Olympic porn

dancers perform at the women's beach volleyball gold medal match

Just what is the fascination with athletes in skimpy costumes, posing nude for magazines etc. etc. all about? There are surely much more explicit pornographic images all over the internet. Just why are pictures like these so popular? It's about the context of course. We somehow associate the Olympics with ideals of 'athletic purity'. Seeing semi dressed or nude athletes is all the more titillating because it seems at odds with what the games are supposed to be all about. The nature of the games have definitely changed, women's beach volleyball being the prime example. At one time, any involvement with professional sport meant instant ineligiblity for the Olympics. Women's beach volleyball, with it's skimpy bikinis, rock music between points and sexy dancers is about as commercial as sport can be. After all; who really watches it for the sport?

The average man must see thousands of naked women in any given year, either in pictures or in the flesh, yet he is physically incapable of ignoring the possibility of seeing more. Many spend almost every spare moment persuing tits and ass and never seem to be able to get enough.

Testosterone is a highly potent chemical, and driven by this force men will completely irrational things. Many women understand this and have turned putting it to their advantage into lucrative careers. Most of us are not complaining.

May the force be with you...

Restoring Olympic Traditions

Posing nude for the cameras is a trend gaining increasing popularity with athletes. Four German Olympic sportswomen: sailor Petra Niemann, hockey striker Katharina Scholz, canoeist Nicole Reinhardt and judo fighter Romy Tarangul have posed for German Playboy, joining a host of other stars like Amanda Beard using nudity in the name of a cause. British triple jumper Phillips Idowu , British cyclist Rebecca Romero and Scottish swimmer Gregor Tait have also bared all for an advertising promotion. Why shouldn’t they? Their bodies are beautiful and judging by public reaction the majority aren’t complaining. If the Olympic movement can turn it’s back on it’s purist, amateur tradition and go all out for big bucks, why can’t athletes flaunt their sexuality?

Why not then take the whole thing a step further and revive the ancient tradition of staging the entire Olympic games nude? In the ancient Olympics, of course only men competed, but surely that rule could also be relaxed. Nude Olympics would boost television ratings into the squillions and arguments over discrimination with beach volleyball uniforms would be put to bed forever.

In ancient times, the ideal for male athletes was the possession of a small, uncircumcised penis. Circumcised athletes tried to conform to the fashion using the painful procedure of epispasm to restore the foreskin. If this ancient Olympic tradition was restored, this might also be a problem for many male athletes. After all, who wants an unfashionable penis? Circumcision features in this list of the top 10 bizarre surgical procedures.

Debate still rages over the benefits or otherwise of this form of mutilation. Dr Karl Kruszelnicki commented that saying a circumcised penis functioned better was akin to saying an eye functions better without an eyelid. Whatever the health benefits of genital mutilation, one could certainly object on aesthetic grounds.

The Door in the Floor

In this excerpt from the movie ‘The Door in the Floor’, Mimi Rogers who plays an artist’s model poses nude for Jeff Bridges, a sculptor. What is interesting about this scene is the completely impersonal relationship between the two people. Usually nudity implies some kind of intimacy in a relationship, but quite the opposite is the case here. This is as it should be between an artist and model where the pursuit is beauty in art rather than sexuality, although it’s hard to deny that some sexual element always exists. The very fact that the relationship between the two is so detached and impersonal serves to increase the sexual tension. The slight look of pained embarrassment on Roger’s face as she disrobes further increases the tension.

The fact that Rogers is not a young woman but still manages to be very sexy and the way the artist manipulates the platform to position her, treating her very much like an object is also interesting. In a way it serves as a metaphor for the relationship between all men and women; the male active and the female passive and devoid of personality. Judging by the number of women who eagerly pose for the camera, women enjoy this kind of attention and find it flattering. This only perpetuates inequality.

Wife's eBay Revenge

lover's knickers and empty condom packet for sale on eBay

A woman who caught her (soon to be ex) husband cheating is selling his lover's underwear and a used condom packet on eBay. After coming home unexpectedly and noticing a suspicious sms she found her husband reluctant to allow her into the bedroom. In the bedroom she found a pair of knickers and an empty condom packet.

» view the eBay page & read the wife’s full story

As the couple hadn’t used condoms for years he needed a fast explanation. ”I dropped my phone down the toilet, I didn't want to put my hands down there and I could't get it out with the toilet brush so I used a condom because I couldn't find any rubber gloves...” is what he came up with. To explain the knickers he explained that he had been a closet transvestite for years and had been meaning to tell her.

The evidence has been posted on eBay with the title: “EMPTY CONDOM PACKET & A PHOTO OF 'THE TART'S' KNICKERS FOUND IN OUR BED AFTER A TWO TIMING LOW LIFE'S AFFAIR.” Bids for these items are now over $11,000 with over 200,000 page views. A flood of supportive comments have been posted to the sellers’ page.

While exposing your husband to world wide ridicule and humiliation like this might seem just a tad extreme; you really have to question the husband’s judgment. If you do have to cheat at least have the sense not to do it in your own home in your own bed. If you must use your own bed, have the sense to remove the incriminating evidence. Furthermore, when you are caught, you might as well admit your crimes. After the ridiculous excuses given, who can blame this woman? Good for her and he deserves all he gets.

Short Skirt Scandal

short skirt scandal

In a story entitled 'Woman booted from shopping centre over skimpy dress' the Daily Telegraph felt compelled to post a gallery of completely unrelated pictures of women in short skirts just in case readers had forgotten what they looked like.

» view the gallery

A woman in a short skirt was asked to leave a suburban shopping centre by security guards when they decided her skirt was too short. According to the Telegraph "The story has opened up a barnstorming debate over the issues of having freedom to dress how you like versus the potential of offence to others..."

Does the Telegraph really think they are kidding anyone? Stories like this are much more about grauitous titillation than any kind of serious debate.

Australian Beauty

Two naked women cavorting in a bath to promote a new art gallery have drawn fire from a family group.

Peak-hour motorists have been treated to the nightly spectacle for the past week to advertise an exhibition at the Joshua Levi Galleries, titled Naked New York, the Courier Mail reports. The exhibition by world-renowned artist Tracey Keller and featuring 25 original acrylic paintings on linen depicting naked women in various poses, has reignited controversy about artistic freedom following the recent Bill Henson furore . In the stunt, two apparently naked women take a bath together and separately from 5pm to 7pm in the gallery's window, in candle-lit scenes reminiscent of those made famous by Mena Suvari in the movie American Beauty.

more images

Is the controversy justified? The models are at least partially covered and as the exhibition is of nudes, relevant to the theme. Art isn't just about painting and sculpture and an exhibit featuring live models might seem a perfectly legitimate piece of modern art.

However, the nude models in the gallery window are clearly not an artwork but a piece of advertising. If the gallery wanted to promote Tracy Keller's exhibition, why not display examples of her work? It would give the public a much more accurate idea of what to expect. This is, of course, a cynical attention grabbing stunt and most who take an interest are unlikely to be art lovers.

The problem for 'family groups' who protest about this kind of exploitation is that their protests are counter productive. Creating a scandal just provides very welcome free publicity.

It certainly worked for Bill Henson.

Laure Manaudou: read my lips

This picture appeared in the Daily Telegraph online edition with the caption:

"France's Laure Manaudou talks to compatriot Esther Baron (L) during a swimming training session at the World Swimming Championships in Melbourne in March, 2007."

The Telegraph seems to be dealing with its transition to an online publication by publishing an increasing number of images of athletes and celebrities which can only be described as soft porn. It may well have been an interesting conversation, but leaves one wondering what they were talking about.

View Telegraph Laure Manaudou gallery

More Telegraph images of Laure Manaudou

Bush thumbs up for beach volleyball women

President George W. Bush temporarily switched roles Saturday from commander-in-chief to cheerleader-in-chief at the Summer Olympics, stopping by to offer support for the American volleyball and softball teams.

He made a surprise visit to the beach volleyball venue, where he watched the U.S. men's and women's teams practice. But it took a little coaxing to get Bush out on the sand court.

source: Reuters

more pictures

Is it just me but does this picture look kind of compromising?

Kind of bummed; beach volleyball bikinis

Ever wondered why female beach volleyball players wear micro-bikinis? Four-time Olympian Natalie Cook has provided a straight answer. While the rules of the sport have changed to make it more pacy for television coverage, 2000 Olympic gold medallist Cook said the bikinis are not about audience eye candy but all about the conditions.

"...we wear a bikini because it is hot out there most of the time,'' Cook, the first female beach volleyballer to go to four Olympic Games, said.

If a woman wants to play under the auspices of the International Volleyball Federation, she better get out her tape measure; women's uniform bottoms have to be two and a half inches wide on the sides. The federation, based in Switzerland, decided the uniforms should be standardized. It says beach volleyball is played on the beach, so swimsuits are in keeping with the sun and fun atmosphere.

Apparently the 'fun atmosphere' only applies to women; male volleyball players are now required to wear shorts that fall a bit above the knee.

"I'm kind of bummed; I like my tights," said the sport's most famous player, Gabrielle Reece, who is known for wearing black Lycra tights rather than a bikini suit while playing.

Despite Natalie Cook's 'straight answer'; I'm still wondering why female beach volleyball players wear micro-bikinis. If this ruling is not simply about providing eye candy for TV cameras, surely male beach volleyball players should be made to wear skimpy bikinis too.

In your own skin

Olympic gold medalist swimmer Amanda Beard had to launch her naked, anti-fur campaign poster outside the Athletes' Village on Wednesday after Chinese authorities cancelled a planned unveiling, citing safety concerns.In a poster for the animal rights group PETA, the reigning 200-meter breaststroke champion appears naked in front of the U.S. flag and the slogan "Be comfortable in your own skin. Don't wear fur."

Source: Chigago Tribune

A host of other celebrities have protested on behalf of PETA, including Alicia Silverstone. While the motives behind such protests are noble, one has to wonder about the means.

Nudity obviously attracts attention, but does it do anything to convey the message? Are people who view nude images of people like Beard and Silverstone swayed? Are they any less likely to wear fur or eat meat? I would say not. They are much more likely to simply view the images as voyeurs. There is always a large market for celebrity nudes and these images just add to the ever increasing stock available. While any publicity might be good publicity, there might be more effective ways of getting the message across.

Are they becoming meat to protest the eating of meat? Most of the audience these images reach will enjoy looking at them and continue eating their big macs and wearing their fur lined caps. Using nudity to convey this message tends to put these women on the same level of the animals they seek to protect.

Beijing: the naked olympics

The image above shows Guangdong TV news presenter Ou Zhihang performing pushups naked in front of several China’s landmarks. One wonders how many people in China can view these images. China's intternet is quite likely to be like Ned Flanders' cable TV; 99 channels and all blocked except for the weather.

Under international pressure, China has now allowed unrestricted internet access for foreign journalists covering the games. The internet remains restricted for the rest of the country. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has admitted it was aware of China's plan not to unblock the internet, although journalists were lead to believe otherwise. Some Olympics commentators have made comments like "Can't we just forget this and concentrate on the positive aspects of the games?" China's record on human rights is perhaps another aspect we should just forget so we can sit back and enjoy the fun.

The IOC was of course well aware of the extent of China's human rights abuses when choosing the games host country. The booming Chinese economy and potential for making large amounts of money was probably a much more important consideration.

Perhaps some positives will come out of the games. International pressure may encourage China to curb its excessive pollution and destruction of the environment and may even improve its approach to human rights, but don't hold your breath. China's repressive regime may one day find that repression works against it in the long term. Over censorship of the internet only increases curiosity about that which is blocked. The most positive outcome would be the undermining of China's government.

I'm sure this site is blocked in China...

Elave: Nothing to Hide?

"elave commissioned this risqué eye-catching method of communicating the serious message that elave has no worrying chemicals in its formulations and therefore ‘nothing to hide’.
Nudity has been used as a device within the ads to highlight the elave product range’s comprehensive ‘free from’ chemical list and the fact that the elave brand lists its ingredients openly on its packaging. A growing number of consumers are starting to request chemical safe skincare and it is hoped that this campaign will bring these issues into the public domain and ignite the debate, particularly amongst chemical concerned consumers and sufferers of sensitive skin conditions."

Source: http://www.elave.co.uk/nothing-to-hide

This commercial was shown briefly on 'The Gruen Transfer', an interesting ABC series which analyses advertising. Click here to read the critique The CEO of the company actually appears in the ad.

Perhaps Elave actually does have something to hide: while purporting to "bring these issues into the public domain and ignite the debate..." all they are really doing is practicing the tried and true strategy "sex sells".