The photo is hilarious in a ‘what the hell were they thinking?’ kind of way. The girls look really awkward.

To be honest, I can’t believe people still think it has any place in any sport – F1, cycling, motorbike racing etc.
I don’t understand what the benefit is to an event/the sport. Who organises an event & thinks ‘hey, we really need to remember to call that agency & get 6 hot babes sent over to stand around looking awkward’.
It’s like the line-up of women at the end of a F1 race who stand on either side of the corridor on the way to the rostrum & clap the winners. Why? What is the point? What are they bringing to the event?

What’s weird is that no one seems to bat an eyelid but if it was a group of blokes in swimming trunks (as per the amusing photo on the previous page) people would be asking what the hell was going on.

It’s all quite unnecessary and gratuitous, to the point of being offensive I think. As someone else has pointed out, it all feels a bit Gene Hunt.

I have the same attitude towards the idea that girls in swimsuits should be paraded on an F1 grid or should be paid to stare admiringly at F1 drivers when they collect their trophies.

I’m starting to get impatient with it.

It’s certainly time for male riders to speak out on the issue though

Not sure if they even notice! “I WON!!”

Not sure if they even notice! “I WON!!”

Peter Sagan does.

Yeah, Sagan might not be the first to speak out on it!

imho, it’s naff and embarrassing, we can do better, so should try.

Peter Sagan does

He may not be the best person to speak out on the issue.

As for podium girls, the whole thing is embarrassing and should have no place in modern sports.

The umbrella girls at MotoGP amuse me – they are usually about 2 feet taller than the riders so they do have a useful function e.g. keeping the sun away from the athletes.

Jesus that Flanders picture is truly toe curling.

I must say I like the idea of young riders from the local cycling clubs doing the prizes, much less cringe-worthy and it’s always good to get the young’uns inspired.

Speaking as a Belgian Brit I also feel they are a really odd thing to have there and are horribly out dated but I would also say there are lots of people at cycling events in Belgium that have no interest in cycling whatsoever.
They are present for the hospitality only and the show.
I’ve had same experience with Formula 1 for work when guests we’d paid thousands to host didn’t even watch the race 🙁

These VIP packages are funded by the sponsors that make cycling possible hence I’m more inclined to see these inappropriate podium girls fade out naturally by the sponsors decisions than ruled enforcement.

I think what we’ve learned about the upper echelons of sport management in recent years, be it road cycling, football, whatever is that it is chock full of individuals, mostly male, with a very warped view of the world.

Podium girls would fit right in to that view I reckon.

That podium photo from Belgium is ghastly.

You can add the X-Fighters podium to the naughty list too.

Infact Moto-X and the omnipresent energy drinks brands seem to be some of the worst offenders.

What we need is for a few daring people to arrange some men in trunks at a few races to go wandering around the pits and crash the podiums as per pic on other page, just to make the point and expose it for the ludicrousness that it is regardless of gender.

guy in the white boots ain’t too happy. Maybe it’s his jimjam envy?

Absolutely no need in the modern age!

What we need is for a few daring people to arrange some men in trunks at a few races to go wandering around the pits and crash the podiums

Look out for me in my trunks at this years Torq in your sleep 12:12 😀

Podium girls & brolly dollys are well past their use by date, but now that there are women competing & scoring race points in Moto 3 there is at least hope for the future.

You can add the X-Fighters podium to the naughty list too.

Er, did I say semi-attractive?

(Sorry!)

Its about context of the event.

At a bicycle race its odd.

However I was watching Speedway recently and the Monster girls were oot’. MrsH said ‘is that really necessary’? but if you are into motorsport its part and parcel of the event etc etc.

I don’t have a problem with it.

How about popular series aimed at women perpetuating that men are sex objects? Why aren’t we up in arms about that? (aka Sex in the City).

I’ve no problem with men in swimming cossies etc. Afteral why can’t we admire the male and female form?

Should we become prudes or impose Sharia law?

Agree with Hora above – Time and a place for all of it, I don’t see a problem with having a fella in speedos standing next to the winner any more then a woman in a swimsuit.
If a company is going to support the sport great, if they want to show this through half nekkid models then so be it.
<engage Clarkson mode> The world is going PC mad.

This thread is deeply depressing.

I’ve no problem with men in swimming cossies etc. Afteral why can’t we admire the male and female form?

If you are looking at the ladies in front of that podium in Belgium and “admiring the female form” then… tbh words fail me 😥

I think in the general scheme of things it barely matters, lets sort out world poverty then we can worry about what someone is or isn’t wearing.

If you are looking at the ladies in front of that podium in Belgium and “admiring the female form” then… tbh words fail me

Theres many things wrong with the girls being at that event- the choice of costumes etc is one of them. Its out of context as well.

If it was surfing or hotweather competition I wouldn’t see any problem with what they are wearing etc.

The Redbull ^^ above is cool and I see no problems with that.

Tom Daley is invited to show his body by everyone it seems whenever hes on tv- I’ve no problem with this. I imagine outside of our culture/the west he’ll be seen as unholy and given lashes.

Just chill the **** out. As long as its in context – who cares?

Dirty dog, that’s just stupid. You can always point at some supposed bigger issue, does that mean we shouldn’t worry about anything until some bigger problem is sorted?

Hora, it’s no different.

With respect guys, i’m afraid you’re both wrong. It’s not about the gender of the person involved (despite the near universal bias against women), it’s the useless and offensive objectification of a person’s body. It’s not about equality, because you don’t balance a wrong with more wrong: you stop doing it. It’s not about context either, because there is no place for it.

There’s nothing prudish about mutual respect and appropriate celebration at sporting events. It’s not exactly a leap to Sharia law…

It’s naff and embarrassing, as are shouts of “prudes!” and “Sharia!”

One show I work on had a company turn up with women in hot pants emblazoned with QR codes on their bums. The organisers imposed a dress code in response. As a result, the atmosphere and crowd have been about a million times better and more welcoming at every show since. Straight dudes still get to come and play the videogames they always did there, but hey, everyone else can do that and feel comfortable too now!

Its about context

Context being a bunch of priapic dudes furiously ignoring the vast inequalities in available opportunities and positive media imagery between genders. Context being a bunch of business people ignoring the bigger audience they could have and instead catering to a well worn furrow of teenage and twenty something men. It’s archaic, it’s bad culture, and it’s bad business.

If anyone wants to gawp at tits there are plenty of places to do that (for instance, skype), it doesn’t need to be grafted onto everything else.

Afteral why can’t we admire the male and female form?

Nothing stopping you from doing that, but why at a bicycle or car race?

bombjack – Member

I don’t see a problem with having a fella in speedos standing next to the winner any more then a woman in a swimsuit.

I don’t think it’s the same. But I’m struggling to really put into words why. I reckon it’s basically the same reasons that it’s girls and not guys that are up there in the first place though.

I definitely don’t think having more half-naked people makes it any less weird though, just because they’re dudes. The basic question is still wtf, why are there half naked people? You say there’s a time and a place, how is this the time and the place?

Gender politics and all that is complicated but I think you can think it’s totally fine to pay people to take their clothes off, and still think it’s weird to do it at a sports event.

BillOddie – Member

the omnipresent energy drinks brands seem to be some of the worst offenders.

Well, they have the Monster Girls, you see…

https://www.monsterenergy.com/ie/en/monstergirls/

If anyone wants to gawp at tits there are plenty of places to do that (for instance, skype)

er….Skype? the global VOIP service Skype? wow! who you been caling lately? 😆

kidding aside, @nach, your post is spot on btw. Also, the phrase “…cant we just admire the female form?” mentioned earlier on is an absolute embarrassment in 2015.

The inequality of it is definitely an issue, but if it was guys in speedo’s it would still be just plain weird!

Why is there a half-naked person there at all !?!?!!?

And if there is a proper and justifiable reason for *those* people to be half-naked, why isn’t anyone else?

Does Not Compute.

The sponsors and the organisers will determine whether their presence is commercially positive or not, if it is not then they won’t survive. They should not be expected to do things that are good for cycling, but great if they do.

I can’t stand it.

What are they for? Nothing at all except for looking at. If that’s not objectification I don’t know what is. It’s massively inappropriate – “we’re holding the toughest sporting event in the world, this is an incredible feat of human endurance – so here’s some totty! hurr hurr hurr boobies”

FFS. Seriously. If you don’t want to come for the cycling, then bugger off to the newsagent and buy some grot.

Same would apply if there were hunky men standing around too. It’s ridiculous. I cringe every time I see it.

The ladies (and sometimes men) are there as marketing eye candy.
It’s that simple.
The “beautiful people” are there so you as the consumer associate with the product being sold.
It’s not exploitation and it’s not sexism. The models are there to do a job for which I’m sure they get paid for. They’re there because want to be there. If I was beautiful and athletic I’d stand there in a thong while people looked at me safe in the knowledge that I was being paid for that instead of a tedious 9-5 job.

its all a bit magic mike xxl . Next thing we’ll expect Victoria secret to do a mens range to have equality. The organisers should have the final say along with the girls and the competitors. I’d prefer the grid girls to the picture of Rimmel Kate moss gawping at me on the side of STW world which also servers no purpose and less interesting.

Podium Girls – do they still have a place at races – what do you think ?

Yeah why not? If they want to do that kind of work and look nice why should it bother anyone?

So who is the bigger audience then?

How do you propose the organisers attract a bigger audience? Of course on a similar budget to hiring 4xpeople for the day.

Even if you hired the Red Arrows and £1,000,000 on a firework display the uplift in people would come to see a firework and flypast not a sodding bicycle race with skeletal-like riders, half of which just dont look healthy to the general public.

No ta.

The ‘girls’ are generally selling a product for the sponsor of the event. If the sponsor is forbidden to use a bit of skin / cleavage during the podium presentation to produce an ‘aesthetically pleaseing picture’ to sell thier product, they will invest their money elsewhere where gawping is allowed.

It’s not exploitation and it’s not sexism.

You wrote that to be ironic, right? I mean no one with an ounce of feminism, or a smidgen of understanding of how objectification works on both the object and viewer, could fail to understand how parading around in your pants and bra is anything other than sexist and demeaning.

In the same way that a Golliwog on the label was part and parcel of buying a jar of jam?