Sex sells. It's true, it does. Turn on any commercial and you are more likely to see a woman (mostly young 20's, white, and with a toned physique) doing any of these:
eating food
putting on makeup
any perfume ad, ever
aaaaaaannnnndd........selling anything remotely fitness related!
It's our culture, I get it. We are a patriarchal society, it's bound to happen. But God damn, it's getting to a point of ridiculousness! When I see a blog about what the author's favorite workout Playlist is, and her accompanying photo is standing serenely at the window with her headphones on. ....wearing cheekie underwear and a tied up t-shirt, with knee high socks! Who wears that crap to work out???!!!! It's past the point of saying "I look and feel amazing from my workouts and diet, and so want to share with the world.", and had definitely taken a huge leap across the line into "I'm so hot I want all of you to want to f*ck me." territory. I love that particular blog and have been following the author since I was in my second trimester. This, however, made me literally facepalm myself and roll my eyes.
I have modeled in the past (oh sigh how I miss my pre-baby body), and it was mostly nudes, posed in some very alluring and suggestive poses. You know where those photos are? In my portfolio. On my modeling page. In a photographer's portfolio. NOT in a blog where I'm trying to help women lose weight and feel better about themselves after having a baby! Yes, I know this particular picture is not nude, but it's one loosely tied shirt away from being one.
And it's not just that photo. It's the entire industry of fitness. It's subconscious body shaming to get the person on the receiving end to buy/look at/use your product. It's creating envy to plant subliminal messaging. Enough is enough. Not only for the customer, but the Fitness Pro as well. I actually stopped watching Bodyrock.tv because it became so overtly sexualized that I felt like I was watching amateur, soft core porn. And I was in the military at that time, NOTHING phased me. All I could think to myself was "didn't any of that make her a little uncomfortable at exploiting herself for someone else's profit?"
No, there is no need for baggy t-shirts and sweats, nor even a need to cover the tummy. Let those shorts ride on up! Let the ladies be on display! Guys, flex those contractually shown abs! Stand serenely at the window with headphones! But let's make it more realistic, instead of looking like you just got done with a f*ck session. As a consumer, I'd be a lot more willing to look at/use/buy a product that showed a woman who looked powerful, and with that post workout glow, rather than a delicate and over sexualized girl.
Jussayin. And stepping down off my soapbox now.
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