"The market" seems to demand women have asses like prepubescent boys

[elehhhhna]

Just my observation of the SI cover.

What does that say about American men, media, etc?

[pipoman]

1. The swimsuit issue has always featured

women with athletic bodies more than modelesque figures.

[undeterred]

2. "we've always done it this way" does not answer the WHY question

[pipoman]

3. sports=athletic

[undeterred]

4. oranges=food

So are the women with their boobs hanging out of the swimsuits supposed to be athletes?

[elehhhhna]

9. photoshopped thighs that look like forearms = athletic

lolwut?

[undeterred]

11. !

[WinkyDink]

6. Sure. Like Christie Brinkley and Cheryl Tiegs?

[pipoman]

15. The assertion of the op

That the cover means anything about men in general is laughable. .apparently it is acceptable for women to define men generally and describe women who don't fit their image less attractive and not really women. .

[elehhhhna]

24. Baaahhaahaahahaha whoosh! Twisty logic there.

[pipoman]

132. There's no 'whoosh'

Your words are what are demeaning to women who don't fit your idea of attractive, or desirable to normal, non pedophile men. ..pretending the op isn't as offensive as stating 'fat women aren't attractive to normal men', is denial.

[VanillaRhapsody]

55. Women who are photoshopped to the point of unreality?

[indie9197]

46. Athletic bodies?

What sport do they play? I bet my 17yo daughter can throw a baseball further than all three of them put together. Or beat them 3 on 1 in basketball. If they are so athletic, show them doing something athletic instead of just sticking their butts out.
An SI that I would like to see is female athletes WEARING swimsuits. Let them show off their hard work if they would like to. No airbrushing- no photoshop.

[Lizzie Poppet]

50. If ESPN mag can do it (actual female athletes), so can SI.

Football (soccer, that is...) star Sydney Leroux, who to this straight female's eyes is at least as pretty as any of those models but also undeniably athletic, appeared on this cover:

[indie9197]

53. Much better

I don't think anyone could argue that she is being objectified on that cover. I would call it a mix of art and inspiration.

[liberal_at_heart]

174. Now those are some beautiful bodies.

[Number23]

195. Wow. But I think that's too much for some men to handle. They like their models wafer thin

That woman's body is truly athletic and truly amazing.

[Lizzie Poppet]

196. I've watched her live...she's impressive.

I have Portland Thorns season tickets, so I got to see Sydney play live (and will again this year, when Seattle visits). She's fast...even by professional soccer standards. She also plays for the US women's national team.

[Duckhunter935]

201. Stunning

don't care for the ink but that is an athlete I could see on a cover

[VanillaRhapsody]

56. Exactly....they're not athletes...they are more likely anorexics!

[Lost_Count]

130. Upton doesn't seem that way...

She's got a nice set of curves for a model..

[VanillaRhapsody]

140. But is she an athlete? No.....

that is not what an athletically fit woman looks like...that's what a model looks like...and YES she is still being photoshopped...

[Lost_Count]

151. My best advice?

Don't buy the magazine....

[VanillaRhapsody]

153. My best advice...we women shouldn't HAVE shy away from SPORTS freaking ILLUSTRATED!

are WE not sports women? Why SHOULDN'T we complain that this magazine that claims to be about sports not about viewing naked nubile model type women.....which in our opinion should instead be showcasing the beautiful bodies of female SPORTS enthusiasts! Or is this a "MEN'S" magazine? Lord knows there is no shortage of those. But this is a point that the owners of this magazine needs to get through their heads...WOMEN play sports TOO....AND look good doing it! Why SHOULD'NT we be insulted that they used MODELS (whom we are compared to all our lives I will remind you) instead of healthy role model sports playing women that we can look up to and also see men admire?

[Lost_Count]

175. As I'm sure you've seen...

... There are a multitude of covers with female athletes.

However in the issue that has the word swimsuit on the front, one might expect to find swimsuit models who appeal to the majority of the audience.

No one is trying to sneak one by you. It's on the label.

[VanillaRhapsody]

197. No...I expect to find athletes in swimsuits...

do athletes NOT look good in them? Do ONLY fashion models look good in a swimsuit? THAT is the problem! We are saying that unless you happen to win the birth lottery...you are fucked. However....athletes WORK for their physique...not JUST starve themselves and avoid all work as to maybe create any muscle at all!

[Lost_Count]

200. I'm not entirely sure what the point is...

No one is saying that athletes don't look good. ESPN has a whole body issue dedicated to it. I suggest you go buy it and vote with your dollars.

The fact that they look good doesn't mean that the bikini girls don't look good either. They aren't mutually exclusive. I'm not sure what working for it vs being genetically lucky has to do with it. I would venture to say that most elite athletes come from the deep end of the gene pool themselves.

Is that your complaint? That the bikini girls look good naturally and the athletes have to work at it?

[MO_Moderate]

191. I'm not trying to be rude

but they use models instead of athletes because their bodies and looks appeal to a wider range of people.
Something else you fuddy duddys are missing is that models accept and are comfortable with the absolute fact that their bodies are on display, something the average person, athlete or not, usually is not comfortable with.

Best advice? If you are one of the very few who don't like this issue, don't buy it.

[VanillaRhapsody]

198. and they SHOULDN"T that is the point....those women are ANOMALIES! They are freaks of nature really.

We should have heroes who WORK for their appearance....THAT is something to look up to and be attracted to....

[Fumesucker]

203. Top athletes too are "freaks of nature"

In that very few of us could possibly do what they do even if we practiced our entire lives.

This is particularly true in football and basketball these days where great physical size is very nearly a requirement of the game in addition to an extreme level of athletic ability.

[VanillaRhapsody]

204. NOT just by beauty...sheesh

You men have NO idea...

I can aspire to be more athletic....to be more like THEM I have to do UNHEALTHY things!

[Fumesucker]

206. According to the NFL Players Association NFL players die early

Quite a lot of what elite athletes do is not really all that healthy in the long run.

http://strengthplanet.com/other/15-surprising-facts-about-world-class-athletes.htm

9. What is the life expectancy of world class athletes?

Not so good. The average elite athlete will die by the age of 67. That is considerably lower then the 76 year life expectancy of the average American. Do you want to hear something that is really scary? According to the NFL Players Association, the average life expectancy of an NFL player is 58 years of age.

I thought this from the same piece is interesting too, these elite athletes are definitely freaks of nature.

1. What are the chances of becoming a world class athlete?

Actually, not very good. Less then one percent of all athletes who participate in competitive sports ever reaches an elite level. As an example, consider the odds of making it in professional basketball. Each year approximately 250,000 high school seniors participate in inter-scholastic basketball. Of these seniors, approximately 12,000 will receive college scholarships. Out of that 12,000 around 200 players will be drafted by the N.B.A.; but only about 50 will actually be offered a contract. Of these fifty, only five will eventually earn a starting position. Of these five, only two will stay in the N.B.A. for more then five years. Unfortunately the odds of making it big in any other sport are not much better.

[VanillaRhapsody]

207. sorry but alot of NFL players are not healthy...they are FAT!

Chances are SLIM....that I could become a world class athlete yes....(are everyone in Sports Illustrated "World Class"? ) BUT aspiring to be one....is MUCH better for me...then to aspire to be a Fashion Model

don't you think? Jeebus....you men just don't get it...Is it so hard for you to find these same women scantily clad elsewhere BESIDES a magazine that I am SURE would like to KEEP their female audience and would like to encourage females to be healthy..

Do NOT try to tell me there is something important about THOSE women being on the cover...its hypocritical and insulting...
Do you tell Black and Gay people when THEY should be insulted too?
Why then would you fight SO HARD.....when women are saying...having THEM on THIS kind of magazine IS insulting?

It's not like we are advocating the abolishment of Hustler for god sakes...

[Fumesucker]

219. A freak of nature is a freak of nature

If 99th+ percentile attractive people are freaks of nature then so are 99th+ percentile athletes.

You are attributing words and attitudes to me that I never said and don't hold. I don't give the slightest damn about SI or who is on the cover, haven't looked at an issue in at least a decade and I wouldn't know about this one if it weren't for DU.

But I do enjoy a good flamefest and this one has been nearly world class.

[VanillaRhapsody]

221. BALONEY....you don't get to be an athlete...strictly by looking good!

It takes hard work....nobody just walks up to you on the street and says...Hey you want to play for the 49's?

Nobody walks into an Sports agents office and says....here are my headshots....want to hire me?

Do NOT insult my female intelligence by equating Fashion Modeling with Sports!

Epic Fail

[Fumesucker]

226. My point is that unless you have just the right genetics you aren't going to do either

And if you happen to have those genes then in your words you are "a freak of nature".

Personally I think the business of both sports and modeling are frivolous pursuits that do nothing to improve the human condition for 99% of the human race.

I spent part of my career in a business that brought me into contact with both professional athletes and models, I'd be hard pressed to choose which were more shallow but the models tended to be friendlier and less arrogant.

[VanillaRhapsody]

227. My point is....they HAVE to do nothing else....they win the genetic lottery....they are pretty...

big hairy deal.

It's like being born George Bush for crying out loud!

[Fumesucker]

230. Oh, I thought they had to do all sorts of unhealthy and unpleasant things to look like that?

Perhaps you should motorize those goalposts, it would save a lot of work.

My youngest granddaughter could easily be a model and also has a lot of athletic ability, swimming, tumbling, gymnastics, cheerleading. She's wicked smaht too and her favorite subject is math.

Your "freak of nature" comment hit kind of close to home for me and it says a lot about you.

[VanillaRhapsody]

231. wtf...thats stupid....Poor poor Pretty people whatever will they do?

We cant have bias against "pretty people" but we CAN have bias against all women....that makes total sense yeah...

[Fumesucker]

232. What "bias against women" am I showing?

Please be specific.

[VanillaRhapsody]

234. THIS one....

[Drahthaardogs]

224. pretty much everyone in SI is a freak of nature

Do you know how hard it is to throw 95 mph? Plus put the ball EXACTLY where you want it.

[VanillaRhapsody]

233. NO they are not JUST that are they? They don't look in the mirror and know they are a world class

swimmer or tennis player do they?

[MO_Moderate]

239. That's pretty mean

Every one of us should be free to use whatever talents we have in order to reach our own personal definition of success. Be it throwing a ball, raising a hammer, tapping a keyboard, being a mother or being beautiful, we all have the right to make our mark on the world how we so choose.

Calling women "anomalies" and "freaks of nature" based solely on their physical appearance is a disgusting thing to do. I doubt very much that you would use such words to describe a ripped, disfigured or obese woman, so why use it to describe beauty?

And who are you to decide who our heroes should be? Who we look up to? Who we are attracted to?

[VanillaRhapsody]

240. You missed the point...you have to take that in context

These women are like a fraction of a percent of the population of women. They are ODD....not normal they are symmetry and humans are asymmetric. Also we have been conditioned to be attracted to them...because what they are is unattainable.

I am not just calling women who look like fashion models that.....all of them are male or female...but I DON'T see male fashion models in provocative poses on the cover of Sports Illustrated for some reason...

[MO_Moderate]

242. I didn't miss any point

You are judging women based on their physical appearance and that is wrong. Backtracking off "freaks of nature" and trying to claim you just mean "odd," but in a nice way, does not change that.

What the heck does it matter how many there are? You got to be kidding me. THESE WOMEN ARE WOMEN AND THEY DESERVE THE SAME RESPECT EVERY OTHER WOMAN DESERVES.

The reasons you "DON'T see male fashion models in provocative poses on the cover of Sports Illustrated:"

This is the SWIMSUIT issue, NOT the regular issue.
Men are visual and the majority would rather see women in their swimsuits, posing in ways that accentuate certain parts of their body. Yes, it really is that simple.

[Major Nikon]

158. Several SI swimsuit models have been and are athletes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Jenneke#Media_coverage

The idea that all athletes share one body type is not a good one.

[VanillaRhapsody]

159. but are those 3?

I think it is a valid complaint....put good looking women athletes on the cover....give the women something to admire too but in a different way.

[Major Nikon]

161. They most certainly are physically fit

SI isn't primarily marketed to women, although they certainly do feature women athletes. Complaining that they don't cater to women would be like complaining that Vogue doesn't provide enough content that would interest men.

[VanillaRhapsody]

162. It should be primarily marketed to sports enthusiasts...which includes ALOT of women

again is this a "Men's Magazine" like Maxim....or is this magazine about athletic pursuit? This isn't Vogue...Vogue is where they belong...they are fashion models....and that's a fashion magazine. DUH!

[Major Nikon]

165. So write a letter and complain to the editors

They market to what sells their magazine or they go out of business. DUH!

[VanillaRhapsody]

170. WE ARE complaining...we commiserating about it right now in fact...

that's how a women's movement gets started...Look at what Toys R Us is going through right now with the anti pink aisle for girls campaign! DUH!

[Major Nikon]

171. Somehow the boycott seems more of a threat in that instance

You're also talking about products specifically marketed to girls which seems a bit like apples to oranges. But good luck with the campaign. I don't really see it having much effect, but print magazines in general are going down the tubes anyway so who knows what tomorrow will bring. Personally I could care less. I don't remember ever flipping through a single SI in a waiting room, swimsuit edition or otherwise. I do like watching the videos on how they are created. I follow some of the photographers and can tell you about the photographic tools and equipment used, but I can't say I know one model from another.

[Hippo_Tron]

64. I think occasionally that would be nice, but I'd rather see fully clothed female athletes in general

The problem with having female athletes posing in swimsuits is that you're promoting women's sports by selling sex. That may get more people to watch, but for the wrong reasons. What you end up with is the 2012 summer olympics where beach volleyball has a wider audience and all they talk about is the skimpy clothes they wear, not the amazing amount of athleticism that the game requires.

[indie9197]

77. I threw that out there as a better alternative

to the topless supermodels. I think they should have male athletes in swimsuits also. Why not? It might double their sales.

To me there is nothing sexual about a woman in a swimsuit or even a bikini. However, put a thong on a pro model and have her pose in suggestive ways- yes that is sexual. Unfairly or not, most men see the pro models as objects. Eye candy only.

I think that an athlete in a swimsuit is thought of differently. First, if I am a fan of theirs I will want to know their story. When I look at their body it is in an admiring or matter-of-fact way, not sexual.

My take is that SI thinks men want to see supermodels, but the fact is that they are not attractive to a large percentage of men, me included.

[BainsBane]

138. Those women do not have athletic bodies

They are not athletes. Your point is absurd. They feature models. The standards of what an attractive model is has changed somewhat over the years the magazine has had a swimsuit issue, but to say that have athletic bodies is simply not accurate. They have little muscle tone. Compare their bodies to actual athletes, like those in my thread. Those women are far more muscular. They train their bodies to perform at the top of their sport, not to appeal to dominant cultural beauty norms.

The models appear somewhat prepubescent because they appeal to the current cultural beauty standards as defined by capitalist media. SI seems to think men have a preference for underage girls or girls who appear underage.

[pipoman]

184. What is absurd is the op

Stating the women look like young boys and that men who might find them attractive are flawed. There are plenty of small women in the world who are not underage, does that mean that the men in their lives or men who are attracted to them are seeking underage girls?

[WinkyDink]

5. And hips. And waistlines. Hence, the need to augment other areas of fat-loss.

[Bonobo]

7. That sounds almost homophobic.

What are you trying to say and imply? That men that found that pic attractive are gay pedophiles? It sure sounds like that's your point.

Don't be so coy.

[elehhhhna]

10. those do not resemble adult women's backsides whatsoever. just saying.

[Bonobo]

12. But those ARE adult women. Nt

[VanillaRhapsody]

57. who have been photoshopped beyond reality...who probably haven't lifted anything

heavier than lettuce on their forks.

[Major Nikon]

143. So why do they look exactly the same in the videos of the photo shoots?

The idea that because some photo editors are manipulating body types with photoshop they all must be is not a good one.

[VanillaRhapsody]

145. No they don't....

[Major Nikon]

146. If that's true it shouldn't be that hard for you to prove then

Just sayin'

[Orrex]

16. They sure as hell don't resemble the backsides of prepubescent boys, either.

Just saying.

[FreeSpirit123]

235. Sour grapes?

n/t

[Logical]

8. There is where you are confused....

The market demands what ever the men think is sexy.

Don't over analyze it.

And someone will respond "I don't think that cover is sexy" which is fine.

[LostOne4Ever]

172. Or rather the market demands

What the executives of the company THINK men think is sexy.

IIRC there have been many studies showing that, on average, men find real women more appealing than the photoshopped cartoon of women that is constantly being pushed by the media.

[seabeyond]

13. or little girls. cultivate the taste. nt

[2pooped2pop]

14. I've noticed that too

Not so much with the si cover but just in general. The models get thinner and thinner, less and less curvy and I think some of them look like ten year old boys and it makes me wonder why boys body sometimes seems more popular than a woman's to straight non pedophiles.

but I'm fat, so probably just jealous lol

[Yo_Mama]

20. Maybe you've got a point there

I'm not well qualified to discuss this, because I have had a lifelong disinterest in SI models, what with being a het woman. But when I searched for the cover out of curiosity from the OP comment, I found this article which has the current SI threesome and one from 1984, and the first thing I thought when I looked at the '84 version was that the two in front looked a bit pudgy:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/sexy-sports-illustrated-models-celebrate-50th-anniversary-article-1.1614125
1984 pic link:
http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1614138.1392361930!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/article-swimsuit-0213.jpg

[elehhhhna]

25. they have curves due to body fat and real breasts, as well.

[Yo_Mama]

33. Maybe I phrased that badly

I didn't mean that the 84 women were fat or plump, I meant that in comparison to the 14 cover they looked plump. The older models look to me more like real-life fit women would, whereas the current cover seems to be reporting the discovery of the new "Buttinski" hominid. The current cover shows bodies that look rather adolescent female-ish instead of fully developed adult woman-ish.

So maybe the OP kind of has a point, although I still don't think those butts look at all boyish.

[Silent3]

40. I wonder how much of a difference between then and now...

...is a change in the models themselves, a change in what's considered desirable, and a change in photographic manipulation technology. A bit of Photoshop magic, and that 1984 cover could look a lot more like what you'd expect to see these days.

[Yo_Mama]

49. True.

I don't know much about it, but I do remember some controversy on a ridiculous photoshopped cover. Was it for a Japanese mag? Or just shot in Japan? But it had a western-looking woman as the model.

I'm sure that some of the claims about body image issues for younger women and girls do have some foundation. Those girls are not at all athletic-fit looking.

There are a lot of hot women athletes out there who look great in a bikini, and if I were running the mag, I'd have pics of some of them. However I'm sure they wouldn't pose like that, due to not wanting to throw their backs out. If they want to change the name of it to Sex Illustrated, then it's a good cover.

[wickerwoman]

168. Here's a pretty ridiculous one from 2012:

Her mid-section has been stretched out of all recognition, her arms look like twigs and her head is one step away from Beetlejuice level freakishness.

Also, WTF sport is this supposed to be? Tit-huddling?

[woolldog]

89. You may be overthinking things.

Kate Upton was on the cover of the SI swimsuit edition last year or the year before. And no ones ever accused her of being anorexic. She's got plenty of curves.

Elle MacPhearson was skinny back when she was on the covers.

[pokerfan]

136. Carol Alt called Kate Upton a "large sized" model

All is not well in Kate Upton's sexy and sultry universe. The sports illustrated model was dissed by 53-year-model Carol Alt. Carol rose to fame in 80's after she posed for the annual issue of the "Galore". After that, Carol posed for more than 500 magazines. She recently posed for Galore once again and dissed the scintillating Kate Upton by calling her "large size model."

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/529587/20131212/carol-alt-galore-kate-upton-fat-dissed.htm

Whatever.

[riderinthestorm]

47. Wow, that's a fascinating comparison. Like you I've never paid attention to SI before

but seeing those two covers next to each other on my screen...

The 1984 models look "real". The 2014 models look so obviously photoshopped its a wonder that ANYONE is fooled. But fooled we are...

I'd go further, as someone who was young and fit in 1984 and remembers the days of Elle McPherson and Kathy Ireland etc, those models were perceived as very thin back then. Now they look "normal" in comparison to today.

How far down the rabbit hole we've gone in transforming women's bodies from "real" to completely unobtainable.

[bluestate10]

218. So you go around looking at boy's asses and rating them? I am a male, I honestly don't

notice anyone's ass unless it blocks my line of vision as I look at other things like park landscapes, buildings in the distance, ect. And, btw, I don't rate asses or remember what any class of them would look like.

[2pooped2pop]

237. yeah, that's what I do all right n/t

[arely staircase]

17. The SI cover sure replaced bus driver punching as the latest most important issue ever in a hurry.

I think I got whiplash.

[Yo_Mama]

22. Now that we've solved world hunger and war ... n/t

[arely staircase]

29. personally I don't think the cornflake chicken controversy was ever really resolved

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x6153632

I have read DU since almost its beginning. But for years I never looked anywhere other than LBN. I wandered over to GD a couple of times in the early days and and thought it was just a collection of crazy people discussing unserious things with a frankly disturbing unhinged passion. If you will notice since I started poating here a few years ago it has almost been exclusively in GD. So at some point I lost my fucking mind I guess.

[Yo_Mama]

31. Or developed a sense of humor?

There's something to be said for widening one's own perspective, which is why I try to sample threads like these. I'm middle-aged, and if I'm not careful I will develop tunnel vision.

[arely staircase]

32. true enough

In fact I have been rereading some of that chicken stuff for the first time in years and It is so funny. Skinner at one time banned any all poultry related threads. Good stuff.

[Yo_Mama]

36. Thank you so much for chicken link

I am laughing so hard I almost lost my breath and I have tears in my eyes. Poor Skinner!!!

I am trying to keep a sense of humor about this, so please bear with me.

I have instructed the moderators to lock new threads about chicken. If you must discuss chicken -- and, yes, I understand it is a *vitally* important topic in which you all have an intense interest -- please do so in one of the threads that was opened previously.

The chicken wars on DU.

[loli phabay]

18. well to me they look like like athletic womens asses, if you think they look like young boys

then i am not the one with an issue.

[pintobean]

37. No shit

I've never seen an ass like that on a boy.

[VanillaRhapsody]

58. then you must not have ever seen non photoshopped athletic near naked women before!

poor baby...

[loli phabay]

81. actually seen more than my fair share both on the slopes and military

try again.

[VanillaRhapsody]

86. and they DIDN'T look like that...

THAT is photoshopped and those women are models....not athletes.

[B2G]

88. There is a difference between photoshopping and airbrushing

ALL commercial photos are airbrushed. Airbrushing does not necessarily alter the subject but removes slight imperfections.

Do you seriously doubt that some women really look like that? One of them could be my daughter.

[VanillaRhapsody]

90. Photoshopping IS airbrushing! That is what you use do to it...

Yes nearly ALL commercial photography is photoshopped...

(airbrushing is what they call it to make it sound less severe)

[Major Nikon]

155. Hogwash

A $50 digital camera will perform all sorts of in camera processing because what comes directly out of the sensor is not ready for prime time. Most (although not all) commercial photographers and many serious amateurs prefer to do their post processing outside the camera because it gives them a greater element of control. Airbrushing was a technique used in the film days to create 3rd generation images post print and has no direct correlation to modern digital photographic editing. All sorts of darkroom image manipulation was available and employed during the days of film like color correction and doging & burning. Even Ansel Adams used all sorts of darkroom techniques to improve his photography. These exact same techniques are employed by photoshop which makes them easier, faster, and cheaper.

While some photographers use photoshop to manipulate body images, you will NOT see this with truly professional photographers like the ones used by SI. They could create the same images with film and some still do (although this is far more rare today with virtually no loss of quality with digital). If everything was simply manipulated digitally there would be no need for exotic locations, narrow windows of opportunity during the day for light quality, or even models.

Airbrushing was a technique used in the film days either to make corrections to non-models, or by shitty photographers to improve shitty 2nd generation images. While photoshop can certainly mimic those corrections, and is used for the same reasons, it doesn't mean all commercial photographers are doing it.

[VanillaRhapsody]

157. I didn't say that....but models...yeah.

[BainsBane]

167. All major magazines do it

Every single photo of women in major market magazines are altered. There is tons of evidence available on the web. They may not photoshop cars or refrigerators, but they sure as hell alter women's bodies. Dozens of actresses and models have talked about it. There are videos showing the changes. Everyone knows that. The point here isn't which method they use but that no woman, not even the most highly paid model, is attractive enough to fit the corporate media beauty standards.

[loli phabay]

91. as i said, saw lots of women who look like that, do youbreally not understand that there are women

who do have that body type. or is this more about a body type hate or jealousy thing. think i got you. goodbye.

[VanillaRhapsody]

93. No you haven't...those women are photoshopped...guaranteed!

[B2G]

94. So what exactly is your point?

That women can't possibly have asses like that?

Why do you think they were chosen for the cover in the first place?

[VanillaRhapsody]

98. that THOSE women do not even look like that!

[B2G]

99. How do you know that?

Have you seen them up close and personal?

If you don't think asses like that actually exist in the wild, I would suggest sugest a trip to Brazil.

[VanillaRhapsody]

100. because THOSE women are models....

do you see much muscle definition on them?

[B2G]

105. Again, what is your point?

Do you think models don't work out?

Are you saying they can't possibly look like that because they're MODELS? What exactly do you think they look for in a SI swimsuit cover model...a saggy ass?? These 3 were chosen for that exact shot because of their 'assets'.

[VanillaRhapsody]

118. the POINT IS that this is not a fashion magazine...nor should it be a Men's Magazine...

this is Sports Illustrated....how about some hot women ATHLETES on the cover....you know just so men don't get the wrong idea about what an actual healthy physically active woman looks like!

[A HERETIC I AM]

169. Or any beach city for that matter. n/t

[Major Nikon]

160. Neither does any photograph in history if you want to go that far

The idea that just because a photograph has been edited by photoshop makes it not "real" is silly. They can be just as real or as fake as any other photograph, drawing, or painting.

[BainsBane]

141. You obviously don't know what athletes look like

Cause that's not it.

[loli phabay]

179. yeah cause one has never dated athletes or played sports or even ogled athletes before

the fail is strong with you.

[Yo_Mama]

19. Those don't look like boy butts

Just sayin'.

[Coyotl]

21. How about a link to the photo in question?

Otherwise, I'm stuck here trying to figure out what "prepubescent boys" asses look like

[Bonobo]

23. It's also weird

That the slut-shaming, attacking of female's bodies and cries of c@@k tease are coming from the supposed feminists.

[antiquie]

26. What do we know?

We're just apes.
I am a carrot shape, myself; it's the way the FSM made this old lady.

[Bonobo]

27. Exactly!

Stupid apes basically.

[treestar]

124. Disingenuous

You know full well they are not criticizing the models, but the culture that encourages them as the ideal.

[eShirl]

131. shhh.. it's a favorite straw man (woman?) on DU

[Major Nikon]

164. Seems more like giving them the benefit of the doubt

Otherwise you'd be left with the impression that the OP is implying that what men really want are prepubescent boys.

The ideal is in the mind of the beholder. Culture doesn't encourage anything. It's a reflection of society's idea of what's ideal and in practically every society throughout history is an exaggeration of reality in one way or another. You might as well complain that the Venus de Milo doesn't have big hips and a flat chest or that Michelangelo's David doesn't have a pot gut.

[treestar]

182. Disingenuous

As you know full well that the older versions may not have included pot guts, etc., but were different. Women in past ages were considered more attractive if they had curves and some fat - the ideal is always about what the rich can do. When it meant they had money and could feed the family, little fat cherubs and Rubenesque ladies were in. Today's models lack curves (the prepubescent boys comparison merely reflects that) and are again a result of having money for workouts, possibly cocaine (it may take that or something like it to avoid eating to that point of that kind of thin), plastic surgery and photoshop.

The beholder is usually not so unreasonable. Most women don't look like that and most women do end up getting married or having sex, that is to say, you don't have to be anywhere near that to be "attractive enough." It strikes me as inconsistent when we are told "men think about sex anytime and will do it with anything that moves" and also that they are not turned on until they see a photoshopped model with no feminine curves.

[Major Nikon]

187. Not just in the past

There are societies today that predominately value women with big hips over ones that don't have them. It's also pretty sexist to assume that all men in our society want the same thing. It would be like saying all women want Fabio because there are no dudes with beer guts on romance novel covers. It's also disingenuous to assume that just men are driving that. If you really want to see models without curves, look at the fashion industry that is driven mostly by women for women. Many of those models have less curves than prepubescent boys.

[treestar]

192. The fashion industry

wants the focus on the clothes. There's a theory out there that the models are so thin because it makes them more like hangers than humans.

Though they finally are waking up to the fact they may sell more clothes by using bigger models. When .000000000000001 of the population can be shown to look good in a thing, the rest will know they might not.

[Major Nikon]

202. I haven't really seen much change

For one thing, the outrage over the fashion industry only seems to be a fairly recent development, yet the railing over SI seems to be at least as old as the swimsuit edition. I'm not going to allege there aren't people concerned about both of those things, but it seems like there's a much larger interest (at least on DU if not everywhere) of condemning the former over the latter.

I'm sure there's plenty of women who read SI, but it's obviously mainly directed at men. I have to wonder how many girls under the age of 18 read it. My guess is not that many. Yet somehow we are to believe that the Swimsuit Edition somehow negatively effects girls' body images and as such is harmful to women, even though their models clearly have healthy body fat percentages. Meanwhile the fashion industry, which clearly markets to younger women and girls, features skeletal models. The theory (no doubt backed up by market research) is that women want to see themselves as thinner in highly fashionable clothes. It seems as if some are spending an inordinate amount of time worried about what teh menz are looking at and perhaps not enough worried about what's actually having a direct influence on girls and young women.

[treestar]

211. The Swimsuit edition is just one of a million things

It still seems to me inconsistent that the men need these things and yet can be turned on by anything and thinking about sex all the time.

[Major Nikon]

214. I'm not convinced the sexes are all that different in that regard

The biggest difference seems to be the plumbing and the hangups that some promote or embrace.

[pipoman]

188. And in those times and cultures

Thin small women would have the right to complain. The whole argument is ridiculous. Pretending that small women are small because they have money and/or are on drugs is ludicrous.

The beholder is usually not so unreasonable. Most women don't look like that and most women do end up getting married or having sex, that is to say, you don't have to be anywhere near that to be "attractive enough." 

Which is exactly why none of this matters. People have preferences in mates, body type, hair color, face shape, and on and on. SI can't change someone's preferences. Your comparing another woman's body shape to a little boy is no less offensive than comparing another woman's body shape to a football player, or a pig for that matter. And what would be more repulsive that could you condemn the men who find them attractive to than being a pedophile?

[treestar]

193. There are stories about models using drugs

it would be a very rational thing to do. Quit being so easily offended (or pretending to be).

[pipoman]

199. I'm not offended

I see the complete hypocrisy of those most outraged by the SI swimsuit edition.

[Fumesucker]

228. Oddly enough there are stories about athletes using drugs too

[pipoman]

229. lol

[polly7]

150. Women who choose the right to do whatever

they please with their own bodies are often hated here. If they're very attractive, all he'll breaks loose.

[Upton]

28. They look like the asses of healthy adult women to me..

nothing wrong with being fit and trim. Except to those who aren't. If you think those models look like boys, may I suggest an optometrist.

[Coyotl]

30. Also, if those were boys, would they be grabbing each other's asses?

They look like three women with posture problems, bending unnaturally forward at the hips.

[PassingFair]

117. The guy who writes DListed calls it the cover of..

"Scoliosis Monthly"

[Coyotl]

120. Good one. More than a few doctors are groaning about the bonobo posturing.

[eShirl]

133. in appearance it's like a (now-deceased, male) friend's spondylolithesis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spondylolisthesis

[VanillaRhapsody]

59. "healthy" adult women who have been photoshopped out of reality..

there fixed that for ya!

[The_Commonist]

34. I once had it explained to me by a very wise old woman.

It goes something like this. This is a generalization. And it will piss some of you off:

Men who like bigger tits and asses, and more voluptuous women in general, like to fuck. Men who like smaller tits and asses, and more "boyish" figures in general, like to possess.

Our economic system is based upon possession. That's why they don't use voluptuous models, and photoshop all the life out them. We tend to think that there's lots of "sex"in marketing, and that it's rampant, but there's no sex in marketing. It's only titilation, and the desire to possess. And to be possessed. The market doesn't want people actually fucking, that would be counter-productive. The market wants people to desire and to possess. Preferably to desire something that we will never be able to actually possess, leaving us unfulfilled and susceptible. Hence the pretty, skinny, over-photoshopped models.

It was nearly 20 years ago when the old gal explained this to me. Luckily, we're seeing a change now, with a movement to use models who look like real human beings, and to not photoshop the life out of them. Hopefully this trend catches on.

[arely staircase]

39. was this thesis based on methodical peer reviewed research or did this wise elder pull it out

well, of her ass if you will? If the market didn't want people fucking it would run out of consumers to sell crap they dont need eventually. And let me guess, Yoda was of the voluptuous build wasn't she? Or was she of the Twiggy vareity and arguing that men attracted to women like herself were the ones with a screw loose? I bet it is the former.

[The_Commonist]

48. Well, she spent her career in the advertising industry.

And she could have been the inspiration for the Joan Harris character on Mad Men, if you know what I mean.

Does this answer your questions?

[Shivering Jemmy]

79. That didn't really answer the question

The ad industry has never constrained itself to scientific rigor.

[The_Commonist]

82. You know, you guys are right.

When I had this conversation with this woman in the late-90's, I completely forgot to ask her - "Even though you have 40+ years of experience in the advertising industry, and of course, your subsequent time as a therapist and mediator... is your thesis based on methodical peer reviewed research or did you pull this out of your ass?"

[Tom Ripley]

67. Sounds plausible to me; it is all about titillation, and all advertising is based on desire and fear

Actually, fear is a more dominant factor than desire.

[Sheldon Cooper]

69. I think your reasoning was the basis for the ad that Don Draper

created to land the Jaguar account.

[The_Commonist]

71. "At last, something beautiful you can truly own..."

That one?

[Sheldon Cooper]

72. Yep.

And it worked. Of course, Joan sleeping with that dealer helped, too.

[treestar]

183. She was pretty sharp

About advertising. They want us in a state of non-satisfaction. Which would help explain the girls being unrealistic. Who's going to actually find one like that? And that's why we do see beefcake ads too, in that they want to sell to some women and figure that might work for some (though generally those skinny models are aimed at women too, in order to tell us we want to buy this or that to look like them, and lo and behold, that's impossible!)

[MattBaggins]

186. Wise woman?

That's one of the stupidest fucking things I have ever heard.

[The_Commonist]

190. Yes, extremely wise.

She was right in that generalization like she was right about many other things.
Your personal experience may vary...

[dawg]

35. Gotta stand up for slender women this time.

I think the whole SI swimsuit edition is a silly tradition and that it is exploitative. The current cover is particularly bad, as the women are contorted into an unnatural "presenting" pose.

They are thin (hopefully naturally so), but they are proportioned like grown women to me.

Most women are not so slender. It is a standard that many feel unfairly judged by.

But it's also wrong to insult naturally slim women; to say they look like boys or little girls. Some slender women have body issues just as painful as those of heavier women. They long to have the curves and contours that society demands of them.

[UtahLib]

51. Thank you, thank you! nt

[VanillaRhapsody]

60. They are thin...probably NOT naturally and they are photoshopped out of reality

this is what they are conditioning you to respond to...

[dawg]

62. I know that. But I also know real women who are that thin.

And the women I know IRL aren't photoshopped. They're just real women, with real insecurities, just like the rest of us. And they don't look like boys or little girls. That's just the way they are made, and they are just as "real" and "womanly" and "feminine" as their curvier sisters.

[Edim]

38. How much photoshop on that cover?

They may look better in reality.

[Scootaloo]

104. Enough that it could have come from the SomethingAwful forums n/t

[AgingAmerican]

41. "prepubescent boys"?

Your "observation" says more about you than 'the market.'

[B2G]

42. This thread is a riot!

First there's outrage about the objectification of woman, and the OP then does just that by mocking 3 beautiful woman and reducing them all to the sum of their asses and picking apart how their bodies look.

Well done!

[Bonobo]

44. You're shining so brightly right now!

Rock on!

[B2G]

45. The hypocrisy is making my head spin

Maybe I need to go lie down for a bit.

[Lonusca]

43. How do you explain the popularity

of Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez? Arguably they are two of the most famous, popular, attractive, and wealthy women in the world. Neither could be said to have a boy's butt.

What "market" demands them? Kardashian has almost 20M Twitter followers, and quite the business empire

[VanillaRhapsody]

61. and she isn't starving herself but I BET she uses photoshop!

[Desert805]

74. Photoshop!

OMG! ONOZ!!!

I'm off to hit the bike path here in chilly Southern California, where I will (thankfully) witness a sea of SI cover style asses. Photoshop that?

[VanillaRhapsody]

87. Those athletic asses do NOT look like those...

those are models asses....not athletes.

[Desert805]

238. You have spent a lot of time

Analyzing the subject. I probably have too, but not so much for labeling and classification.

More of a thumbs up or thumbs down.

[Lonusca]

111. To make her butt look bigger?

Awesome. Now every time someone complains about women being photoshopped to twigs, you have the perfect counterpoint.

[VanillaRhapsody]

116. Those butts are big?

[Inkfreak]

52. I don't see how anyone could take you seriously. (nt)

[Generic Other]

54. We breed for cuteness

Neoteny (/niːˈɒtɨni/ /niːˈɒtni/,[1][2][3] or /niːˈɒtəni/[4]) also called juvenilization,[5] is one of the three ways by which paedomorphism can arise. Paedomorphism or paedomorphosis is the retention by adults of traits previously seen only in the young, and is a subject studied in the field of developmental biology. In neoteny, the physiological (or somatic) development of an organism (typically an animal) is slowed or delayed. In contrast, in progenesis, sexual development occurs faster. Both processes result in paedomorphism.[6] Ultimately this process results in the retention, in the adults of a species, of juvenile physical characteristics well into maturity and pedogenesis (paedogenesis), the reproduction in a neotenized state.[7]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny

So it might be evolution.

[HockeyMom]

63. Sometimes looking like a prepubescent boy can be an advantage

As in when there was child molester casing your neighborhood. I stayed with the neighborhood kids while they waited for their bus. A car stopped across the street. A young man rolled down his window and starting calling out to the kids trying to coax them with a ride to school in his car.

I sat on the ground by a tree, took my daughter's notebook out of her backpack, and wrote down his plate number. He must have thought I was one of the kids because of my small size and the way I was dressed. I whispered to the kids not to talk to him but just talk to each other as if nothing was wrong. If he got out of the car, I would confront him. Yes, he did get out of his car, and started walking towards the kids still asking if they wanted a ride. I got up and walked towards him. Excuse me, but if my DAUGHTER, or any of her friends needs a ride, I WILL drive them. Once he saw I was adult and not a kid, he ran back to his car, and sped away with his tires screeching.

I called the police, gave them his plate number, and his description. The creep was never seen around our neighborhood again.

Yes, looking like a little boy can be a good thing.

[westerebus]

137. Good for you.

You may have saved a child's life.

[lumberjack_jeff]

65. They're not my style.

But then again, if I were to share what constitutes attractive to me, I'd be guilty of mansplaining, objectifying, dehumanizing and all manner of nasty, vile "dickishness".

Because DU is misogynist, or something.

I will observe that the modeling business is not, generally speaking, run by men.

[Vashta Nerada]

66. So you're implying men are homosexual pedophiles?

You do realize thin women exist, right? I'm pretty sure they'd very much appreciate being called "prepubescent boys".

[B2G]

68. Since they're pretty, it's OK to objectify them

Or something.

[11 Bravo]

70. Being as the Swarm has faiied to show up with a heaping helping of adulation and multiple recs ...

I hereby declare this thread a failure.

[My Good Babushka]

73. Annoyed

They look like women to me. I'm a thin woman, and I get tired of it being implied that I'm not a "real woman" or "real-sized", or that I have an eating disorder, or I don't have the sort of body that "real men" would find attractive. But I know everyone is going to do it anyway, so go ahead.
Haters gonna hate, potatoes gonna potate.

[pipoman]

129. This is what irritates me about these threads

My wife is small. I have always liked small women. My neighbor likes buxom women, one of my best friends likes large women, my coworker likes tall women, another male coworker likes "bear" men, etc.

Physical beauty is completely subjective and nobody's preference is going to be changed by SI swimsuit. It would be an affront against women to make such rude comments about any other body style or the men who like that body style. Sometimes I think such statements are the only way people not comfortable with their own body try to feel better about themselves.

[Skittles]

154. OMG I hear you

SICK of hearing "REAL" WOMEN are double-digit sized, which I have never been

[ecstatic]

75. I got the impression that they were trying to make their butts look bigger

Hence, the unnatural positioning of their backs/butts. Voluptuous butts are in.

[Deep13]

76. Yeah, I don't get that. nt

[JonLP24]

78. I doubt it means they're attracted to little boys

Market seems to promote less or no hair.

I doubt the reason why legs and arms are shaved to make themselves more attractive to pedophiles.

[MADem]

80. Have they always been exclusively caucasian?

That's been my take - away...very little diversity on the SI cover.

Heck, they oughta mix it up next year, and put a black male in a speedo on the cover! Make a few heads explode!

They're past due for a change, I should think.

[B2G]

83. I believe Tyra Banks has been on the cover

twice.

[MADem]

96. Poor woman got "the duty," eh?

Sorta like the single guys who always gets tapped for the military watch, because they "don't have a family to go home to..."

Fifty covers...and they could only find one woman of color to pose for them?

I think if they're going to do a "swimsuit" (ooh-la-la) edition, they need to put some beefcake on the cover, too--maybe they'll get some more women subscribers if they give it a shot. After all, they aren't selling "sports" in that edition...the "s" in SI stands for "sexy" when it comes to that particular edition.

[B2G]

106. And Beyonce

[MADem]

121. She was on the SI cover too? nt

[Duckhunter935]

126. yep

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/swimsuit/coverfeatured/10639/index.htm

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/swimsuit/video/2007-beyonce_2.SportsIllustrated/model/beyonce/index.htm

[MADem]

128. Two women of color; fifty covers!

To even approach demographics, they'd need at least six or seven; and I think they're well behind the Asian and Hispanic demos as well...!

[Hosnon]

84. Bigot.

This is a veiled attack on gay men.

[msanthrope]

139. Nothing veiled about it. nt

[Vashta Nerada]

173. I agree.

This thread is bigotry.

Why hasn't it been hidden?

[Pretzel_Warrior]

85. Your "analysis" says more about you than SI cover

[backwoodsbob]

92. rofl

*The market" seems to demand women have asses like prepubescent boys*

If you think they have asses like prepubescent boys you are blind

[kestrel91316]

95. I've known that for 35 years. I have ALWAYS had hips

noticeably larger than my very small waist. As a result, pants and skirts that fit are VERY hard to come across.

And I am well within my normal healthy weight range.

[Dirty Socialist]

119. Not My Cup of Tea

I like a fuller posterior. I am also bothered by the borderline eating disorder look displayed on SI and in the fashion industry. Enjoy your food ladies!

[GoCubsGo]

135. That's more the fashion industry than SI.

I have the same larger hips and smaller waist, topped off with an overly-endowed bustline. (Think Nigella Lawson in her heavier days.) Good luck finding ANYTHING to fit an hourglass figure, when clothes are made for women who are shaped like pre-adolescent boys. I wind up wearing a lot of stretchy shit with elastic waistbands. Yech. I really don't get the whole fashion thing, when most women can't even wear most of the crap one sees on the runways.

Not trying to defend SI's swimsuit edition, which I also find exploitative, and has nothing to do with sports. Just saying that their models aremore akin porn magazines, whose female subjects are at least somewhat curvy, if not extremely curvy, instead of emaciated stick figures like most fashion models are these days. The models who are the subject of the OP are not the non-curvy women the OP suggests they are.

[Union Scribe]

97. What a creepy fucking thing to say. nt

[RiffRandell]

102. That's what I was thinking. nt

[Nuclear Unicorn]

123. The subjective was mistaken for the objective but that doesn't make it any less creepy.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

101. SI - 1890s edition

[RiffRandell]

103. Some women have asses like those on the cover.

My nieces, for instance. Mid-twenties, one a nurse and one in grad school. No way should they apologize for being attractive.

Beautiful on the inside too...imagine that!

Gross OP.

[B2G]

109. My daughter too

And my niece is modeling to pay for college.

This thread makes me ill.

[RiffRandell]

113. Good for her!

That's great!

[Bonobo]

122. Asian women have small asses. Calling them pre pubescent boys is hurtful.

Sad to see women trying to attack other women for their physical attributes, eh?

[RiffRandell]

125. Very, but not surprising.

I've come across several women like that in my life.

I'm confident, not the jealous type and have no problem complimenting women on any positive attributes.

I guess I'm just a decent person.

[mythology]

107. I know multiple adult women who are athletes who have what can be called small asses

One of them even didn't realize she had her pants on backwards because she really doesn't have a protruding ass. She's also an amazing athlete who made it to the Las Vegas taping of American Ninja Warrior. I've watched multiple women with the same body type do rope climbs with just their arms (which I as a guy can't even begin to do).

I know another woman who grew up playing soccer, turned to gymnastics in her 20s and while she looks like a stiff wind would knock her over is working on the upper body strength to do a manna.

For reference a manna is: A strength move pressing with the hands where the legs and hips are raised until the hips are above the shoulders and the legs are parallel to the floor.

Not all skinny women are anorexic nor are skinny women not athletic.

I haven't seen the SI cover, mostly because I don't care to. But to say that women who are naturally very skinny are inherently unattractive, or look like prepubescent boys is just as biased as saying that women who have more curves or have the proverbial Jennifer Lopez backside are fat or inherently unhealthy. Different people have different body types. And most of them can be attractive and healthy.

For example all of the women in the photo on this site are all Olympians and yet they have a wide variety of heights and weights.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/19/howard-schatz-photos-women-professional-athletes_n_4297902.html

[Bluenorthwest]

108. A profoundly disturbing OP.

Creepy in a multifaceted way.

[edbermac]

110. So guys are attracted to women with asses like prepubescent boys?

Freud would have a field day with this one.

[Scootaloo]

112. There's a lot of things I could say

I don't think many of them would be that useful, though.

There is a very strong market trend towards the "barbie" figure - flat and thin all over, except the chest - but I personally think it's a case of self-reinforcement. The market is this way because the rest of the market is this way, not because it's what the consumer demands. In fact the consumers seem to be rather indifferent or ambivalent. Even those who don't appreciate the "magazine standard," well, what are they going to do?

Can you imagine a bunch of men writing to Elle to get thicker women on the cover? Yeah, it sounds a little odd, doesn't it?

That said I don't think there's any call to insult these women over the shape of their bodies. Seriously, what's up with that?

[BainsBane]

144. She's commenting on the marketplace

On dominant cultural beauty norms. She's not insulting the women. Clearly they have the ideal bodies as defined by capitalist media culture.

That fake boob image is popular in some kinds of media, car magazines, Playboy, etc. . . but they are not highly paid models. The highest paid models must be small breasted. Kate Upton is an exception, but I don't believe she does any high fashion work.

[Duckhunter935]

114. I guess a guy thing

Aldridge gave birth to their daughter, Dixie Pearl Followill, on June 21, 2012

But they look pretty good to me

[joeglow3]

127. That is your observation and comparison

Why are you upset with what men appear to find desirable? Myself, I prefer a woman with a little meat on her bones, but to each their own. I know I am not the definition of hot, but to my wife, I am. What others find hot, I really don't care.

[Marr]

134. Body shaming isn't ok.

That's true if you're mocking slim or very fit women as well.

[BainsBane]

142. You missed the point entirely

No one is shaming the women or saying they aren't lovely. The point is about the marketplace, about capitalist cultural beauty norms.

[Marr]

147. I understood that was the point, but it was body shaming in it's tone nonetheless.

People claim to have good reasons for engaging in all kinds of judgemental insults, bullying, you name it. Doesn't make it ok.

[BainsBane]

149. It's too bad SI doesn't agree

Last edited Mon Feb 17, 2014, 02:26 AM - Edit history (3)

because they don't present the women as they really look. The photos are altered to appear how the editors think they should look. Even the highest paid models in the world aren't attractive enough for media beauty standards.


Note: You edited your response completely after I wrote this, which makes my post look non-responsive. You previously criticized the OP for noting the marketplace favored images that resemble prepubescent boys, and said that amounted to criticizing the women's bodies. You now accuse her of making insults and "bullying" through her "tone," which is absurd. For it to be a criticism of those women's appearance, we would have to see what they actually look like, which we do not. You can guarantee the editors photoshopped their rears to make them look prepubescent. The question is why does SI think men are attracted to girls who look underage? And are they right to make that assumption? Based on what we know about prostitution and human trafficking of underage girls, it seems to be the case for at least a sizable minority.

[Marr]

152. What does that have to do with saying a woman looks like a boy? /nt

[BainsBane]

156. You said were concerned about body shaming

but only by an individual and not corporate media conglomerates? You don't think there is body shaming in telling women that they can never be attractive enough, no matter what they look like? You think the more serious issue is that someone on DU dares to criticize capitalist media images, but not that teenage girls around this country starve themselves, some to the point of death, to reach impossible beauty norms that even the highest paid models can never achieve? I don't buy it. It makes no sense intellectually.

[Marr]

236. I never said any of that. I said that saying a woman looks like a boy is body shaming.

And it is. Period.

[Gravitycollapse]

194. No, they're definitely shaming women in this instance.

Attempting to mock the physical proportions of a woman is body shaming regardless of historical context. While I agree there is a strong argument to be made about the infantilization of female bodies, we have to be very careful not to shame women who are naturally thin or have a naturally "boyish" figure. The line crossed is a very thin one and this subject demands careful consideration and the arguments must be well thought out.

[TheMathieu]

148. Heterosexuals will do heterosexual things.

That 'deviant behavior' bullshit was already used to vilify the LGBT community for years.

The morality crusaders in this country, whether motivated by religion or some other ridiculous ideology need to fuck the fuck off.

[BainsBane]

163. I'm continually amazed

that some people see their sexuality as intrinsically linked to consumer capitalism. I'm not even sure what you think the OP is moralizing against here. It's a comment on dominant cultural images as created by corporate media.

[pintobean]

176. It's a disgusting attack

on anyone who finds those women attractive.

[pnwmom]

166. What mainstream publication has ever posed males in that position? n/t

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

177. Seriously, spend some time around the fashion industry

You will probably come up with a lot of ways to describe these men and women, but bellwether for society at large and American men in particular probably isn't one of them.

[PeteSelman]

178. I disagree.

Completely disagree.

Kate Upton does NOT look like a boy. None of them do.

Show me even one of these swimsuit models that look that way. This is just insanity.

[madrchsod]

180. what a creepy statement about this cover and men in general.

by demeaning the women on the cover and those people who find them attractive your statement is saying more about you than them.

[B Calm]

181. What a disgusting op!

Surprised it hasn't been alerted on!

[NickB79]

185. I have only one thing to add to this thread

[Skittles]

205. OH NO YOU DIDN'T

[Cleita]

189. My observation is that airbrushing and photoshop are an art.

In real life those girls don't look that perfect. I used to work for a guy who fancied himself a playboy. (Actually, he was arrogant prick with money.) He always had Playboy playmates and other swimsuit model types hanging around him. I was always amazed that in broad daylight and reality they were pretty ordinary looking girls.

[TheKentuckian]

208. My market likes BACK and hips.

[LanternWaste]

209. It tells me that a lot of men think their tastes and preferences are wholly their own

"What does that say about American men, media, etc?"

It tells me that a lot of men think their tastes and preferences are wholly their own, unique and original, residing fully in their own imagination... never realizing they're looking at the world precisely the way Madison Avenue told them to. The Broken Men.

And, it also tells me a lot of men a kinda creepy.

[Bonobo]

210. Except for the people that have different tastes and blow the shit out of that theory. nt

[LanternWaste]

215. Madison Avenue lurvs you...

Madison Avenue lurvs you... hope you got a card or something from them!

No theory on my part, merely what the cover tells me (what the OP asked, right?), regardless of the irrational being rationalized to illustrate the contrary.

The poor, poor Broken Men....

[Bonobo]

217. Not me, those SI models actually do ZERO for me. Zero.

I find them as attractive as a log in a lake and that is the truth.

So I guess yer going to have to find another all-encompassing theory to explain everything.

[LanternWaste]

220. bless your heart, no one will ever stop you from it.

Irrelevant allegations on your part, as many often justifies Madison Avenue regardless of what they sell... and it's your choice to do so. And bless your heart, no one will ever stop you from it.

Again, no theories on my part (learning a new misuse of an old word today?)-- merely seeing Madison Avenue at its finest, and the Broken Men who buy into it... even alleging they dislike what they so righteously defend.

Regardless, you may be assured that I give all credibility and value to you and your opinions that they indeed, warrant as I have no doubt, none at all, that you really believe the things you say.

It's been swell reading your allegations, but unless the rational-thought factor is bumped up a few points, I'll just have to give up on any further insights, and allow the invariably passive-aggressive and petulant reply to go unread.

[Bonobo]

222. Sorry I am having trouble reading your disjointed writing.

But thanks for the effort. You'll get there if you keep trying.

[1000words]

223. Thank you

I know I saw a bunch of words, but for the life of me, I hadn't the slightest idea what I read.

[Orrex]

244. Does Madison Avenue also dictate your preferences and tastes?

Or do you have some special wisdom that protects you against such mundane manipulations?

[Vattel]

212. Media no like booty

[Warren DeMontague]

213. ...prepubescent boys???

Sorry, I'm not seeing it.

[1000words]

216. It's ironic the cover concept is that of passage of time

Given the cattiness of the OP.

[Drew Richards]

243. me either, looks like 3 beautiful healthy atheletic women to me.

[edbermac]

225. Right, because nobody wants to see Jennifer Lopez on a magazine cover.

Or her non-prepubescent boy shaped ass. No market for that.

[zappaman]

241. I don't know if that is true since I haven't seen any asses of prepubescent boys.

Maybe I should get out more?