Thursday, October 6, 2011

Alicia Poses for The Body Issue



On one of the worst days in her career, Alicia garners attention for a provocative photo shoot.

Trashy or beautiful for the gymnast with the Maxim vibe?

18 comments:

  1. She's beautiful, but it's trashy. I blame ESPN though. Just because it's a sports magazine, they somehow feel this is alright.

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  2. Trashy with a capital T. It's no better than what the Romanians did to earn money in Japan. It's such a joke to say that a person has to be buck naked for us to "appreciate" their muscles and tone. Uh, no. I've never seen Venus or Serena play tennis naked, and I can see perfectly well that they have athletic bodies. Shame on her for setting a poor example for millions of young girls.

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  3. Not feeling a Maxim vibe, but definitely not trashy. Killer physique.

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  4. I don't think it's trashy at all. I particularly like the photos where the athlete is in a recognizable pose from their sport, it really shows how much power and control goes into each movement. Some of the poses that seemingly have nothing to do with the sport's movement (Hope Solo's cover, some of the women just lying down...) come of as more awkward than anything. I like hers wayyy more than Evan's. I really think ESPN does their best to keep in classy, and view it as a celebration of what the human body can do when pushed to it's limit.

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  5. It's not remotely "trashy." It's a celebration of the human body. It's not objectifying or for titillation, so the whole "think of the children!!!1" thing is even more absurd than usual. And Serena Williams was ALSO in one of ESPN's Body Issues, the cover even, and the picture was fantastic.

    Some of you need to check your Puritan values because they're way past the expiration date.

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  6. I think the photo looks great-- only trashy for those who want to put underoos on the statue of David. The bigger problem is this video and in general, how horrifyingly inarticulate these girls are. I get it: they sacrificed an education for their career. But it makes me cringe at how ill-prepared these girls are to do anything, other than use their bodies in whatever way will make them a buck.

    -- Pretentionista

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  7. While I don't think it is trashy, I fear it might limit future endorsement opportunities--both in and out of the gymnastics world. Although Alicia should be proud of her body, I hope she doesn't regret these pictures in 20 or 30 years.

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  8. Agree with Anon at 7:21. Think she might regret it down the road..and in this technological age, you can't take down or hide anything you've did. It was soft porn. Period.

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  9. Hmm, while I'm nowhere near being a prude, and I usually find these "body issues" to be nicely done- most sports don't feature underage girls with their legs spread in and upside down in positions that men everywhere are already clearly speculating about (just google it). I'm going to have to call trashy on this one. How many bazillion poses does the girl have and *that* is the one that is chosen? C'mon. Blah, blah all you want about "the human body" and "puritanical" values, but the fact is, some photo shoots are done not with its beauty in mind, but money. I've always admired Asac, but...ick. This is just a beaver shot.

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  10. I totally agree with Anon 9:15...I am a mother of teenage Level 10 gymnasts and although I am not that adverse to her posing for the athletic photos..couldn't she have chosen a different pose..there are bad inuendos about gymnasts sexually anyway with the flexibility issue..did we have to add a pose that supports that?..other than that, what an awesome physique and get well soon!

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  11. I really don't see how people are calling this a BEAVER shot. I mean come on, you can't see anything. She's not spread eagle diddling herself.

    Would it have been my choice for a shot? Probably not. Did she have to be entirely nude for her physique to be admired? Nah. But I still don't see where it's trashy.

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  12. I don't get how people are saying this is trashy. You can see her butt, big deal. It's not like this is an episode of Jersey Shore.

    For those saying she'll regret this in 10-20 years, I highly doubt it. When life after gymnastics happens, she'll look at these pictures and remember how awesome she looked.

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  13. Doesn't Alicia go to Brown University? I expected her to be more eloquent. She sounds like a valley girl.

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  14. A few things.

    1. Re: "Lack of Eloquence." I respect Alicia very much for the way that she speaks in interviews; I've always found her to be genuine, open, and direct about her feelings. She has never seemed to be ashamed of who she is or what she's feeling. You will notice in almost any interview she does that she actually thinks about what the interviewer is asking her, and she tries to respond honestly and in a way that also actually puts the interviewer at ease. This introspection of self and empathy toward others is something to look up to, and it's a characteristic that is valuable (and valued) in academia.

    2. Re: "Alicia Will Regret this Down the Road." I don't see what there is to regret here, and I don't think it's any of our business to try to anticipate a regret that someone we don't even know might have years down the road (unless, of course, that person is injuring another person because of his or her actions. But this pose does not qualify as injuring another person.) To try to anticipate her regret seems intrusive and unproductive.

    3. Re: "Alicia Should Have Done a Different Pose."
    This pose does not expose her vagina nor does it show her breasts. It highlights her flexibility, grace, and power because her abs, rib cage, quads, and toe point are the focus. This down-on-the-beam element is also one of her signature poses, (think: Zmeskal's reverse planche and Miller's "Miller"). She's been doing it for years in her beam routine, so I think it's actually an obvious choice. And because Alicia choreographs her own floor and beam routines, we can assume that she created this pose, which is a manifestation of her own imagination and creativity--another thing that I value about her, particularly because this sport is often more about gymnasts doing what they are told by their coaches and choreographers than about taking ownership over their own creativity.

    4. Re: "OMG, This is Soft Porn/She Needs to Be a Better Role Model."
    Gymnasts spend their entire lives trying to excel within a set standard of guidelines (i.e. the code of points). Within these guidelines, the gymnasts are constantly critiqued by their coaches and picked a part by the judges. On this long journey of an elite gymnast, everyone gets to watch and judge the athletes based on these set standards. In a way, the gymnast never gets to assert her own "ownership" over her body because the guidelines have been pre-determined by someone else.

    However, in this photo shoot, she gets to create the rules in which she sees herself fitting. No one is scoring her body, no one is critiquing her. It's purely experiential, and I think it shows an independence and confidence that I would love for my child to look up to.

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  15. ^^

    Best rationalization for trashy photoshoot I've ever seen.

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