So in chapter eight Rader discusses about the changing ideals of physical beauty. It talks about the prevalent assumptions on how women have the basic roles in the house and the strenuous chores they do around the house. It talks about how women were looked at as the weaker sex and if they were to play sports experts said that damage or inhibit the maturation of the female productive organs, so woman were held back to playing mild games and carefully regulated exercises. As well as damaging their reproductive organs it was believed that if women were to play a vigorous sport while menstruating it would displace the uterus and a reduction in childbearing capacities. In my opinion I feel that these so called "experts" were crazy but there was not a lot of medical technology so they didn't know any better. It then moves along and talks about the Gibson girl who had so called "dominated" the standard of female beauty. She always had engaged in sports with moderation. She smoked and drank, along with abandoned corset, shortened her skirts and wore fewer clothes than the other women. This all escalated into these women onto the playing fields of sporting events.
Looking at today's sports women are prevalent in many of them. They are forced to wear their uniforms so many spectators only look at them through the uniforms they wear such as Danica Patrick the female formula 1 racer. I feel that women in sports these days are tired of how the spectators of them just look at them as just a woman that plays sport. They want the people to look at them in a beauty sense as well. This is why more female athletes are taking their careers to the next level and start to model. Many female sport athletes have started taking off their sport uniforms and trading them for bikinis to show off their bodies to show off their natural beauty. Some female athletes have even taken a even further step and are posing in magazines such as playboy. I will talk about the less racy photos that Danica Patrick took the incentive of posing in the 2008 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. There are pictures of her with her driving suit half off and showing her in a bikini, as well as a picture holding her helmet. I feel that she wants to show the people that she has a lot of natural beauty under that helmet and racing suit. Not only has Danica done photo shots like this but other athletes such as Natalie Gulbis of the LPGA and other female athletes have flaunted their beauty.
Actually, I think you are confusing the Gibson Girl with "flappers." The Gibson girl was a caricature based on drawings by Charles Gibson. They were not "real" women, whereas flappers were the ones who "smoked and drank" and "shortened their skirts." Suzanne Lenglen was referred to as the "flapper of tennis." I agree with you that it is interesting to look at today's female athletes like Danica Patrick and Natalie Gulbis, next to someone like Suzanne Lenglen. By comparison, it is difficult to conceive of Lenglen as being glamorous, but that was how she was regarded during the "Golden Age" of sport. She too wore less clothing, which in that time meant wearing shorter skirts and baring her arms. I personally think it can be a distraction for a female athlete who chooses to model in Playboy, and it can somewhat denigrate others in the sport who just want to be recognized for their athletic skills. Then again, with what some female athletes are paid, I can understand the argument that it is a viable way to supplement their income.
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