DENSON | The Misogyny of the Lingerie Football League

October 29, 2015 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News

Comments Off

By BEN DENSON

“It’s about women taking over a man’s game,” read a 2010 statement from the newly formed Lingerie Football League. “This is our game now.”

The LFL is a 7 vs. 7 female football league, founded five years ago, and as per its namesake, its players compete in lingerie-like gear.

Recently renamed the Legends Football League, the association was founded based on the idea that the sex appeal of women would attract fans, while its competitive play will keep the fans watching. As a 16-year-old boy, I couldn’t help but watch these athletic, scantily clad women play the game that I’ve known and loved through watching the NFL.

But I noticed something (and it took me a few years of (hopeful) maturation to realize it); I wasn’t watching these gifted athletes play because they were good at football. I watched them because they were sexier than a brand new, right out-of-the-box Rolex watch. Sexier than Brad and Angelina combined. Sexier than Daniel Murphy bringing the Mets to the World Series.

But it’s not “about women playing a man’s game.” Let me first say that Football never was, and never will be, a man’s game. The social construct of the male gender does not have ownership over a sport that all humankind shares. No matter how many times league founder Mitchell Mortaza says otherwise, the LFL is based on sex appeal – not competitive play (although the LFL consists of some gifted athletes).

If the fact that these women leave almost nothing to the imagination on the field is not enough to convince you of the league’s “sex first” attitude, than the fact that there was once an accidental nudity clause in all the players’ contracts should do it. If the quarterback’s bra falls off when it’s 3rd and goal, down by a touchdown, just sit back and let her throw topless. Are women really okay with this? Are people okay with this? According to a Grantland article by Jordan Conn, these women have to worry if they should wax before games.

Sexualizing any athlete marginalizes his or her achievements on the field, let alone sexualizing an entire sports league. It almost seems like the LFL is a collection of giant traveling strip clubs- that play football. This is not powderpuff football. These women play an aggressive brand of competitive gridiron. Watch a game (all games are streamed on the LFL website) and see how intense the play is. While you’re watching, try to notice how the obvious objectification of these women steer the attention away from the players’ considerable athletic talent.

The issue is that the LFL markets itself as a competitive league, but even my cat understands that is simply a façade. I have a very smart feline.
And I forgot to mention that the players of the LFL do not get paid. The women of the league are considered amateur athletes, and therefore do not get a penny.

We have a so-called “competitive” football league, which sexualizes all of its athletes and refuses to pay its players. As there are a few class-action lawsuits against the LFL, I believe it is only a matter of time before the NLRB rules in favor of the league’s players forming a union.

For women looking to play football at the highest level, the LFL is it. It is the most competitive female football league in the U.S. It’s the LFL or bust. Ergo, this creates a vicious cycle of objectification and exploitation for all these women athletes. They are trading their dignity and integrity for the opportunity to achieve their dreams. It is the goal of all athletes to play at the highest level and since it seems unlikely that women will be playing in the NFL anytime soon, they have no choice but to play for the LFL.

“If Mortaza (league owner) deems a player below league aesthetic standards, he has been known to instruct coaches not to let them play, several former coaches say. On game days, Mortaza has arrived to find athletes who have gained weight and then had their teams bench them before kickoff,” Conn wrote for Grantland.

All I can say is that women should not be playing football at the expense of male exploitation. I just don’t know how in 2015 the LFL is still operating this way. We admire Alex Morgan and Danica Patrick because of their exceptional talent and endless determination. They are thought of as athletes first and “female athletes” second.

There is nothing wrong with posing nude, or nearly so, in Sports Illustrated or ESPN the Magazine. Both Rob Gronkowski and Danica Patrick have done so. However, there is a problem when a player does not get paid because of his or her gender. It is an archaic setback when a player is forced to parade around in almost nothing in order to be allowed to play a sport at the highest competitive level. They are not enslaved gladiators fighting for freedom in a Roman coliseum. Russell Crowe will not be starring in a movie about the plight of the LFL players.

I feel so sorry for young American women who want to pursue a career playing football. To all these potential superstars, I tell them to look elsewhere. Play soccer – a sport in America where women are admired for their athletic achievements and not their aesthetic attributes. Changing the name to the Legends Football League is all part of the façade. In an interview with King 5 News, Seattle Mist player Jessica Hopkins recognized the disconnect here.

“Maybe one day” she said, “girls won’t have to wear lingerie to get people interested.”

Share and Enjoy

Tags: Lingerie News

Ashley Graham in a VERY racy campaign to celebrate her new lingerie range

October 29, 2015 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News

Comments Off

The 28-year-old activist, from Lincoln, Nebraska, has jumped the pond
Ashley poses in a boudoir as she models her Black Orchid collection
Made history becoming first curvaceous model in Sports Illustrated

Bianca London for MailOnline

Published:
05:46 EST, 28 October 2015

|
Updated:
08:19 EST, 28 October 2015

View
comments

She’s taken the fashion world by storm thanks to her body-positive messages and non-sample size figure – and now American model Ashley Graham is bringing her body confidence to the UK.

The 28-year-old activist, from Lincoln, Nebraska, has jumped the pond to team up with Simply Be to launch her brand new Christmas lingerie collection.

Posing in an array of very racy images, Ashley poses in a boudoir as she models her Black Orchid collection.

Scroll down for video

Size 16 Ashley Graham is celebrating the launch of her lingerie range landing in the UK by posing in an array of racy images

Speaking about her latest offering, she said: ‘I am so proud of my lingerie line, it’s unapologetically sexy which, I hope will inspire women to embrace their bodies regardless of shape or size.

‘Everybody deserves to have access to fashion – your size shouldn’t rule what you wear so I am pleased that my collection will be available to buy at Simply Be which stocks a diverse range of sizes.’

Don’t worry about your weight and have MORE sex: Tracey Cox…

‘My own friends have commented negatively on my pictures’:…

The collection, which was inspired by her favourite flower, is adorned with lace and black crystals, which she says will create a sense of mystery and seduction.

The star recently revealed how she learned to love herself, saying she regularly strips off and isn’t afraid to flaunt her imperfections.

‘Walking around your house butt naked builds your confidence,’ she told Stylist magazine. ‘You have to see the things that you were told were imperfect your whole life. You actually see it and deal with it. Don’t hide it away.’

Speaking about her latest offering, she said: ‘I am so proud of my lingerie line, it’s unapologetically sexy which, I hope will inspire women to embrace their bodies regardless of shape or size’

Her fearless attitude has lead her becoming a figurehead for strong, bold women and she has hundreds of thousands of social media followers

Size 16 Ashley made history after becoming the first curvaceous model to feature in the esteemed pages of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue. She is now one of the most in-demand women in the industry.

Outspoken Ashley recently received a standing ovation when she delivered an empowering TED talk titled ‘Plus Size? More Like My Size’ in Spain, discussing how learning to love and accept herself has helped her lead a happier life.

With hundreds of thousands of social media followers, the brunette beauty is making sure her inspiring messages are being heard far and wide.

As well as walking around in the buff and chanting to herself in the mirror, Ashley uses age-old methods of improving her well-being – exercise.

She said it’s ‘important for every type of body’ and she feels ‘weird’ if she doesn’t workout.

In order to not get bored with her fitness regime, voluptuous poser Ashley does a mix of ‘running, high intensity, boot camps’.

Ashley says everybody deserves to have access to fashion and your size shouldn’t rule what you wear

Ashley added that happiness is feeling ‘content’ but also ‘sometimes just a big bowl of pasta’.

Her fearless attitude has lead her becoming a figurehead for strong, bold women.

After being dropped from a modelling agency because of her size, she set up ALDA (meaning ‘wave’ in Icelandic) with five other runway stars, which helps promote a healthy body image.

On her new agency she added: ‘IMG Models signed all of us and we are not in a plus-size category, we are respected just as much as supermodels.’

Ashley travels around America meeting young women in schools to champion the importance of a positive body image.

Ashley recently said that happiness is feeling ‘content’ but also ‘sometimes just a big bowl of pasta’

She believes feeling ‘sexy is a state of mind’ and said she feels most flirtatious when wearing ‘a little crop top’ and working her 38D cleavage.

She said the question she gets asked the most is ‘how do you teach confidence?’

She recently told Elle UK: ‘I never truly know how to answer that question except from by showing I’m not afraid of my curves and my cellulite. You’re only able to attain that when it comes from you.’

Meanwhile, Ashley recently debuted her latest lingerie line for Canadian retailer Addition Elle in a historic show at New York Fashion Week walking alongside a cast of her fellow curvy models.

Ashley made history after becoming the first curvaceous model to feature in the esteemed pages of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue. She is now one of the most in-demand women in the industry