Wednesday 8 August 2012

The vulgarization of women at the 2012 Olympics

A rather tame photo of two scantily clad
US beach volleyball players 
Trying to catch some good quality Olympic sports is getting harder and harder. Invariably - rather then showing discus or javelin or some other real sport, the networks are showing match after match of ubiquitous women's beach volleyball. That this activity involves athleticism is obvious - but, it is not a real sport. 
US champion, Holly Mangold at the London Games


What it is, is a pretext to show off women's bodies to the lustful desires of men. How else might one explain the use of bikinis in a sport that involves constant diving into sand etc.? 


Beauteous Zhou Lulu (weightlifting)  - eventual Gold medal
winner - offering the fans a parting feminine salute!
In fact, when one woman's team opted for wearing sensible leggings, protests were registered by angry "fans" demanding to see the women prance and preen in skimpy outfits. Women's liberation? Hardly. When this becomes old hat, what will be next - nude women's volleyball? Not impossible; remember, much of the ancient games were conducted starkers.

To add to the above mentioned voyeurs favourite sport, we can include the grotesque spectacle of women's weight-lifting (as exemplified by the balletic Holly Mangold or the lovely Zhou Lulu), wrestling and boxing. All traditional men's sports that taxed the athlete to the limit; with resultant injuries and long-term body damage (not to mention brain damage in boxing). No matter: women wish - so the feminists would tell us - to be liberated. 
The elegance and grace of women's boxing


4 comments:

Freyr said...

Barona... you should be worried. This post is far more revealing of you than any women's sports. Female weightlifters do not worry me half so much as a 15 year old getting on the bus looking like a cheap hooker. I spent the last half of that trip staring at the ceiling.

Barona said...

Freyr... oh dear, I will be following this up with a "part two" that will ensure your stare at the ceiling continues...

Anonymous said...

As an exercise, try using media examples of female beauty over just the period tv exists. Compare magazine covers to the paintings of Queen Victoria . Media defines beauty or at least it has for the past few decades .Determining a tan to be proof of wealth in so far as holidays while before it was a sign of the field workers poverty. You may not like media's portrayel of beauty but that is simply because you were shaped by a different media from a different age. Now compare "lady" gaga to anyone from anywhere previous and you get the idea where these sick minded men would lead us in so far as our perception of what is and is not beautiful

Anonymous said...

To share the thematics of the 2012 London Games, I think it’s worth to look at the big picture of the games so far. Your post addresses some very valid points, but today I happened to be reading the National Post and found a pretty interesting article that takes a look at the high and low points of the games so far. I personally found it a pretty interesting read and if you’re up for it, I think it’s really worth a glance: http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/showlink.aspx?bookmarkid=NTHCORI48A51&preview=article&linkid=f7363fcc-72e9-4332-8b2a-f577514ffd45&pdaffid=ZVFwBG5jk4Kvl9OaBJc5%2bg%3d%3d