SHUHEI MATSUO
Assistant Online Editor
I’m an avid reader of Sports Illustrated. Every week, I enjoy looking at all the high-quality action photos, knowing who’s hot and who’s not in the sports world, and reading some of the nation’s best sports articles while I’m on a stationary bike in the weight room.
As an aspiring sports journalist, I admire the publication very much, except for one issue of the year when it doesn’t feature sports. Yes, the swimsuit issue.
I don’t mind looking at gorgeous women in bikinis on a coffee table. But I’m skeptical about the swimsuit issue because of three reasons. First, half of the models are not even wearing swimsuits; second, it smells a little bit too good for a sports magazine; and most importantly, sports are barely illustrated.
Since SI began this annual special edition in 1964, the swimsuit issue has become a media phenomenon that every female model would die to be part of. While many men subscribe to SI just to receive the issue, it raises a question about SI’s business ethics.
Admittedly, I recently purchased this year’s issue mainly because I saw Marisa Miller, a Malibu resident, exposing 97 percent of her skin on the cover. I was so upset when my roommate ripped the cover page off that I nearly made him buy another copy. But I figured that’s what she deserved for posing almost fully naked in a sports magazine.
Fine, I get it. For a magazine that repeatedly shows photos of sweaty dudes every week, having some of the most attractive models once a year is an oasis in the desert. It’s all about targeting the audience, right?
But is this an ethical business strategy? I’d like to believe so, but a student athlete aspiring to be a model at Pepperdine disagrees.
“[The supermodels] obviously have beautiful bodies but they aren’t athletes,” says Ali Chester, a sophomore swimmer. “They shouldn’t be on the cover of Sports Illustrated.”
As a part-time makeup artist, Chester has connections in this industry. She says she is too busy with swimming and school but would like to pursue modeling after college.
Even though Chester is against having supermodels in the swimsuit edition, she supports it featuring good-looking athletes. In fact, several well-known athletes have appeared within the issue’s pages. The list includes Serena Williams, Amanda Beard and Maria Sharapova. This year’s issue featured Danica Patrick at the end and three female Olympians on the Budweiser ads.
But still, the other 90 percent of the women in the magazine are professional models. Having a couple of athletes per issue doesn’t justify this moral dilemma.
Well, SI has been doing this for 44 years. There must be heck of a reason why this is socially acceptable regarding business ethics.
Let’s see if we can solve this problem by comparing models and athletes.
Supermodels and athletes tend to date.
This one is a no-brainer. Look at two of America’s most dominant athletes. Both Tiger Woods and Tom Brady are with supermodels. But that doesn’t make the partners earn the athlete title. No good.
Supermodels and athletes exercise vigorously to maintain their physiques.
Showing their beautiful bodies is the models’ job. They have to take extra care of their physical appearance. But do they exercise enough?
“Probably a little bit less [than what I do],” says Chester, who swims up to a few thousand yards daily. “But I’m sure they do running and a little bit of lifting to keep in shape for modeling.”
But still, that’s not enough.
Supermodels and athletes eat a lot.
I hear Olympian Michael Phelps eats five times as much as a normal person. Chester also says she eats a lot to meet the calories she burns from exercising.
“I eat whatever I want,” the aspiring model says. “I stop when I’m full.”
OK, but she is already an athlete. How about the kind of models seen in a magazine?
“Most of the models I’ve seen, they eat like a leaf for lunch and dinner,” Chester says. “And seven almonds.”
Well, I guess they don’t eat that much.
But didn’t I just write a column about fasting last week and say it’s a slow sport? Now I got it. Those supermodels deserve the athlete title, thus definitely representing the theme of the publication.
I’m sorry, Marisa. I’ve got to tape you back on the cover page now.
03-27-2008
