Althouse: "Complains the 'Mommyish' blog: 'The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue will feature Barbie, so your daughter can feel bad too.'"

February 13, 2014

"Complains the 'Mommyish' blog: 'The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue will feature Barbie, so your daughter can feel bad too.'"

"Others sarcastically say since SI always treats its models like 'things,' why not just put a 'thing' on the cover?"

61 comments:

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: So what about the covers of People or Cosmopolitan or any of the other mags in the checkout line?

Hmmmmmmm?; 2/13/14, 10:02 AM
B said...: I'd feel worse if young women weren't lining up around the block for modeling opportunities here in LA. And marketing themselves by posting hundreds of scandalous selfies on Instagram.

But I guess I forgot women are too naive and delicate to know better. Society has to protect them from themselves.; 2/13/14, 10:04 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: Women are always bitching about having to compete, when they aren't bitching that they want "equality."

Make up your mind, girls.

The article was pretty sensible.

We all are pieces of meat in the sexual marketplace. That's reality. It's only one reality out of many, but it is one reality. That is not going to change.; 2/13/14, 10:09 AM
Big Mike said...: I agree with John Lynch. Also agree with "B," now that I've read his post.; 2/13/14, 10:11 AM
Henry said...: As a sports fan I would find the swimsuit issue pretty pointless, if I actually read Sports Illustrated, which I don't.

I do read/watch ESPN and have found their relentless more-cowbell promotion of their body issues to be completely annoying. The first body issue was beautiful and cool. After one, it was just another marketing slog with kitsch conceals that Playboy used up 40 years ago.

And it doesn't compare to a "body" issue that Sports Illustrated did back in the '70s when they printed a set of life-size shots of famous athletes: Pele's thigh; Muhammad Ali's fist. That stuck.

Sports Illustrated is printing money and debasing the currency.; 2/13/14, 10:16 AM
Henry said...: As for the feminist critique: My daughter loved Frozen where the animated heroine has magical powers.

Is she supposed to feel bad because she doesn't have magical powers?

When we watch the Olympics, is she supposed to feel bad because she can't ice dance like Julia Lipnitskaia?

Being very beautiful is kind of a magical power -- for men as well as women. Why tell girls how they are supposed to feel about that?; 2/13/14, 10:21 AM
RecChief said...: see the "ladies magazine" rack at the checkout aisle, same models that are in SI are on the cover, often as scantily clad. I think the ones who bitch are jsut mad that one last vestige of pre-feminist culture still exists.

There is nothing wrong whatsoever with the Swimsuit issue. At all.; 2/13/14, 10:22 AM
YoungHegelian said...: Others sarcastically say since SI always treats its models like “things,” why not just put a “thing” on the cover?

And I'm sure that those poor "things" who end up doing the SI swimsuit issues just feel terribly, terribly exploited by their expenses-paid trip to an exotic locale & worst of all, that horrible, empty feeling one gets when depositing a big fat check to one's bank account.; 2/13/14, 10:22 AM
SGT Ted said...: Oh, a group of women are complaining about something? How ordinary.; 2/13/14, 10:22 AM
Henry said...: There is nothing wrong whatsoever with the Swimsuit issue. At all.

Except that it's boring.; 2/13/14, 10:23 AM
SGT Ted said...: The SI swim suit edition exists because men like bikini clad hot women.

That a group of women drunk on their "mommy" power think this is something that's out of the ordinary is the problem. These women need to get out more and quit trying to police men's sexuality by framing pictures of highly paid swimsuit models as some sort of damage to girls.

Just shut up already. We already know you're "offended" because, when are women like this NOT offended by something that men enjoy without their permission. They seem to think that they can take on the role of Wife to Every Man, in order to control what he looks at and enjoys.

STFU already and sit down. If you don't want men to tell you what to do with your genitalia, quit telling men what they can enjoy with theirs.; 2/13/14, 10:30 AM
MadisonMan said...: Well-played SI. Trying to stay relevant, and I think this issue will keep them in headlines, because Feminists will carp about it.

Do they realize they are being played for fools?; 2/13/14, 10:32 AM
Roger Sweeny said...: Well over 90 percent of Sports Illustrated is about male bodies and their achievement which the readers can never match.

Does that make our sons feel bad? Should it make them feel bad?; 2/13/14, 10:38 AM
Anonymous said...: B,

You've got that wrong. The right people with the right ideas running society will protect these women from themselves.

Have you thought about joining the Temple Of The Seven Sisters as a page?

There you'll see all colors and types of girls behaving properly, studying, and living in harmony. Equality rules.

Women scientists and astronauts mingle on the commons, discussing the latest climate science models and work channel opportunities.

Here, there is No war, there are no Barbies, no oppressive male gazes. No sexual tension except amongst a few of the ladies, if you know what I mean.

If a girl does act up, empathy and compassion and institutional directives straighten her out.

It will last forever.; 2/13/14, 10:42 AM
Birches said...: I'm completely pleased by this cover. I was an SI subscriber for many years, but always asked them to keep the swimsuit issue. Then I would try to avoid si.com during the last part of February because I don't care to see what's between Kate Upton's legs. But that's a cover I can stand behind.; 2/13/14, 10:44 AM
Anonymous said...: The white, educated, middle-class American women, they are an whiney group, no?

They say the model on the Sports Illustrated will make their precious little flower daughters feel bad because the model is lean and fit. This is a lie to mask the real truth.

The truth is that the mommies, they used to look better than they do now, and this model on the Sports Illustrated bothers them. The mommies see fit lean woman and they are jealous. They channel this jealousy by using their daughters as the straw girls. "This makes my daughter feel bad....".

No, mommies, your daughter has seen models before. She knows that they are models. You have the issue, not your daughters.

A loving mommy who has overweight daughter would teach her daughter to be healthy, not demand that her daughter not vies photographs of healthy, fit women.

And mommy could stand to lose a few pounds herself, no?; 2/13/14, 10:56 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: How do SI models make their daughters feel bad? Are these parents incapable of not buying the magazine and bringing it home? I don't have a daughter, but if I did it would be difficult for a fashion magazine to hurt her feelings because no fashion magazine would be in the house.; 2/13/14, 11:05 AM
Michael K said...: You would never know that obesity is an issue in this country if you listened to feminists.; 2/13/14, 11:07 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: Oh, they're mad about a literal Barbie? That's too stupid for comment. It's a doll.; 2/13/14, 11:07 AM
SGT Ted said...: The truth is that the mommies, they used to look better than they do now, and this model on the Sports Illustrated bothers them. The mommies see fit lean woman and they are jealous. They channel this jealousy by using their daughters as the straw girls. "This makes my daughter feel bad....".

No, mommies, your daughter has seen models before. She knows that they are models. You have the issue, not your daughters.

A loving mommy who has overweight daughter would teach her daughter to be healthy, not demand that her daughter not vies photographs of healthy, fit women.

And mommy could stand to lose a few pounds herself, no?

This. Instead of acknowledging their lack of will power, or simply that they are getting older and less attractive,they'd rather blame men, imply that adult swimsuit models making a good living are too stupid to know what they are doing and censor magazines.

They are also secretly jealous that their man might be enjoying looking at hotter women in a magazine.; 2/13/14, 11:25 AM
Gahrie said...: There is nothing wrong whatsoever with the Swimsuit issue. At all.

Sure there is. Men enjoy it. Anything men enjoy, especially involving women, has to be bad.; 2/13/14, 11:33 AM
Known Unknown said...: Mommyish? Is that in the same form as childish?; 2/13/14, 11:33 AM
SGT Ted said...: Blaming swim suit models for some other girls body issues is like blaming Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise for making American men feel bad for not being movie star handsome, or not having a sixpack stomach.

Funny how no one gives a shit about how hot male models or male movie stars are in respect to boys "negative body images" of themselves. And that's because men are more grown up and mature when it comes to dealing with pop culture sexuality.

It is absurd and immature to seek to blame your insecurities and obsessive neuroses about your own body on people that are more attractive, or a magazine.

Grow up, ladies.; 2/13/14, 11:35 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: They are also secretly jealous that their man might be enjoying looking at hotter women in a magazine.

If they're all sharing one man, it's no wonder they're jealous.

(I'm not picking on that typo. I like it. It made a funny image of a bunch of angry poly-wives standing around a beleaguered patriarch as he tries to read his fashion magazine.); 2/13/14, 11:37 AM
rhhardin said...: Somebody should find the Lileks swimsuit issue article, from long ago.; 2/13/14, 11:38 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: RecChief said...

There is nothing wrong whatsoever with the Swimsuit issue. At all.

Except that the pages always end up stuck together.; 2/13/14, 11:39 AM
rhhardin said...: My theory is that microkinis are the wave of the future.

They avoid the naked-women-look-ridiculous problem by appearing to be clothed, but show you exactly what you're supposed to be imagining.

Keep men interested, is the goal.; 2/13/14, 11:42 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: "What beach is this? It appears that all the women there lie around alone having orgasms."; 2/13/14, 11:45 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: That's more a reference to the Victoria's Secret swimsuit catalog.; 2/13/14, 11:47 AM
rhhardin said...: Long ago, when anatomically correct dolls showed up in the news, a co-worker joked about the possibility of anatomically incorrect dolls, to screw up the little minds.

Like every affirmative action joke, it's come true.; 2/13/14, 11:48 AM
rhhardin said...: As I recall, Lileks characterized the swimsuit issue mood as entirely post-coital languor.; 2/13/14, 11:54 AM
n.n said...: The mothers should be more concerned if their daughters have an independent perspective of their own well-being. Perhaps it's the father's responsibility to instill the required confidence in their sons and daughters. Mommy needs to cooperate with daddy.; 2/13/14, 11:57 AM
John said...: It's not like anyone would aspire to be Barbie.; 2/13/14, 11:57 AM
n.n said...: Shouting Thomas:

There is a progressive movement which classifies people as commodities from conception to death. Fortunately, some people have a superior perspective of individual dignity and an intuitive appreciation of intrinsic value, which forces moderation of this alternate morality.; 2/13/14, 12:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Blaming swim suit models for some other girls body issues is like blaming Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise for making American men feel bad for not being movie star handsome

I have said to my sons "Do not let the shortness of Tom Cruise and George Clooney make you upset about your tall stature."

My sons have seen the movies where the short men star. There has been no concern for my sons' feelings about their lack of shortness, as they were prepared for this.; 2/13/14, 12:17 PM
Julie C said...: Oh good Lord. I have known mothers of girls who made sure everyone knew that they did not allow their daughters to play with Barbie dolls. Along with reminders that those were not appropriate gifts for birthdays.

Get over yourselves!

Walk around a shopping mall where teenagers hang out. What you'll see are overweight girls wearing too tight jeans and tops waddling around. Perhaps a few of them missed the whole Barbie thing. Some of them could use a bout with an eating disorder.; 2/13/14, 12:25 PM
mccullough said...: I thought the swimsuit Barbie cover was an Onion joke. Who the hell is running SI these days, Buzz Lightyear?; 2/13/14, 12:30 PM
SGT Ted said...: (I'm not picking on that typo. I like it. It made a funny image of a bunch of angry poly-wives standing around a beleaguered patriarch as he tries to read his fashion magazine.)

That's a very good image, very appropriate.; 2/13/14, 12:32 PM
SGT Ted said...: I have said to my sons "Do not let the shortness of Tom Cruise and George Clooney make you upset about your tall stature."

and they most likely relied, or thought "Yea, whatever dad. (Dads weird sometimes.)"; 2/13/14, 12:37 PM
Sam L. said...: Ah, the Annual Cancel My Subscription issue! We can see more skin on the intertunnels than ever in SI. And much, much more of it, and it comes with our connection fee.; 2/13/14, 12:40 PM
Dave Dexter III said...: I'm waiting for the Playboy Baseball issue instead.; 2/13/14, 12:43 PM
mccullough said...: Unknown,

Playboy's college football issue was always excellent, at least when I read it back in the early 90s.; 2/13/14, 12:45 PM
rehajm said...: If they're all sharing one man, it's no wonder they're jealous.

The swimsuit models are all sharing one man. His name is Leonardo DiCaprio.

That makes me kind of jealous.; 2/13/14, 1:00 PM
TMink said...: The part of our brain that gets sexually excited in response to visual stimuli is on average 250% more developed in men than in women. Sounds like the complainers are just neurologically naïve.

Trey; 2/13/14, 1:19 PM
LordSomber said...: If you google "sanctimommies," one of the top results is a sanctimommy story on... mommyish.com.

Irony is ironic.; 2/13/14, 1:27 PM
David said...: Things?

SI swimsuit edition has made the career of several women.

The person behind the whole swimsuit issue concept was a woman. It made her career too.

Not everyone can be Einstein.

Or Christy Brinkley.

Deal with it.; 2/13/14, 1:29 PM
David said...: Sallie Krawchek had an inside run to the top at both Citibank and B of A. She got tons of great ink but flamed out. She hasn't been able to get another job near that level in finance since. I always wondered why. Now I get it.

As Freeman Hunt said "it's a doll."; 2/13/14, 1:45 PM
Smilin' Jack said...: "Others sarcastically say since SI always treats its models like 'things,' why not just put a 'thing' on the cover?"

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever"--Keats; 2/13/14, 2:03 PM
Michael said...: I went over to the mommyish blog. Appalling. The entire thing. Women are waging a war on themselves with those topics, that writing. The thesis of the blog appears to be that women are profoundly stupid but need reinforcement of their stupidity.; 2/13/14, 3:31 PM
Kev said...: (the other kev)

I'm reminded of Joe Bob Briggs response to one of his critics:

Sounds like a bunch of unhappy people who need to get naked and dog pile each other.; 2/13/14, 5:20 PM
Birches said...: The swimsuit models are all sharing one man. His name is Leonardo DiCaprio.

And Tom Brady.

Makes no sense to me; seem like a couple of mouth breathers.; 2/13/14, 5:22 PM
ganderson said...: My first great crush was an SI girl- Peggy Fleming- '68 Olympics in Grenoble. I still remember how thrilled I was in 1968 when the swimsuit issue came to my house! I had to hide it from my mom, though!; 2/13/14, 5:42 PM
William said...: I have nothing against girls with eating disorders. Anorexics are particularly attractive.; 2/13/14, 6:29 PM
Craig Howard said...: Homosexual men treat men as things, too [and we find it a turn-on]. Hey, it's not as if we're treating women differently.

Isn't that that the point?

Probably not. Heh.; 2/13/14, 6:58 PM
Fen said...: The thesis of the blog appears to be that women are profoundly stupid but need reinforcement of their stupidity.

Primed for trolling. I think I'll ask them to vote with their lady parts.; 2/13/14, 7:43 PM
Anonymous said...: Michael: I went over to the mommyish blog. Appalling.

The giveaway is grown women using anything containing "mommy" in a self-label.

Hey, you know what's empowering for a girl? Having an adult for a mother. An honest-to-God serious grown-up woman who has better things to do and think about than twittering with other brain-dead overgrown high-school bimbos about high-school level bimbo preoccupations. Having a non-vapid adult for a mother who doesn't inculcate or encourage the spirit of envy in her daughter. Having an adult for a mother who provides a moral and mental foundation for her child instead of letting her drift in a popular culture sewer where she'll become so empty as to "feel bad" about the simple fact of life that other people are better looking than she is.; 2/13/14, 7:59 PM
Fen said...: Meanwhile, these same women are having "designer" vaginas sculpted.; 2/13/14, 8:10 PM
Fen said...: Meanwhile, millions of boys are forever scarred by unrealistic body images promoted by GI Joe, HeMan and the Avengers.

Oh wait. No, nevermind.; 2/13/14, 8:17 PM
fivewheels said...: I <3 Anglelyne. And in my mind I read her posts in Jan Hooks' voice.; 2/13/14, 8:27 PM
Donna B. said...: If any of these women complaining about SI swimsuit models or Barbie making their daughters feel bad have enrolled their daughters in dance, gymnastic, or swimming classes, then I call bullshit on their complaint.; 2/13/14, 10:15 PM
Beldar said...: I recorded, and eventually watched last night, a program from the E! cable network in which Sports Illustrated was celebrating its 50th swimsuit issue. The show featured video and photographic teasers from the upcoming 2014 edition along with interviews, photos, and video clips from many of the models who've been in the swimsuit issue (and especially from those who've been on a cover).

Among those featured was Cherly Tiegs, arguably the "breakthrough model" whose appearances made the swimsuit issue into a yearly public phenomenon noticed by more than just the magazine's subscribers. The show referred several times to her iconic swimsuit issue photo in a one-piece white fishnet swimsuit, which most men and perhaps many women of a certain age will recall from 1978. Indeed, Ms. Tiegs has always been a personal favorite of mine, dating back to a brief but memorable (for me) encounter I had with her at the Plaza Hotel in the fall of 1979

What amused me, however, was that when the makers or perhaps just the broadcasters of this TV show briefly showed this photo at two or three different times during the E! broadcast, the photo had been selectively blurred to obscure Ms. Tiegs' nipples.

Those nipples were pretty much the reason why that photo became iconic. But here we are in 2014, and even on a cable TV channel, apparently we still have to pretend that Ms. Tiegs' boobs in 1978 were nippleless. That to me is far more ridiculous and sad than any hooplah about whether SI is committing some sort of terrible crime against little girls by featuring photographs of beautiful, fit, and yes, mostly thin young women. (But cf. last year's cover model Kate Upton, who's quite curvy.); 2/14/14, 2:58 PM