Sooo… I am pretty behind the times, new on the scene, what have you, so pardon how out-dated this shock is. Nick sent me this lovely video “A Day With Eva Lechner“. It’s about Eva and her home life, and how she has horses. As a girl that once had horses and that now rides bikes, I refuse to believe she has the time AND money to be a pro bike racer with horses. Her family has to support the horses. Obviously, she is on the road for weeks- months at a time! So, that is totally misleading.

But that is not what this post is about (though it did need to be said).

 

After that video, one about Manon Carpenter came up. First it was a day in her life, and then this trash from Cyclepassion. HAVE YOU GUYS EVER HEARD OF CYCLEPASSION??? What the actual bleep. We all know that sex sells, but to have a young MULTI-TIME WORLD Champion pose for this? At first I was nothing but taken aback.

Yes, at first I was taken aback. This reminds me of the posters I saw in my dad’s shop: faded yellow and curling at the edges, women in high-waisted, barely-there bikinis. There is no way anyone would wear that outfit while straddling a bike, why are they on the walls like that? (But then I look at my facebook feed, etc and go… oh, This is awkward.) Then I get to thinking, do these women get paid to do this? Are they increasing their visibility, and if so, is it in the right way?

 

I then stumbled up this post at totalwomenscycling.com through a google search, and it seems that someone else has already done the thinking and the heavy lifting for me. I suggest you read it if the topic strikes you, but here are a few points I took away:

• Athletes are not paid for the shoots
• Manon sees this as a way of promoting herself, hopefully in a positive way
• The creators do not think they cross the line into inappropriate, but that they are celebrating the beautiful bodies of these athletes

Okay, not paid, but promoting their personal brand. I APPROVE. However: I am sad that those at the top of the sport need to take unpaid gigs to promote themselves, regardless of the type (scandalous photos, product rep, high-five day at the Piggly-Wiggly, whatever).

I keep wanting to write that I am disappointed that these women choose to promote themselves in this way, but that is not the whole truth. I hate that sex sells and I hate that showing more skin can increase exposure (pun intended). I understand why, I just don’t like that this can create an advantage for some, whether it be those that choose to use it, or those that reap the benefits without their even trying. BUT ALSO, I hate that my instinctual reaction to this type of exposure is negative. DUDE, these chicks work really hard to have strong, fit, lean bodies, and they deserve to show them off! I have a BFF that I send pics of my “abs” to when I feel skinny. I flex in front of the mirror. I wear pants that I know make my ass look like I might be related to J-Lo. I think we can all agree that we all do some form of these things, so is it okay when we reach the intersection of popularity and sexiness that we put ourselves on a calendar?

Does a calendar featuring oiled-up, scantily clad cyclists increase the number of eyes on cycling? And if so, is this how it should be done? Well, I have heard that in the “real world”, getting a job is never actually about your abilities, it is about who you know, or how well you network. So maybe it isn’t a matter of how we bike, it’s how well we market. Does getting sponsorship for skin take away from what happens on the race course?

The issue of being sexy is not exclusively a women’s issue, but it is a special issue for women.