[b]The day has finally come at the Santos Tour Down Under, with the state announcing its major events will no longer use women as decoration.[/b]
http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/article/2016/12/02/tdu-podium-girls-go
The South Australian Sports Minister, Leo Bignell, today announced that it would replace the Santos Tour Down Under podium girls with junior cyclists.Here at Cycling Central we've long argued for a change of attitude in cycling, as far back as 2013 in fact, preferring to see podium girls as incompatible with a sport striving for genuine gender equity, and preferring to see women deserving of a podium place as athletes not ornaments.
The South Australian Sports Minister, Leo Bignell, today announced that it would replace the Santos Tour Down Under podium girls with junior cyclists.Here at Cycling Central we've long argued for a change of attitude in cycling, as far back as 2013 in fact, preferring to see podium girls as incompatible with a sport striving for genuine gender equity, and preferring to see women deserving of a podium place as athletes not ornaments.
If that means you don't feel like you can enjoy an event any more then maybe time to question why you were watching it 😉
Sad that the sexy chicks will be unemployed due to the hand wringers.
This thread needs pictures.
Good. It's not the world's biggest deal, but the whole podium girl thing seems well past its sell-by date, so this is welcome.
🙂
Refreshing bit of good news.
Can't tell from the article whether they mean exclusively female junior cyclists. If so, not much in the way of progress.
B'out time, sadly Aussies are some of the most sexist so i suspect they're have more of an issue with it than intelligent folk.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Oz:
I would struggle to struggle with either side of this argument. Yes it feels outdated but sex sells and so never really goes out of fashion it just goes underground. Yes to more women in sport, yet isn't it also patronising to pat these podium girls on the head? Effectively saying 'Off you go, poppet! No, your curves and winning smile are no longer required as your silly little head is holding you and other women back.
Social engineering via censorship?
Sad that the sexy chicks will be unemployed due to the hand wringers.
DT, is that you? 🙂
pity one of the three women in the SA cabinet of fourteen couldn't make the announcement
Are ring girls, podium girls etc really sexist? Really?
If they want me to stand around smiling in skimpy clothes and give Rachel Atherton her medal the next time she kicks arse then will it balance it all out?
edited for meh.
antigee - Member
pity one of the three women in the SA cabinet of fourteen couldn't make the announcement
Is it - that would surely have been tokenism. Is it not far greater progress that a male minister is standing up for equality?
Can't they just have podium guys for the ladies cycling events..? Sod it, they could even be oiled up and wearing thongs for all I care.
I think the whole cycling podium girl thing is, just a bit cutesy, and French. More like a joyful fun celebration... but then I'm a dreaded male-person, white as well. I may as well shoot myself.
I'm not a female lady-person, so who knows... maybe they find the whole podium girl thing totally degrading?
If so, then fair enough.. I guess time to move on.
who has made them do this and who has banned this?Social engineering via censorship?
no mate using scantily clad girls as eye candy at sporting events is definitely not sexist at all as they are there for erm erm erm ok what reason are they there for then if not titillation?Are ring girls, podium girls etc really sexist? Really?
This cropped up at work as a point of discussion. There isn't really any justification for current practice so I see it as progress.
Perhaps someone should tell Breitling. The males in their ads wear clothing suited to the job. However the girl on the plane plane that is being refueled (perhaps the most dangerous place to be) makes do with hot pants.
Breitling, the watch for macho sexist p... .
It is odd that we see Australia as more racist and sexist than European society (and that could very well be true), yet they still have had recent examples politicians of conviction despite popular opinion. Politicians willing to stand up and enact real change rather than just paying lip service, we could definitely do with more of these people here.
But how does that make it sexist? How is it prejudicing or discrimiating against women?Junkyard - lazarus
Social engineering via censorship?
who has made them do this and who has banned this?
Are ring girls, podium girls etc really sexist? Really?
no mate using scantily clad girls as eye candy at sporting events is definitely not sexist at all as they are there for erm erm erm ok what reason are they there for then if not titillation?
But how does that make it sexist? How is it prejudicing or discrimiating against women?Junkyard - lazarus
Social engineering via censorship?
who has made them do this and who has banned this?
Are ring girls, podium girls etc really sexist? Really?
no mate using scantily clad girls as eye candy at sporting events is definitely not sexist at all as they are there for erm erm erm ok what reason are they there for then if not titillation?
You are free to not care or disagree but i really dont believe you have failed to grasp the argument to the extent you need it explaining to you.
they are there for erm
Something for the dads.
#dadcam
Junkyard - lazarus
You are free to not care or disagree but i really dont believe you have failed to grasp the argument to the extent you need it explaining to you.
I haven't stated an opinion as yet, so wind in your neck.
I'm interested in why you view it as discriminatory and prejudicial? Hence the questions.
Well in the case of cycling, have you heard of Le Tour Féminin or La Grande Boucle Féminine? But you've heard of Le Tour. Women in cycling get very little sponsorship and almost no media coverage. That's discrimination. Women's football... . The next time you are around a cycle race note the roles that are fulfilled by women. There'll be a few masseuses but no doctors, there won't be many drivers but there will be a few throwing stuff out of "caravane" vehicles. There might be the odd journalist, maybe a translator (a woman who used to work for me was hired by the Tour for German translation, she had lots of fun including shagging France's most famously happily married... ). Madame was hired to translate for Armstrong after I refused.
As for prejudice, it's reinforcing the bimbo/whore role women are supposed to adopt if they want to succeed.
It's no discrimination though, it a complete lack of a market, which is not discrimination, it's something else. The reasoning for which is based on discrimation against women and their fight in society for equality. But that doesn't mean just because, for example a top womens football team doesn't get paid the same as the top mens that it's discriminatory. It means there's no market for it and they need to build one.Edukator - Reformed Troll
Well in the case of cycling, have you heard of Le Tour Féminin or La Grande Boucle Féminine? But you've heard of Le Tour. Women in cycling get very little sponsorship and almost no media coverage. That's discrimination. Women's football..
i did not say you had i stated that you understood the arguments perhaps I was mistaken as it does seem you are very easily confused by the simplest of statementsI haven't stated an opinion as yet, so wind in your neck.
as stated I think you can work out why someone might object and if not any subsequent explanation would be a waste of my time so I shall spend it productively "winding in my neck" rather than explain the obvious to the faux confusedI'm interested in why you view it as discriminatory and prejudicial? Hence the questions
I can work out why some one would object, but I don't believe the act of having women at these things is sexist though. I'm asking you to explain why it is sexist?
Because the role is only open to women is the obvious answer, while the better roles go to men.
Edukator - Reformed Troll
Because the role is only open to women is the obvious answer, while the better roles go to men.
We're talking about 2 separate things here though, conflating them does nothing for the question.
Are women discriminated against in organised sport? IMO, not particularly, it's just a fact that their market is much much much smaller. It's about level of performance and ability to attract an audience. I don't know about cycling, but a while back I looked at women's pay in relation to football, with regard their market, and what I'd perceive as their abilty, and tbh, it came out as pretty much on a par with the men. Yes they earn much less, but we don't live in a socialist society, we live in a market society. and the womens market is equivalent to about the English 5/6 tier level(I can't remember exactly), but in terms of audience, ability and reward it's much the same.
To the other question about having women at the men's event. Personally I think it's completely unrelated to the success of women's sport. It may be demeaning is some peoples eyes, but they aren't forced to do it. It's a job, personally I don't see much wrong with the actual job. YMMV.
There is a valid argument to be had for artificially supporting womens sport, because of years of discrimination in other aspects of society. I don't think it makes mens sport sexist though.
i would support over investing in womens sport.
It's a chicken and egg thing. No media coverage, smaller market. When the media take an interest there's a market. The media taking an interest is generally down to how close to a cover girl the athlete is. In fact if a female cyclist wants to up her profile history suggests that getting naked on a bike is the best thing she can do to up her marketability. Is the world's best paid female tennis star the best tennis player or a blonde?
Media, while it should be encouraged, can only go so far. I think mens sports have the markets they have due to years and years and years of mass participation. Men play more sport therefore they watch more sport.
So aye it is a chicken and egg thing, but imo the solution to the problem lies in encouraging women to mass participate in sport, from there things will develop naturally. Things should be geared as much to allowing it to grow as naturally as possible, imo.
I'm also not against allowing women to enter mens events. I think that would help too.
ok what reason are they there for then if not titillation?
I'm gonna be a bit controversial here but, when I've attended events such as this I'm not wandering around with a little chubby on concealed in my jeans and my eyes out on stalks...
If anything I may glance awwardly at those girls and feel intimidated and perhaps maybe even inspired..
On the very surface level, before one starts analysing and being right-on about it, one may be struck with the notion that working really hard at your sport means you might possibly one day end up in a position where an attractive female will be hanging around, which could potentially minutely increase the chances of an attractive female actually taking an interest in your pathetic personality..
It's not titillation, it's motivation
an attractive female actually taking an interest in your pathetic personality.
More probably the money you're earning. Gold diggers or a less polite description.
an attractive female [b]has to be paid to be[/b] actually taking an interest in your pathetic personality.
FIFY!!
🙂 it really is impossible to underestimate some people in this place.
I mean, seriously, having to explain to folks that using podium girls might be sexist?
This place is increasingly like an undergraduate coffee bar after hours
But, Charlie, no one has managed to explain how it is. They've mentioned women's sport being underfunded or watched or competed in, but not why podium girls are.
They are paying women to stand there to look pretty, it's objectifying women and saying that we would rather pay you to stand here and be leered at than put money into womens sport. The South Australian Government has decided that it's not something tax payers should be funding at all.
In other news from down here they are moving towards removing government funding from sports that don't pay/treat men and women equally (things like mens teams travelling in a better section on the plane or in better hotels etc.)
And yes a government can place those stipulation when they are funding sport.
Calm down... You'll be letting the sheila's vote next!
It's a slippery slope.. Free chocolates and prosecco and subsidised washing machines await you..
But, Charlie, no one has managed to explain how it is. They've mentioned women's sport being underfunded or watched or competed in, but not why podium girls are.
My point is that it is disappointing that anyone actually needs this explained to them. Unless that is some sophomoric intellectual exercise
Jeez, if you people [i]really[/i] can't work out what the problem is then YOU are the ****ing problem.
[i]But how does that make it sexist? How is it prejudicing or discrimiating against women?[/i]
because the women are there to suggest to other men in the audience that the winners on the podium are able to "have" women that are pretty and under dressed. the girls are not there because they choose to (you hve to pay them to do it), it's because they have nice teeth and tits.
the women have no say in it, they are window dressing, just another perk of the men winning. I'll bet there are sports organisations stupid enough to use men in the same way, and it's discriminatory then as well.
because the women are there to suggest to other men in the audience that the winners on the podium are able to "have" women that are pretty and under dressed
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You are Millie Tant from Viz and I claim my £5
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