Hot girls in sports are treated unfairly

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by Crucio, Oct 9, 2015.

  1. Crucio

    Crucio Valued Member

    I'm sorry. It was a tongue in cheek remark made to emphasize the sexualisation?! of women. I don't have a secret agenda.
     
  2. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    I think the exception to this can be found in tennis and if you're female, blond and Russian.
     
  3. Johnno

    Johnno Valued Member

    Some pundit (I forget who) once made the point that if Laura Davies looked like Sharon Davies, she'd be a household name.

    I think there is a massive double standard between how female and male athletes are treated by the media. If a male athlete is highly skilled but ugly they can still be a 'superstar'. Being good looking simply means that you get to make an extra fortune from product endorsements.

    But if a female athlete isn't good looking then while she will get recognition for her talent within her own sport, she won't get anything like the attention from the media that a more glamourous athlete will.
     
  4. Southpaw535

    Southpaw535 Well-Known Member Moderator Supporter

    I might be repeating points already made, but weighing in one the Ronda Rousey point I have two counters:

    1. There are plenty of people who comment about her saying she's not attractive and using it as a put down. Granted, that's going to be people disliking her going for the easiest insult they can but its still worth mentioning

    2. At least personally, Rousey isn't someone I would describe as classically beautiful as such. She's not bad looking either, but she wouldn't be a ring girl type thing. Her attractiveness comes from the fact she is a beast. And I don't think I'm alone in that.

    Which is all a pretty moot point since she's successful because she can fight. Not because of her looks. I don't know how many people I've seen insult Cyborg for "looking like a man" or whatever witty crap the internet comes up with. Doesn't stop her being arguably the second biggest name in wmma.
     
  5. Hannibal

    Hannibal Cry HAVOC and let slip the Dogs of War!!! Supporter

    Even there she was still not the best known due to her talent base not being as solid - whereas everyone knows the Williams sisters
     
  6. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Cyborg "looking like a man" comes from her taking masculinity inducing drugs. And I absolutely think that Dana White does not want her getting to Bantamweight and beating RR because her looks would affect the marketability of WMMA with her as a champ. (BTW, no I think she would lose against RR, but theoretically speaking....)

    Women doing steroids that affect their looks that would affect the mainstream perception of WMMA IMO I think is an issue. I saw this affect the popularity of female bodybuilding.

    Yes, she is acknowledged as the second best WMMA fighter in serious fandom circles. But in the mainstream? Does anyone here really realistically think her being champ wouldn't affect WMMA reaching more mainstream acceptance in a bad way? Yes, due to those looks?

    Females using male performance enhancing drugs and it affecting their "marketability" is an added dimension to WMMA in a different way than men using those same drugs. Precisely because of how it affects their appearance.

    I think Cyborg is an interesting person who does show that looks are something that affects female MMAists. (Personally, I just care when either gender uses performance enhancing drugs because it is cheating. Ruined my support for several previous favorite MMA fighters. Bonnar being one of them.)

    Again, if one logs onto MMA sights, the level of sexism and disrespectful discussion towards female MMAists is extremely high. It's disgusting really. Sure good looks help male MMAists get endorsements etc. But they just aren't treated as poorly over issues of attractiveness. They aren't judged over it as a big factor in the same way. If you don't believe me, look at those other MMA sights I mentioned before.
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2015
  7. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    I think you're right.

    I personally don't find her attractive at all. She's not a bad looking woman, but IMO far from stunning. But you know, when you've spent enough time in Eastern Europe, the Baltics and the Nordics you get high standards. :p

    Quite honestly I think a lot of people on this forum wouldn't give her a second look if they'd only ever seen her in a football shirt and Kicking a ball around as opposed to a pair of gloves and in a cage.

    And yeah she probably fits into some MA fantasy about tough women. Or that girlfriend you always wish you had.

    Bit off topic all that but some of the drooling over her in the MA community really does confuse the hell out if me.
     
  8. Mangosteen

    Mangosteen Hold strong not

    Rousey is like Jessica Ennis - people aren't attracted to her for her looks as much as they are attracted to her success.

    Which is a great, what we're perceiving as "hot" in women is now including someone's success and skill, things other than their physical appearance.
     
  9. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    On a similar note, this sort of thing exists in music circles too. Sure all musicians, especially after the age of music video's, get judged by looks.

    But I remember when Ann Wilson of Heart gained a lot of weight. The level of insults towards her by even Radio D.J.'s was unbelievable. The woman can SING! Who cares if she gained weight? Aging male rock stars gained weight at the same time and they just don't get treated as poorly as Ann Wilson did.
     
  10. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

    There is a massive problem when it comes to who is "hot".

    Take a look at this. What does it say to you?

    https://twitter.com/BestProTips/status/649645952232325121

    To me it says, "oi fatty, you're not healthy (or hot) until you look like picture 2".

    That is ridiculous. The girl in picture 1 is a normally sized perfectly fine looking person and is being made to feel quite the opposite of hot.

    My own personal view if slimming clubs should be wiped from the planet.

    They don't want you to succeed, as slim women who feel and look good aren't going to a club with fatties.

    Food based on points and the occasional "sin".

    How bad is that. You are trying to get into your new dress and told that what you are eating is a sin.

    The woman who sits behind me at work goes to a club like this once a week and each week it's the same. "Good bye, I'm off to fat club".

    I cringe each time.

    Now of course there are success stories from these clubs, but I'd rather support things like the current 'thisgirlcan campaign.

    Real girls and women , training, sweating and wobbling toward being empowered and healthy.

    Rant over. Carry on.
     
  11. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    Very true!

    But as Mango said people are attracted to the success and fame. Mick Jagger'll always have a nice young girl by his side.
     
  12. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    I'd rather women got into fitness and diet, rather than calorie counting and starvation.
     
  13. Rebel Wado

    Rebel Wado Valued Member

    To become a star, the first step is often to stand out and get noticed. But this can be short lived, you need more than that to become a superstar and household name.

    For Ronda Rousey, what was the big break? Miesha Tate, a local girl by where I live, someone I really like, basically said:

    Tate said that Rousey's approach to it has been insulting to the other fighters in the mix, but Rousey justified her tactics, noting the attention it's gotten them in recent weeks.

    "I think it's working because she's pretty," Tate said. "If you weren't pretty, it wouldn't matter what you said or didn't say. That's why you're getting this attention. I don't know, I guess I personally like more of a humble approach. You can say you want to be the Chael Sonnen of women's MMA, and Chael gets a lot of press and everything like that, too, but no one likes him."

    "Yeah, but he makes a lot of money and he gets a lot of title shots, too, doesn't he?" Rousey responded, pointing out how much Sonnen's profile has grown since changing his promotional approach.​


    (From http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/11/...rousey-spar-over-who-should-be-next-title-cha )

    Did you catch that? Ronda Rousey said, "changing his promotional approach."

    I would add my personal thoughts here. Ronda Rousey is pretty, but there are many more attractive women in MMA if we were looking at just looks. Her promotional approach is about fan base, to bring in the crowds. Call it a winning formula.

    I can think of someone before that was like this, Mae Young.
     
  14. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    I don't care either way as long as they have bucket loads of cash!
     
  15. Frodocious

    Frodocious She who MUST be obeyed! Moderator Supporter

    The problem of a women's look and sport is not just limited to the media, there is a heck of a lot of peer pressure from other women as well (granted a lot of this is them basing their views on what the magazines tell them is the ideal look for a woman). I was in work the other day and 2 of my female colleagues were discussing the physique of one of the contestants on the 'Great British Bake Off'. They were criticising her shoulder and arm development, saying it made her 'manly' - it turned out she is an amateur bodybuilder. I've heard a number of similar comments made about women from other sports who have muscle too. In my experience, the criteria for a woman being considered attractive is a lot more limited than that for a man.

    One of the things that I love about Crossfit (and there's a lot I don't like about it) is that is actually encourages women to aim for a more muscled look and, very gradually, is making this look more acceptable. There's still a long way to go though, based on the comments you read in the papers and on social media.
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2015
  16. LemonSloth

    LemonSloth Laugh and grow fat!

    Really not sure it's that simple, but that's an entire discussion for another thread. It's a fair point though, either way.

    Question - how much of an impact do you think Crossfit has on "normies" (folks who aren't into weightlifting/general fitness/martial arts)? Do you find it makes much of a difference with people's perceptions and opinions?
     
  17. Frodocious

    Frodocious She who MUST be obeyed! Moderator Supporter

    I'm not saying that it is that simple, but I think it is a contributing factor. I think it works both ways. The media feels free to criticise certain female looks because they know that a lot of their readers won't object to it. I think things are changing slowly though - remember the outcry a few years back when the Daily Mail fashion writer made some vile comments about the bodies (and clothes) of some of the British Olympic medal winners. It was a step in the right direction. There was a smaller reaction when some neanderthal criticised Zoe Smith (weightlifter) on Facebook for not being feminine enough.

    I think that the 'Crossfit' look is starting to become a bit more prevalent in media aimed at women. I'm not sure that the women know that it is the 'Crossfit' look though. I suspect a lot of them wouldn't know what you were on about if you started talking to them about Crossfit. I think that once the media start accepting certain looks, then the general population start accepting them too.
     
  18. LemonSloth

    LemonSloth Laugh and grow fat!

    Oh definitely.

    I have to say, I'm not sure if it's a "new" trend, but I'm progressively seeing more and more people looking at these "Look at this outfit! Look at her body!" type articles responding with "Who the hell cares?!". It was kind of encouraging to see.

    Fair enough. Should be interesting to see how things develop over time.
     

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