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The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue feels like a relic of a time ... well, before porn on the Internet. The semi-naked models, privates always concealed, being sexy on a beach in a formulaic way are an old standby, as far as things involving hot, ...
Facebook Twitter ShareThis Counter Email The Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue feels like a relic of a time ... well, before porn on the Internet. The semi-naked models, privates always concealed, being sexy on a beach in a formulaic way are an old standby, as far as things involving hot, nearly naked girls go. And this year's issue has earned the approval of plenty of men, like Gabe Zaldivar of thebleacherreport.com, who declared it "the greatest of all time" for three reasons, the first being:
Let's get this out of the way right off the bat. This is like LeBron James coming into the NBA, or Jeremy Lin suiting up at Madison Square Garden.
The 2011 SI Rookie of the Year finally gets her spread and she looks amazing. When you consider that she is only 19, thoughts of her gracing the cover a few times like Elle Macpherson or Christie Brinkley cross my mind.
She has already stepped foot in the land of movies with Tower Heist and Three Stooges. We may be looking at the first superstar that we have had in a while on this cover.
Okaaay. So men think she's a superstar in addition to being super hot. But one-third of the issue's 70 million readers (actually viewers may be a more accurate word) are women. So what's the appeal for us? If you look closely at the issue, you may find that actually it's a pretty girly thing for these reasons.
1. It professes to have something to say about bathing-suit fashion. Which it doesn't, if you think of fashion in the serious Vogue kind of way, but might if you think of fashion in the Middle America mass kind of way. And even if you "get" fashion in the Vogue sense, looking at the SI swimsuit issue is amusing because you can scoff at how chintzy the "bathing suits" are. Scoffing at bad outfits is a pretty girly pastime.
2. Cute animals!!! In clicking through the content online, you'll notice a lot of the models posed with adorable animals. Kate Upton got to cuddle a koala, Genevieve Morton got to play with lions, Ariel Meredith got shot with an adorable parakeet on her shoulder, Alyssa Miller got to hang out with a tortoise named George and feed him bananas, and others still frolicked with zebras and giraffes ? the list goes on. So, given that these models got to do that and are beautiful and don't look like they'd need to have their cellulite Photoshopped out of any pictures, don't you just hate them?
3. Other women's bodies. Women love looking at other women's bodies, and not even in a sexual way. We love talking about who looks hungry, who looks bloated, who's had plastic surgery, who ate what and who didn't eat what at a cocktail party. The swim issue is, if you can ignore its exploitative nature, refreshing to nonsexually ogle because the models don't look bony or scarily thin, the way too many fashion magazine models do. After Fashion Week, it's nice to remember that flesh and boobs can be celebrated too.
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You must be logged in to commentYou will be prompted to sign in before your comment publishes.COMMENT0 out of 2500 characters allowed.» User guidelinesType your comment here...Markers:Tags:
Thank you for alerting us to a possible problempamb456The first thing I thought is: why his her bikini top a size too small? My husband thought: more boob to see!
I think it's obvious that the production values on this cover weren't too high. Her hair looks ratty and bleached out, and the bikini bottom wouldn't stay up in the water.
Thank you for alerting us to a possible problemnikki15blech - not me. too much. http://grapefriend.com/2012/02/13/sports-illustrat...
Thank you for alerting us to a possible problemfuzzydiseI just can't get over how terrible this cover is. Like, did they not have any other options other than this one?
Thank you for alerting us to a possible problemfuzzydiseI just can't get over how terrible this cover is. Like, did they not have any other options other than this one?
Thank you for alerting us to a possible problemVoguetteI love the SI swimsuit issue, and I buy it every year, but I hate this cover. It's so awful. Am I seeing what other people are seeing?
Thank you for alerting us to a possible problemterribleI bet a lot of guys take a pass on the swimsuit issue this year in the wake the most recent Victoria's Secret swimsuit catalog, which was free, and very likely comes with the missus' name on it, and the *back* cover of which knocks the front cover of this right on its sandy, well-toned butt.
Thank you for alerting us to a possible problemyh54@Sautoir - Who's getting exploited? The women who get money and fame for modeling or the men who enjoy looking at the photos?
Thank you for alerting us to a possible problemstephaniepressSI used to be cool when it was more artistic and the women were athletic and fit in line with the concept of the mag. I still have a shot of Paulina burned into my 10 year old brain.
But this girl is not even that great looking on this cover, I'm sorry. I'm sure she's beautiful but that cover shot is horrid and looks like Girls Gone Wild got a loan.
Thank you for alerting us to a possible problemstephaniepress@stephaniepress - Oh, and the swimsuits they used to feature? They would have some really interesting suits thrown in, not just bikinis and floss.
Thank you for alerting us to a possible problemohhhjustathoughtVery few women get it, IMHO. Hint: Analyze the attitudes instead of the micro things.
Thank you for alerting us to a possible problemdeathstareThe funniest is when the girls don't have bathing suits on at all...they're just like covered in twigs or dirt or whatever..
In my house growing up, it was always a hilarious pasttime to see who discovered the SI issue first. If it was my mom...went straight in the garbage but only after she was able to proclaim to an audience how ridiculous, sexist, and disgusting it was. My dad...went straight onto his desk in his office (happily married man 35+ years in= SI is like getting paid twice...you're super-stoked but don't want your wife to know)
As for my husband now....yeah, I'm sure he gets that sh%t sent to work. He knows I'd look at it, admire some of the girls, analyze their figures, criticize the (lack) of clothing, and then after playing it cool, go apesh&t.
Thank you for alerting us to a possible problemgzuckier@deathstare - if you have to hide it, why not go for the good stuff and get playboy? swimsuit editions are for guys who can justify it to the wife; "it just comes as part of the subscription, dear"
Thank you for alerting us to a possible problemyh54@davifranci - Hooters is a male social gathering place, and they would be literally outside.
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