Comments on: Thank you, Sports Illustrated!!!!!!!!!!! (From a women’s sports fan)

By: Nicole LaVoi

Nicole LaVoi — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:17:46 +0000

Laura,
Knowing the great work you do and write about, is this written with sarcasm? Nicole

By: Edward

Edward — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:19:49 +0000

THANK YOU, Laura, for your blog. You are absolutely correct in your comments. As an enlightened, heterosexual male women’s sports fan, I totally think it’s a great idea.

Helen, you claim that coverage such as the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue is intended to “diminish, dismiss and demean” female athletes. Two questions for you:

1. How do you know what the intent of such actions are?

2. Do the athletes feel the same way? If the ladies are okay with that-and apparently they are as I am-then that is that. End of subject.

By: Helen

Helen — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:31:50 +0000

I disagree that “any coverage is good coverage.” Profoundly. Because coverage that continues to diminish, dismiss and demean female athletes is not useful. It simply continues to shove female athletes into the same box that they’ve been shoved into since forever: Woman as Whore

As a “crazy feminists” I hope to continue to upset you by drawing attention to the continuation of those stereotypes.

By: Mandy

Mandy — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 03:35:37 +0000

This year’s swimsuit edition of SI has, on page 30, a swimbracket- with the title “Move over March Madness. It’s time for February Frenzy, Baby! You can help crown the champ” OMG! Why does a sports magazine create so much hype about women NOT playing sports? One more way to keep women off the contender’s list.

By: Bill Price

Bill Price — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:27:46 +0000

Is the number of people interested in watching women’s sport really important? Isn’t the key thing getting more women involved in doing sport? Who cares if people watch?

When we rumbling about how women’s sports get low TV ratings or that professional purses are smaller those for men we seem to be focusing on the exact things that (a) we can’t change, and (b) even if we could how does this increase women’s sport participation?

Not everything the media does (or doesn’t do) is important. And the “Hey, look at me!” mindset they encourage is merely a sideshow to what’s really important.