As a female athlete, this is a non-issue to me. Wouldn't think twice about it.

BUT (and a big one) as a mother of a three-year old daughter, it makes me feel very conflicted. I only noticed this when I got my copy of Inside Triathlon with Desiree Ficker on the cover and turned it upside down on my night table so that my daughter couldn't see it and ask, in a way that curious three-year olds do, "What's that lady doing?"...because I didn't really know how to answer that question.


-Daneille

If I were a parent I might care, I might not. But I am not a parent and think athletes, or anyone really, should be able to pose nude if they want. I don't have to look at it if I don't want to.

But if I were a parent, I dont know

Do kids just instantly start smoking crack and catching aids if they are told that sometimes people like to be naked or look at each other naked?

Is that what happens?

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

She's in my top 10.

What does smoking crack and aids have to do with nude pictures? I think the point is introducing sex at a very early age.

I hear ya. But, what about the comment in the article about explaining to the 12 year old girls in the pool why there hero feels it necessary to remove her clothing in a men's magazine? I think there is merit to that.

I have no young kids to explain these things to, but, I imagine it would be difficult.

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

Do kids just instantly start smoking crack and catching aids if they are told that sometimes people like to be naked or look at each other naked?
Is that what happens?

Yes, that's what happens.

Either that, or they get the idea that the only thing people value in women- even women who've reached the very pinnacle of their field of endeavor- is sex.

I can't imagine that such a perception could have any undesirable consequences, of course.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Then maybe the responsibility lies with the parents to teach their children what a "Hero" truly is.

Athlete's are not Hero's simply b/c they are athletes. If said athlete is an incredible person that uses his/her position to do things to improve humanity, then maybe they are a Hero.

Amanda Beard should not be a Hero simply because she can swim (incredibly) fast. She should be an example and someone children/people look to to learn how to swim faster, not live their life.

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Paul
AmateurEndurance.com

[reply]
As a female athlete, this is a non-issue to me. Wouldn't think twice about it.

BUT (and a big one) as a mother of a three-year old daughter, it makes me feel very conflicted. I only noticed this when I got my copy of Inside Triathlon with Desiree Ficker on the cover and turned it upside down on my night table so that my daughter couldn't see it and ask, in a way that curious three-year olds do, "What's that lady doing?"...because I didn't really know how to answer that question.


-Daneille[/reply]


Ok now you have me wondering(I don't get tri inside)what was Desiree Ficker doing on the cover?

I tend to think her bathing suit pics were enough.

I also agree there is nothing wrong with it, although I do think it might negatively influence very young female fans.

I'm sure we all hope this "girls gone wild" "it's like mardi gras!" phase is long over by the time our young daughters grow up.

What does a not even naked girl on a triathlon magazine have to do with sex?

even nakedness does not equal sex

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

I've long been bothered by the "how do we explain it to the kids" argument. Is it really that difficult? Are 12-year olds really that simple that they can't understand?

Are 12-year olds really that simple that they can't understand?

Nope. They understand just fine, that's the problem.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

A comment like that makes me wish for a parents race category. We obviously live, and train, in two different worlds.

My experience with children is that they're very capable of being more nuanced than that. I think the problem is that many adults aren't.

i find it interesting that parents will create such an uproar over something a child isn't even able to look at/buy themselves, and yet these are the same parents who buy their teens/pre-teens those trashy magazines with Brittney Speears and Paris Hilton dressed like whores and telling the reporter all about their latest escapades from the previous weekend.
In my opinion, Playboy is a tastefull way to show off a woman's body. Children see a LOT worse turning on the tv, reading magazines and going online nowadays.

Alan, please. Even if 12 year olds were capable of such nuance, there's no nuance to be discerned her. "Look- tits!" isn't really that subtle.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

I'm replying to the OP only because this is a generic question to all the parents.

I am not a parent, and I don't get the issue with this, or the Triathlete swimsuit issue for that matter. What is wrong with just saying "Men like looking at naked women. Just like adults like looking at art, or other photography, or cars, or cool bikes. There are just some forms that we like to look at, and for men one of those forms is attractive women. For the womans part, she is proud of her body, doesn't mind showing it off, and she got paid a lot of money to do it. She chose to show herself, and not all women would do that, which is OK too."

It doesn't seem like it has to generate a conversation about the physical act of sex, or when the child is old enough to have sex, or anything else.

So parents, what is the issue...... (I am sincere about this, please don't read this as some form of attack.)

Paul

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2015 USAT Long Course National Champion (M50-54)

i dont understand why so many people think that athletes have to be role models. if rothlisberger wants to ride without a helmet, thats his problem, if jordan wants to gamble, so be it, if this chick wants to be naked in a magazine, thats her choice. every person has their own value system and what they do for a living probably has little to do with it. if parents think being nude in a magazine is bad, teach your kids that, dont rely on athletes doing or not doing something to show your kids what is right. if you dont like the magazine, dont buy it or dont display it openly in your house.

I don't think the point of the article on ESPN was to criticize Playboy or was the make a commentary on women posing for Playboy. The point is, when an athlete who is (or may be) a role model for young women poses naked, what is the message being sent.

I don't know. I have never been a 12 year old girl nor have I had to face this with kids of my own, so, I don't know.

As an adult, I have no problem with it. But, I guess I see the potential negative impact on young women/children.

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

aha! and that is why we don't have tv, magazines (well, Inside Triathlon and the Economist), and why I don't let my daughter use the computer. It also explains why I have a very difficult time finding clothes for her that are acutally age-apporpriate for a three-year old to wear. I don't know what I'm going to do when she is 9 or 10...

this is a nation compulsively obsessed with nudity.

more parents ask themselves if their children should see images of other people nude (or even, god forbid, 'having sex') than ask themselves if their children should see images of people chopping off one another's limbs with machete knives, or blowing up one another's brains with hollow point bullets from k-mart.

there is something terribly amiss with the values of the majority of folks in this country, but it ain't because of too much nudity ...

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Where would you want to swim ?

1) As a coach who has worked with girls from age 9 through college at various times I can tell you that most 12 year olds are not as naive as most of you seem to think. Many of them know a lot more about sex then you did at that age.

2) Is it really that bad to teach girls to have pride in their bodies? Especially girls who play sports and have athletic bodies.

3) If you really want to go after a magazine or a model go after ones like Seventeen and the like as they are the ones doing the real damage.

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Proud Founder of the Jamis Mafia- Daring to be different.

Yes sorry, i got a little off topic there.
The message sent is that she has a great body she worked hard to get, is natural (as far as I know although I am sure airbrushed) and is actually something a woman can healthily aspire to try and get for themselves.
Heaven forbid someone should be able to flaunt something they worked extremely hard for.