Gino20
02-17-2008, 01:43 PM
Ailene Voisin: We're missing the real point
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
So some of the Kings' dancers were caught on film sipping champagne and cavorting in skimpy outfits, posing for a provocative photo or two and mildly misbehaving on their own time.
So what?
Let's not overreact here. The fact that photos were distributed on the wild, wild Web, generating enough chatter to cause sensory and technical overload, virtually assured that there would be repercussions within the Kings' organization. But people do dumb things in their 20s.
The women can be accused of being young and foolish for partying on team premises (at least in some of the photos), and certainly of being naïve for exposing themselves to someone with a camera and possibly a self-destructive streak.
But no crimes were committed. No animals were neglected. No speeding tickets were issued. No one was arrested for driving under the influence. You get the picture. Sources indicate that the dancers will be issued letters of reprimand, but a gentle scolding would have sufficed. Many of the dancers are college students trying to earn a few extra bucks for tuition and living expenses.
There is a much larger issue to be examined here, one pertaining to what the women wear and how they behave when they're performing before 17,000 fans, not in the privacy of a back room.
It's right there before our eyes – has been ever since the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders ushered in the era of sex and sports as compatible bedfellows. Big hair and barely covered bosoms have been the rage at professional sporting events since the late 1980s, with teams in the NFL, NBA and other leagues following right along like blind mice.
Attend a professional game these days, and between the dunks and the touchdowns, this is what you see: scantily attired dancers/cheerleaders playing to the crowd – to the men in the crowd – with flirtatious movements and exaggerated affectations, their intentions blatantly suggestive of sex.
Now, this would be fine in Las Vegas, a city that caters to adults and sells its soul to prurient interests. But how has it become so acceptable for dancers and cheerleaders to routinely project images that so clearly objectify women?
Where is the outrage?
Where have we been all these years?
Why did the Lakers have to begin the NBA's trend by replacing the goofy Dancing Barry and the Peanut Man with Paula Abdul and a procession of slickly choreographed Laker Girl ensembles?
What does all this say about the product itself? That Magic and Bird and Shaq and Kobe and Michael and Hakeem alone aren't worth the price of admission?
"The reason the women are hired is because teams want them to show off their bodies," said Peter Roby, a consultant with Northeastern's Center for Sport in Society. "Otherwise you would dress them in something different. It's become so pervasive that if you didn't have them at the game, people would ask, Where the hell are they? But the (concept) is just another opportunity for society to place women in compromising positions for the benefit of men – and men now feel a sense of entitlement.
"The other concern is that you have young boys and girls who are impressionable, and when they see these things played out in a public forum, they start to think that's the way gender roles are supposed to play out. None of this is positive. You don't have to be half-clothed to entertain. But rather than getting into issues of censorship, what we try to do at the Center is encourage young people to think critically about the images they're getting bombarded with. And you would like to think that, over time, those images will go away."
This is not to suggest that dancers and cheerleaders should sprint onto the court clothed in smocks or burqas, that their musical offerings should be limited to marching tunes or that they should be fined for their frozen smiles. But, frankly, all of these organizations could learn something from watching the kids: Members of the Hip Hop Crew captivate the audience and elicit the loudest applause by far of any of the Kings' entertainment acts.
Why hasn't that been acknowledged?
Well, now it has.
And according to statistics provided by the Kings, 45.5 percent of season-ticket holders are women. Ladies, it's time to speak up.
http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/717152.html
Link to photos: http://www.withleather.com/post.phtml?pk=4994
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
So some of the Kings' dancers were caught on film sipping champagne and cavorting in skimpy outfits, posing for a provocative photo or two and mildly misbehaving on their own time.
So what?
Let's not overreact here. The fact that photos were distributed on the wild, wild Web, generating enough chatter to cause sensory and technical overload, virtually assured that there would be repercussions within the Kings' organization. But people do dumb things in their 20s.
The women can be accused of being young and foolish for partying on team premises (at least in some of the photos), and certainly of being naïve for exposing themselves to someone with a camera and possibly a self-destructive streak.
But no crimes were committed. No animals were neglected. No speeding tickets were issued. No one was arrested for driving under the influence. You get the picture. Sources indicate that the dancers will be issued letters of reprimand, but a gentle scolding would have sufficed. Many of the dancers are college students trying to earn a few extra bucks for tuition and living expenses.
There is a much larger issue to be examined here, one pertaining to what the women wear and how they behave when they're performing before 17,000 fans, not in the privacy of a back room.
It's right there before our eyes – has been ever since the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders ushered in the era of sex and sports as compatible bedfellows. Big hair and barely covered bosoms have been the rage at professional sporting events since the late 1980s, with teams in the NFL, NBA and other leagues following right along like blind mice.
Attend a professional game these days, and between the dunks and the touchdowns, this is what you see: scantily attired dancers/cheerleaders playing to the crowd – to the men in the crowd – with flirtatious movements and exaggerated affectations, their intentions blatantly suggestive of sex.
Now, this would be fine in Las Vegas, a city that caters to adults and sells its soul to prurient interests. But how has it become so acceptable for dancers and cheerleaders to routinely project images that so clearly objectify women?
Where is the outrage?
Where have we been all these years?
Why did the Lakers have to begin the NBA's trend by replacing the goofy Dancing Barry and the Peanut Man with Paula Abdul and a procession of slickly choreographed Laker Girl ensembles?
What does all this say about the product itself? That Magic and Bird and Shaq and Kobe and Michael and Hakeem alone aren't worth the price of admission?
"The reason the women are hired is because teams want them to show off their bodies," said Peter Roby, a consultant with Northeastern's Center for Sport in Society. "Otherwise you would dress them in something different. It's become so pervasive that if you didn't have them at the game, people would ask, Where the hell are they? But the (concept) is just another opportunity for society to place women in compromising positions for the benefit of men – and men now feel a sense of entitlement.
"The other concern is that you have young boys and girls who are impressionable, and when they see these things played out in a public forum, they start to think that's the way gender roles are supposed to play out. None of this is positive. You don't have to be half-clothed to entertain. But rather than getting into issues of censorship, what we try to do at the Center is encourage young people to think critically about the images they're getting bombarded with. And you would like to think that, over time, those images will go away."
This is not to suggest that dancers and cheerleaders should sprint onto the court clothed in smocks or burqas, that their musical offerings should be limited to marching tunes or that they should be fined for their frozen smiles. But, frankly, all of these organizations could learn something from watching the kids: Members of the Hip Hop Crew captivate the audience and elicit the loudest applause by far of any of the Kings' entertainment acts.
Why hasn't that been acknowledged?
Well, now it has.
And according to statistics provided by the Kings, 45.5 percent of season-ticket holders are women. Ladies, it's time to speak up.
http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/717152.html
Link to photos: http://www.withleather.com/post.phtml?pk=4994