good bunch of people too (don't tell anyone I feel that way tho).

 

[David 76]

She is not hard to look at. Ultimately, when/if every woman is respected by every man, we will still enjoy looking at attractive people.

 

[MilfordHusky]

interesting. I understand what you mean... nonetheless, I cant resist thinking Stephanie Dolson look pretty damn decent out of her UCONN jersey ... just sayin

What kind of shoes is Stef wearing?! She looks 6'9"!

 

[Kibitzer]

What kind of shoes is Stef wearing?! She looks 6'9"!

She borrowed a pair from Bria.

 

[huskyniner]

I wish Meghan Gardler would do one of these.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I just don't see that posing in swim-suits or artfully naked in any way reflects on your career as a basketball player.

I watch women's basketball, softball, etc. because I enjoy the sports. I rarely notice - with a few obvious exceptions, and Skyler wasn't one - how attractive an athlete is or isn't. It is just immaterial to my enjoying watching them play.

Likewise, I don't buy the swimsuit edition or body edition, because it isn't my "thing". I do appreciate the pictures and the folks in them as attractive females. I admit I do think that many athletes are very attractive when presented that way, but - it just isn't a big deal. It does not make me think more (or less) of them.

 

[hjoerring]

I'm sure you didn't mean it this way, but what came out of your post is that if a woman is a babe, you're less likely to speak about her with respect. Not sure why a woman needs to be unattractive to earn respect. This is nothing new or unique to you, btw, it's just something that has always annoyed me.

I have a diff. understanding about the point s/he was making. We respect these women as athletes, and we do not go to games or watch them on TV for how they look in shorts. I have never said to myself or anyone- wow, Bria has great legs, how about those ... of B Stewart, etc. A lot of women-- including my wife-- are against athletes using themselves to perpetuate sex symbols. Of course these women are getting paid and some are doing it for a host of reasons that may go beyond putting bread on the table. Diggins is a known product and she sells- and the more she takes off the more she will make. But this is the thing. Why not agree, publicly, to make porno? Would we object to (one of ours) wbb player going on record as a paid pono star (of course there are some rules about extra jobs while on scholarship, etc)
As for the SI swinsuit vs Body Issue. I was initially tentative about that too. However, there are major differences. Sports Illus makes no qualms about selling sex- understood as the female sexualized body. The Body Issue shows 'naked' bodies but it does a good job of de-sexualizing them. I could not help from focusing upon the built form of these bodies as a beauty/work of art. But as Rihanna said in an interview-- 'how long do you think I'm going to have this ass. When it goes- it goes' I'm sure Diggins knows how to keep her thousands of admirers hungry. Good for her, maybe.

 

[HuskyNan]

I just want the men's swimsuit edition. Then ogling and respect could be a two way street.

Never seen People's annual issue of the Sexiest Man Alive?

 

[HuskyNan]

It's just my thing. I don't judge others.

You kinda do. You're giving respect, or not, based on whether or not a young woman is photographed in a bathing suit without knowing the woman or understanding why she posed.

 

[HuskyNan]

Diggins is a known product and she sells- and the more she takes off the more she will make. But this is the thing. Why not agree, publicly, to make smuto? Would we object to (one of ours) wbb player going on record as a paid pono star (of course there are some rules about extra jobs while on scholarship, etc)

I disagree with your essential point that the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue is soft and find your rationalizing of The Body issue somewhat disingenuous. If Diana had posed for the swimsuit issue and Skylar for The Body issue, I'm sure your points would have been reversed.

 

[meyers7]

Not sure I see much difference in this and those posing nude in The Body issue....except that those in The Body issue are...nude.

Well one point that was made was that the "Body Issue" has nude males and females. This issue just has the women.

 

[watanabe]

You kinda do. You're giving respect, or not, based on whether or not a young woman is photographed in a bathing suit without knowing the woman or understanding why she posed.

Nope, not the case. I personally know women who have been forced into prostitution, drugs and been raped because of their financial or social situations. It's always because the ones who do the forcing always justify them selves with their own selfish values. Oh and there is the rape issue statement, "it was her fault." I can't change people, but it doesn't mean I have to like it, no matter what anyone else tells me.
Sorry Nan, but this person is not swayed.
Please remember this is a forum of opinions, not a place to force others to believe what they don't want to. BUT, by the way, I love your news of the day links.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Another factor to add is that women in pro sports have less chance than the guys to make money, to play, and to get publicity. One extra opportunity they have is to take advantage of our culture's highly charged interest in the feminine form, and I've always had a bit of a problem with mainly the guys saying that their female sports idols be shut out of cashing in on these opportunities to "non-smuttily" flaunt their physiques, even as many of the critics make their furtive visits over to the sites for views of women who probably are not athletes (though especially during World Cup time there's a lot of girls in soccer uniforms -- at least I've been told that ).

Also, to be candid, there is still at least some lingering feeling (especially among the oldsters) that certain female athletes are lacking a certain "feminine" quality that women should have. Women athletes should have every chance to mold their own image, and if Skylar wants to give everybody a head's up on the Shock's new uniform in SI, who are we to deny her that opportunity?

 

[Striper69]

From the Swish Appeal site:
"Sports Illustrated has a mixed record when it comes to selecting athletes to use as models. The first time they used an athlete it was Steffi Graf. She is perhaps the greatest tennis player to ever pick up a racket, but not someone who has the traditional model look. On the other hand, they did not hesitate to use Danica Patrick even though she has had only moderate success as a driver. It's hard to fault Diggins for striking while the iron is hot, even if her on court accomplishments don't quite stack up to the players who have gone here before her.

If we look at the other WNBA players who appeared in the swimsuit issue, it is encouraging for Diggins fans. Lauren Jackson went on to two more MVPs, another WNBA title, and a World Championship. Sheryl Swoopes won three MVPs, two more WNBA titles, and two more gold medals after posing. Nikki McCray became a multi-time All Star and won a second gold medal. No one ever suggested posing for S.I. was a distraction or hurt any of their careers.

Only time will tell whether Diggins' career will match up with the fame she already has. If I had to guess, I'd say she will turn out to be a good WNBA player. She's got a competitive streak and could very well take all the nay-saying about her ability to be both a model and an effective player to use as motivational fuel. Ask any UConn fan and they'll tell you Skylar Diggins with a chip on her shoulder is a very dangerous thing."

 

[UcMiami]

I do find the US to be an interesting study in contrasts - we are bombarded with female and male sexuality to sell everything, we glory in following celebrity style but, we vote at least partially on appearance, and yet there is this underlying puritan ethic that finds all of this terribly inappropriate for _____ professional person to trade on those same characteristics or to revel in their physical attractiveness. It is almost like classic 'Victorianism' pretending reality doesn't exist.
I find foreign reactions to all this much more relaxed and honest. Yes they still get bent out of shape if a royal has a private moment captured on film or a 'wardrobe malfunction' but the anger is more at the publication/invasion of privacy than at the actions of the person caught out.
I think the body issue and athletes that pose for SI or any other publication is fine - they are in the prime of physical condition and why not celebrate that moment in life.
And as for trading on their beauty - everyone else does, why because they are an athlete shouldn't they. And while athletics still have a larger male following there will be more interest in female athlete's beauty, but in other public professions the reverse is true - not sure the current numbers but most years the highest grossing stars in Hollywood have been male, and honestly it hasn't been about their acting.

 

[Striper69]

Well, there ya go!

 

[DobbsRover2]

Christie Brinkley first appeared on the cover of SI in 1979. She recently turned sixty. Who says it doesn't last forever?

No, I'm afraid it doesn't last. Christie can no longer sink the 3s like she used to. But on the other hand, she can still dish.

 

[DobbsRover2]

And why is it that the BY threads on SI Swimsuit issue stuff always get thousands of views? Does this say something about the clientele that hangs out here.

 

[hjoerring]

I disagree with your essential point that the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue is soft smut and find your rationalizing of The Body issue somewhat disingenuous. If Diana had posed for the swimsuit issue and Skylar for The Body issue, I'm sure your points would have been reversed.

No. My point would not have been. D would be doing what S has done. The point is not this or that person, but rather the context in which there are put and th desired effects. In the end, it is about celebrating the human body in a sexualized (perhaps sexist) world. I am uncomfortable with the Body Mag. for reasons I and others have suggested; however, I can see that they recognize the pain of realizing their goal without all the frollicking. Are they fully successful? I think not because we cannot willed ourselves out of it. SI's project with it's swimsuit is a diff animal. It is selling the sexualized body. Were Diana/Sue/Moore, etc to put on a swimsuit it would be the same. SI could deside to have only lesbian women (of all shape and size ...) in swimsuit and gage the response. (Sex is in everthing and not just in sex- Barthe).