Last month, Colombia's women's cycling team made headlines for their uniform that made the cyclists look nude below the waist. Now, Australia has decided to one-up 'em by parading genuinely nude models in "honor" of women in sports.
Excuse me, they weren't completely nude. The models — who appeared on the red carpet of the "I Support Women in Sport" awards, sponsored by AustralianĀ Women's Health magazine — wore tiny undies and body paint, meant to look like different Australian team uniforms: a gymnastic leotard, a swimmer's costume, a netball dress, and Australian sprinter Cathy Freeman's Sydney Olympics running outfit.
In other words, all people at the event and on social media were really paying attention to were their painted breasts.
See what caused the hoopla for yourself.
Yep.
Okay, let's get a few facts out of the way here. A) These women are gorgeous. B) Everyone needs to chill the heck out when it comes to naked, female bodies, particularly breasts. Men can walk around "topless" all the time evenĀ sans body paint. And C) the intention of the event in itself, to celebrate women in sports, is fantastic.
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But particularly because of C, it's more than a little disconcerting that someone thought the best way to do that would be with boobalicious models. Really?
What on earth do sex appeal, nudity, breasts, etc., have to do with women in sports? Some might even argue that it is because women have been objectified for so long that it's been much more challenging for them to make headway as athletes!
As Danielle Warby, a board director at the Australian Womensport and Recreation Association, told the Sydney Morning Herald:
The sexualization of women in sport is a massive issue. These women are not athletes, they are naked, and I don't know why they are there.
Bravo.
Seems like it was nothing more than a cheap publicity stunt, which only served to undermine the whole night's supposed aim to "support women, giving recognition and telling the stories of Australian sports women, who don't get enough coverage for their efforts and talents."
If the organizers of the event were really devoted to that goal, they would've stuck to real athletes' efforts and talents instead of "paying tribute" with breasts and body paint.
What do you think about this stunt?
- Images via Brandon Voight/Splash News/Corbis*
